A ghost, Avery Gordon writes, “has a real presence and demands its due, your attention” (2008, Ghostly Matters). To answer this demand, our seminar invites submissions that turn their attention to literary and artistic ghosts. After all, ghosts are profoundly literary figures; like poetics, they are defined by their repetitions and returns, and constantly referring to something else, though failing to fully represent it. However, ghosts are not any literary figures. They are haunting, and although they have a strong presence they come into life in place of something absent. Moreover, in their haunting presence, they are signalling “repressed or unresolved social violence” (Gordon, 2008).

Dear Scholars and Researchers

We are delighted to announce a Call for Book Chapters for an upcoming edited book titled “Creative Disruption: Impact of AI on English Language and Literature Studies.” This volume aims to explore the transformative influence of Artificial Intelligence (AI) on the study, interpretation, and teaching of English Language and literature Studies. We invite contributions from scholars, researchers, and educators who are interested in examining how AI is reshaping the literary landscape, from literary analysis and criticism to pedagogy and linguistic studies.

The Emerging Scholars Organization (ESO), an affiliate of the Society of the Study of Southern Literature, invites current students and/or beginning faculty to submit abstracts for an upcoming guaranteed panel on envisioning the future of the South for SAMLA 96 this November 15th-17th in Jacksonville, Florida. This year’s conference theme, “Seen and Unseen,” looks to parts of stories that are untold.

Infrastructures, both visible and invisible, are all around us and they permeate our lives in various ways. Larkin defines infrastructures as “built networks that facilitate the flow of goods, people, or ideas and allow for their exchange over space” (327). Though most commonly associated with its physical manifestations, the term infrastructurealso encompasses intangible elements that play a crucial role in society. Thus, infrastructures are not merely "limited to pipes, roads, and wires" but should, instead, be understood as “interdependent networks of materials, people, and nature that enable the functioning of modern life” (Lockrem 529).

After working in alternative or hybrid spaces throughout the pandemic, the return of educators and students to the “traditional” classroom has brought its own unique challenges and frustrations both for students and instructors. Learners who previously participated in fully remote classes are expected to integrate smoothly into synchronous in-person courses with little guidance or preparation. Instructors are offered little guidance in easing the transition for students and are often already stretched thin themselves. In light of these circumstances, educators must reevaluate what teaching methods and structures might best serve students and instructors in a technological and AI-driven era.

ESRA conference, Porto, July 9-12, 2025 (https://esra2025.com) 

Seminar 2: “To be or not to be”: Trauma, Crisis, and Shakespearean Fragments

Organizers: Richard Ashby, King’s College London, UK (richard.ashby@kcl.ac.uk), Natalia Khomenko, York University, Canada  (khomenko@yorku.ca), and Georgina Lucas, Edinburgh Napier University, UK (g.lucas@napier.ac.uk).

CALL FOR PAPERS
The 12th International Conference
Synergies in Communication (SiC 2024)
31 October- 1 November 2024
(hybrid format)

Teaching Medievalism

Deadline for Submissions: December 1

Session: February 28, 2:00 pm (Central)

See ACLA (American Comparative Literature Association) listing for submission portal: https://www.acla.org/literature-and-international-development. 

Paper proposals cannot be accepted via email.

ACLA conference will take place May 29–June 1, 2025, via Zoom.

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“Literature, whether handed down by word of mouth or in print, gives us a second handle on reality…What better preparation can a people desire as they begin their journey into the strange, revolutionary world of modernization?" (Chinua Achebe, “What Has Literature Got to Do With It?”)

Julia Kristeva’s landmark essay, Powers of Horror: An Essay on Abjection (1980), will have its 45th publication anniversary in 2025. In that time, its influence has been wide ranging, whether on women and gender studies broadly, on the fields of feminist, psychoanalytic, queer, horror/gothic, and disability theory, as well as on media studies. For this roundtable session we invite proposals that consider any aspect of the influence of Powers of Horror, past and present.

SCRC welcomes 15-20 minute papers on all aspects of Renaissance Studies for its international conference which will be held, for the first time, in coordination with the Saint Louis University 12th Annual Symposium on Medieval and Renaissance Studies June 9-11, 2025.

Submit 300 to 500 word abstracts on the SLU Symposium Site (accessible via the SCRC website, here: https://southcentralrenaissanceconference.org/scrc-2025-st-louis-univers...). Deadline December 31, 2024.

Nurturing Curious Minds: Approaches to Assessing and Enhancing Critical Thinking and Writing in Higher Education

13 – 14 June 2025

Nanyang Technological University, Singapore

https://blogs.ntu.edu.sg/cts2025/

We invite abstracts for a two-day symposium that aims to gather educators, researchers, and practitioners from all disciplines to share their experiences and contribute to the ongoing dialogue on improving the critical thinking skills of university students. 

Aside from panels, our symposium will feature two keynote speakers.

The Works of Amy Sherman-Palladino

Edited by Patricia Prieto-Blanco (Lancaster University, UK) and Cristina Pérez Ordóñez (Universidad de Málaga, Spain)

Book Series: Screen Storytelling, Bloomsbury. Series Editor: Anna Weinstein

 Textiles and the texture of ideas in early modern Europe (1589-1801): How the craft and its products interacted with philosophy, literature and the visual arts

Joint project: University of Naples L’Orientale - Université de Haute-Alsace, Mulhouse. Two joint conferences will be organized:

1. Conference 1: Textiles: The texture of ideas in early modern Europe (1589-1801). Designs, patterns, craftsmanship and the early modern imagination – Will be Held at Procida Island (University of Naples L’Orientale), 8-14 September 2025.

2. Conference 2: The circulation of textile designs, patterns, skills and representations in early modern Europe – Will be held at Université de Haute Alsace – Mulhouse, June 2026.