cfp.english.upenn.edu

Call for Papers
National Association for Chicana/Chicano Studies
Seattle, Washington (April 7-10, 2010)

Environmentalism and Aesthetics in Chicano/a History

During the 1800s, Anglo-American explorers and settlers justified their
expropriation of Southwestern lands with the argument that Indians and
Mexicans in the region were incapable of taking proper care of the
region’s rich natural resources. Such discourses manifest themselves
today in the popular perception that Mexican-Americans and Mexican
immigrants lag behind Anglos when it comes to ecological awareness, but
as commentators like Devon Peña and Laura Pulido note there is in fact a
complex environmental ethic that permeates Chicano/a history. This panel
will examine the role that aesthetics has played in creating, debating,
and reproducing green politics within Mexican-American communities since
1848. Papers can address any form of Chicana/o cultural production
(visual arts, fiction, poetry, music, dance, etc.) and its relationship
to environmentalism.

Possible topics could include:

· Chicano movement art and environmentalism

· Landscape and the /corrido /tradition

· Hispano art and its relation to land use struggles in New Mexico

· Mexican-American art as a challenge to the dominant environmental movement

· Ecological thought in the work of Chicana feminists such as Cherrie
Moraga or Amalia Mesa-Bains

· Art, immigration, and the environment in the 21st century

In order to make the October 15th NACCS deadline, please submit an
abstract of no more than 300 words to randyo at umd.edu
by October 12th . (Questions can be directed to
the same address.) Please include your complete name, institution, email
address, and any A/V requirements.