CFP: "Travel Accounts in Arabic Literature: New Perspectives and New Findings" (MESA, Nov. 22-25, 2014 - WA, DC)

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MESA - Middle East Studies Association
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Call for Papers

Pre-organized MESA panel

"Travel Accounts in Arabic Literature: New Perspectives and New Findings"

Middle East Association Studies Annual Conference,

November 22-25, 2014 - Washington, DC

Hello to all,

I am seeking papers to complete a pre-organized panel on travel literature, and you are invited to submit a paper proposal for the MESA panel entitled " Travel Accounts in Arabic Literature: New Perspectives and New Findings."

Short description:

Middle Eastern travellers have a rich history in writing about their interactions with other cultures. The authors, many of whom were Arabs, documented their encounters using various genres and forms, such as travel accounts, memoirs, and autobiographical histories.

This panel seeks papers that will shed new light on those texts, especially on papers that examine:
• New archival findings.
• Examination of less known travel accounts.
• The circumstances of disseminating (copying, circulating or publishing) travel accounts.
• The implications of patronage and authors' agency.

While the focus of this panel is on Middle Easterners who wrote in Arabic, papers that examine texts written in other languages (e.g. Arab-Ottoman, Arab-Persian, Judeo-Arabic, Aljamiado, etc) are welcome. Comparative papers are also welcome.

Please note that there is already a proposal that examines the publication of Rifa'a al-Tahtawi's *Takhlis al-Ibriz.*

Depending on the response to this call, the panel can consist of one or two sessions, respectively.

Your paper proposal should consist of the following information:

1. First and last name.
2. School/Academic Affiliation.
3. E-mail Address.
4. Phone.
5. Title of proposed paper.
6. Paper proposal/abstract: the abstract is between 250-400 words (maximum is 400 words).

Please e-mail your details and abstract by Friday Jan 31, 2014 to:

Suha Kudsieh [kudsieh@gmail.com].

The panel committee will evaluate the submitted abstracts and respond at the end of the first week of February.

IMPORTANT: All presenters need to be members of MESA by the time they submit their proposals and abstracts. Membership information can be obtained from the MESA website: http://mesa.wns.ccit.arizona.edu/

I look forward to receiving your proposal.

With many thanks in advance.

Regards,

Suha Kudsieh