cfp.english.upenn.edu

An international conference on War, Literature & the Arts at the United States Air Force Academy solicits both disciplinary and interdisciplinary presentations on “Representing and Reporting America’s Wars: 1990 to Present.” The conference seeks a variety of genre submissions, both critical and creative, including literary criticism, journalism, rhetorical analysis, cultural studies, theory, fiction, non-fiction, poetry, film studies, photography, painting, and music.

Keynote Presenters:

Mark Boal - Screenwriter/Producer; The Hurt Locker, In the Valley of Elah

Brian Turner - Poet; Here, Bullet; His honors include a Lannan Literary Fellowship and NEA Literature Fellowship in Poetry, and the Amy Lowell Poetry Travelling Scholarship.

Benjamin Busch - Actor/Photographer; The Wire, The Art of War, Generation Kill

As an international forum on recent warfare, the conference is designed to bring together a multitude of perspectives, critical approaches, and discourse communities on the topics of warfare and its representations in Kuwait, Balkans, Somalia, Afghanistan, Iraq, and other conflict zones with direct, large-scale U.S. involvement. We encourage submissions that illuminate, challenge, deconstruct, engage with, or create not simply the ‘official’ representations of America’s wars, but the sub-cultures that merit a more nuanced or sophisticated intellectual exploration.

Abstracts, 250 words maximum, should include name, e-mail, mailing address, affiliation, genre, requirements for audiovisual support, computers, or other technical requirements. Panel submissions welcome. Send abstracts to 2010wla@gmail.com. Submission window: 15 November, 2009 – 1 March, 2010.

For more information please visit our website at http://wlajournal.com/conference