cfp.english.upenn.edu

The title of this panel, borrowed from James Baldwin's "This Morning, This Evening, So Soon," suggests its emphasis. I seek papers examining literary representations of metaphorical or literal violence against the black body, particularly male, as signifiers of patriotic Americanness. In addition to other interventions, papers engaging the following are welcome:

1. Comparative considerations of ways in which the black male body, itself, mandates feared re-visioning of inherently flawed national identity construction both in the past and present.
2. Comparative examinations of the rising tide of white patriotism in America—a tide in which race-baiting and calls for violence are privileged—where once again the common enemy is the black male body legally empowered to threaten what some whites believe to be their property—the nation.

Please send abstracts of no more than 500 words to dsimmons@lovett.org by January 10, 2010. Those accepted will be notified by January 20, 2010.