cfp.english.upenn.edu

The rise of the ecologically-oriented approaches in German-language literatures and scholarship calls for a new look at some traditional literary topics and representations in connection with the relationship of man and his natural environment. This panel seeks to (re) evaluate the literary representation of animals and related images in the light of eco-criticism. We invite abstracts for papers exploring the image of animals in the works of German-language authors of any period. Possible topic areas include, but are not limited to, animal studies, animality studies, cultural studies, ethics and animal rights, and animal-related postcolonial and modernist discourses. The overarching questions for the panel discussion are: How does the literary representation of animals fit into the ecological discourse? Is there a particular “ecological” way to look at animals and the relationship between man and animal? If so, what are its features and patterns? How can literary studies and other areas of inquiry benefit from an ecologically-oriented analysis of literary representation of animals?
Both theoretical approaches to the topic and case-study analyses based on the interpretative reading of literary works and are welcome.

Abstracts of 250-300 words may be submitted electronically as MS Word or PDF attachments by July 10 to: Alexander E. Pichugin, pichugin@sas.upenn.edu
This is a guaranteed session. Selected papers will be presented at the SAMLA Convention, November 9–11, 2012, in Durham, NC. All submissions will be considered for a proposed anthology.