L’Afrique est un continent aux expériences historiques et culturelles diversifiées, aux contextes politiques, économiques et sociaux variés. Ce continent incarne également des disparités culturelles, politiques et économiques, notamment en matière de développement humain et d’égalités de genre. Dans la majorité des pays africains, il est possible de tracer les grandes lignes d’un état des lieux du genre dans sa complexité et ses contradictions.

This panel seeks to explore and shed light to the multiplicity of voices and accounts that surround issues of memory and exile in Spain in relationship to the Spanish Civil War and its impacts as a reflection of unresolved issues that are portrayed in recent contemporary fiction. The goal is to foster an interdisciplinary discussion about how memory, and exile, that in many cases are intertwined in these narratives, deepen our understanding of how the female experience is portrayed. The intention of giving agency to the unheard women voices and those marginalized by normative discourses is prevalent in these counter discourses that, frequently, have an autobiographical component. 

In Plant-Thinking: A Philosophy of Vegetal Life (2013), Michael Marder posits that plants “are agents in the production of meaning” (35), echoing Jane Bennett’s claim that “the concept of agency [is enlarged] once nonhuman things are figured . . . as actors . . . [and] affective bodies forming assemblages” (Vibrant Matters 21-24).

We invite proposals for 20-minute papers on any aspect of affective expression in medieval mystical and devotional texts. These papers will compose a series of panels to run at the International Medieval Congress, University of Leeds, July 7-10, 2025.

Potential themes could include – but are not limited to – the following:

• Experiencing divine grace/consolation

• Longing for God

• Compassionating Christ’s Passion

• Mystical ecstasies and affective transports

• External perceptions of mystics’ emotionality

Although some of the most iconic British fictional detectives—Marple, Poirot, and Holmes—are old-age pensioners, the 21st century is witnessing a proliferation of aging detectives in fiction, television, and film. Among recent novels are Jesse Q. Sutanto’s Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers (2023), Richard Osman’s The Thursday Murder Club series (2021-), and Robert Thorogood’s The Marlow Murder Club series (2021-), but it is a growing trend that cannot be accounted for simply by demographics.

The next Northeast Modern Language Association (NeMLA) Convention will be held in Philadelphia, PA, from March 6-9, 2025. The roundtable "Storytelling in and about the Humanities: (R)evolving Disciplinary Discourses" is seeking abstracts (200-300 words) consistent with the conference theme of (R)EVOLUTION:

The Societas Ovidiana welcomes proposals for a virtual panel to be held at the International Congress on Medieval Studies (ICMS) on May 8-10, 2025.

Given the global turn in medieval studies, it is important to reconsider the place of ancient authors beyond the sphere of European reception.

This panel invites global perspectives on the medieval reception of Ovid.

Proposals might consider, but are not limited to the topics of:

SEL Studies in English Literature 1500–1900 Themed Issue (64.1, Winter 2026):
“Reproduction without Bodies, Bodies without Reproduction”

CALL FOR PAPERSRoundtable: “Slowly Engaging with the Indigenous Turn” (in person)
60th International Congress on Medieval StudiesKalamazoo, MichiganMay 9-10, 2025  In 2020, Bitterroot Salish scholar Tarren Andrews, in discussing the recent Indigenous turn in medieval studies, asks medievalists to “slow down” their engagement with Indigenous studies, “to be more deliberate, to be thoughtful, and to consider first the ethics of kinship and reciprocity that we owe Indigenous peoples, places, and communities who have labored to craft Indigenous studies as an academic field” (2).

CALL FOR PAPERSPanel: “Red Reading the Premodern” (hybrid)
60th International Congress on Medieval StudiesKalamazoo, MichiganMay 9-10, 2025 This panel takes up Cherokee scholar Scott Andrews’ 2018 challenge to interpret (non-Indigenous) literature from Indigenous perspectives, an approach that he labels a 'Red Reading,’ and extends it to premodern texts. Red Reading allows us to reconsider premodern texts, divorcing them from engrained approaches towards a plurality of perspectives.

Violence in elections is a critical issue that threatens the very fabric of democracy. To address this challenge, we are compiling a comprehensive book titled "Democratic Harmony: Techniques for Eliminating Violence in Elections." This book aims to explore various strategies, approaches, and techniques that can promote peaceful and harmonious elections, ultimately leading to stronger democracies.

We invite researchers, scholars, practitioners, and experts in the field to contribute chapters to this important publication. The book will serve as a valuable resource for policymakers, electoral stakeholders, academics, and anyone interested in fostering democratic harmony and ensuring violence-free elections.

Sub-Themes

Genre and Video Games - Science Fiction

We are seeking short chapters of approximately 2500-2700 words for an edited collection on literary genres in video games. We invite submissions for the “science fiction” category of the collection.  

Genre and Video Games - Fantasy

We are seeking short chapters of approximately 2500-2700 words for an edited collection on literary genres in video games. We invite submissions for the “fantasy” category of the collection.  

Genre and Video Games - Gothic and Horror

We are seeking short chapters of approximately 2500-2700 words for an edited collection on literary genres in video games. We invite submissions for the “Gothic and Horror Fiction” category of the collection.