cfp.english.upenn.edu

Call for Papers

Teaching How We Read Now

44th Annual Convention, Northeast Modern Language Association (NeMLA)
March 21-24, 2013
Boston, Massachusetts
Host Institution: Tufts University

In the past decade, literary scholars have increasingly turned their readerly attention from symptoms to surfaces, even as a variety of innovative approaches--from book history and media studies to digital humanities and performance studies--have nudged literary studies beyond "close-reading." Such hermeneutical shifts invite us to rethink how we teach what we do, yet the teaching of "reading" practices has long been neglected even in the field of writing studies. Borrowing its title from Representations's 2009 special issue devoted to "How We Read Now," this roundtable aims to provide a forum for scholars in literary, cultural, and writing studies to consider the pedagogical implications and possibilities sparked by these new approaches to analysis and, more broadly, to explore the ways reading should (or does) figure into the teaching of writing. The roundtable format, which will consist of 7-8 minute presentations followed by discussion, will be particularly conducive to developing this conversation, as it will allow us to bring together an array of scholarly perspectives on this timely topic.

Possible topics for presentation/discussion include:

• What does analysis look like when we begin to move students away from decoding and towards "just reading"--or beyond books altogether? How can we best teach students to analyze "texts" in ways responsive to new developments in our field?
• What opportunities for rethinking reading and writing are prompted by the emergence of fields like the digital humanities, book history, eco-criticism, and animal studies, and how can we invite students to participate in these shifting discourses?
• How has your own recent research—in particular, new archives, new media, or new methodologies— enlivened or complicated your approach to teaching writing?
• What’s at stake for our teaching and our research when we make disciplinary practices visible and contestable to our students and ourselves?

Please submit 250-word abstracts and a brief scholarly bio (with NeMLA in the subject line) to J. Michelle Coghlan (jcoghlan [at] princeton.edu) and Andrea Scott (amstwo [at] princeton.edu) by September 4, 2012.

Please include in your submission:
Name and Affiliation
Email address
Postal address
Telephone number
A/V requirements (if any; $10 handling fee with registration)

The 2013 NeMLA convention continues the Association's tradition of sharing innovative scholarship in an engaging and generative location. The 44th annual event will be held in historic Boston, Massachusetts, a city known for its national and maritime history, academic facilities and collections, vibrant art, theatre, and food scenes, and blend of architecture. The Convention, located centrally near Boston Commons and the Theatre District at the Hyatt Regency, will include keynote and guest speakers, literary readings, film screenings, tours and workshops.

Interested participants may submit abstracts to more than one NeMLA session; however, panelists can only present one paper (panel or seminar). Convention participants may present a paper at a panel and also present at a creative session or participate in a roundtable. http://www.nemla.org/convention/2013/cfp.html