cfp.english.upenn.edu

Inspired by Simon Ortiz’s “Towards a National Indian Literature: Cultural Authenticity in Nationalism” and Jace Weaver, Craig Womack, and Robert Allen Warrior’s American Indian Literary Nationalism, this collection will be a site for emerging as well as well-known ethnic critics and theorists to illustrate where they see their respective fields heading and construct perspectives outside of western ideologies. This collection will include 5 key areas: African American, Asian American, Latin American, Native American, and Arabic American literature and criticism. The first four areas represent the larger areas of ethnic studies in the academy today and will provide a necessary counter-point to the predominantly western (i.e. white) critical perspectives that populate much of the criticism available to scholars today. And given the rise in anti-Arab racism and attitudes in the popular media in the wake of 9/11, the final area will provide readers with a necessary rebuttal to a popular media that seeks to dehumanize and silence contemporary Arabic voices.

We invite article-length submissions in the following areas:

· The state of ethnic theory/theories--present and future
· Commentary on important moments/critics from the past
· Comparison of theory between ethnic literatures
· Application of theory to ethnic texts (literature, art, music, pop-culture, etc.)
· Application of ethnic theory to non-ethnic texts

Please send submissions and queries regarding specific categories to:

J. Stephen Pearson stpears11@gmail.com
(African American, Asian American, & Latin American)

Carrie Louise Sheffield carrielouisesheffield@gmail.com
(Native American, & Arabic American)

All submissions must be submitted in .docx or .rtf format by 1 September 2012.