cfp.english.upenn.edu

Deadline for submissions: August 30, 2010
SARGASSO, a Journal of Caribbean Literature, Language, and Culture published by the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras is accepting submissions for an upcoming issue entitled “Placing the Archipelago: Interconnections and Extensions.” We seek interdisciplinary scholarship, fiction and poetry that (re)considers, (re)addresses and/or (re)maps the roles of place in the archipelago through intra and/or extended comparative focus. Manuscripts are due by August 30, 2010, and should be sent to sargassoplace@gmail.com and sargasso@uprrp.edu. Contributors will be notified of the status of their submission by October 30, 2010.

How is an interconnected and extended Caribbean informed by place? Across varied disciplines and area studies, the work of scholars such as David Harvey, Arjun Appadurai, Peter Hulme and Michaeline Crichlow has framed place both as spatial/temporal location and as social construct influenced by modernity and the interplay of local and global forces. In dialogue with these varied approaches, this volume of Sargasso seeks to examine the ways that place is situated, imagined, constructed and/or defined through inter-relation and extension with sites beyond the traditionally delineated Caribbean archipelago. We encourage scholarly and creative work that examines comparative internal Caribbean dynamics and/or those of the extended Caribbean region, including the US South, Central and South America, West Africa, and other sites within the wider Atlantic region, or beyond. In counterpoint to island, nation-state, or locations distinguished by politicized boundaries, this issue seeks to im/explode regional delineations and read how “placing” the archipelago through intra-Caribbean and extended Caribbean focus may expose tensions, amalgamations, discords, and/or alliances. Socio-cultural, geographic, historical and contemporary perspectives are strongly encouraged.

Possible themes may include, but are not limited to:
Identity performance across borders, frontiers & margins
Challenges to migration, movement & relocation
Processes of creolization
Portability
Constructions of gender, desire & sexuality
Urban &/or rural, city&/or country aesthetics
(Re)Enactments of traditional, religious & consumer practices
Alternative solutions to trauma & violence
Linguistic affirmations & protests
Popular culture & media
Responses to environmental degradation, tourism &/or “green” living
Landscape as symbol &/or signifier

Essays should be 10-20 pages and double-spaced, in English, Spanish, French or any Caribbean language. Abstracts of 120 words or less should accompany essays. B & W photos, illustrations, and other graphics can be included. Book reviews of 1,000 words in length are also welcome. Essays and reviews should conform to the MLA style guide. Submissions must be digital in Word or Rich Text Format. Electronic submissions, inquiries, and questions should be directed to: sargassoplace@gmail.com. Please indicate "Sargasso Submission" in the subject line.
Sargasso is a peer-reviewed journal edited at the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras for more than 25 years. The journal features work on the languages, literatures, and cultures of the Caribbean and its multiple diasporas. For more information visit: http://humanidades.uprrp.edu/ingles/pubs/sargasso.htm.