Networks, broadly defined, share tasks and information between nodes through a unique spatial constellation which allows them to distribute power evenly and, in the process, eliminates the need for a concentrated source of directives. For this reason, they have been looked at within various disciplinary communities as harbingers of negative and positive possibilities in the 21st Century. What are networks capable of, and how does literature address the significance of networks, both locally and globally? Are authors working to alter, exploit, or combat modes of power through their portrayal of various networks? This standing session invites papers from all fields, but has a particular interest in papers that address the local and global.

For centuries Italy and East Asia have been at the center of numerous economic, political, and cultural exchanges. Studies have mostly focused on the relationship between Italy and China. As Zhang (2018) points out, in the last decade this topic has piqued the interest of a number of scholars on Italy-China issues. In addition to the special issues of the Journal of Modern Italian Studies (2010) and in the Journal of Italian Cinema and Media Studies (2014), books have been published on Italian-Chinese relations such as Marinelli and Andornino (2013) and Chinese migration to Italy (Pedone 2013).

Although Utopia literally means no-place, in some utopias the location definitely has some cultural significance. If utopia is in the sun or under the earth, it is probably not the case. Thomas More put his Utopia in the South Atlantic, but the imaginary geography of the island does not seem to have any importance for social construction. More’s Utopia does not seem to have anything South American. However, the geographical and temporal orientation of Chinese and European utopias seem to be different in many aspects, which carry a politico-cultural significance. The special issue of World Literature Studies will explore two questions about the location of utopias:

This roundtable at NeMLA (Northeast MLA, Philadelphia 2021) will explore humanities courses that incorporate service learning as a way to respond to climate change. Given the exigency of global warming and the stress it places on our local communities, it becomes increasingly vital to leverage the humanities through focused civic engagement.

Discourse and Rhetoric amid COVID 19 Pandemic:

Dis/Articulating The ‘New Normal’

Journal Chief Editor: Ivanka Mavrodieva

Guest Editors: Andrea Valente and Paola Giorgis

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World literature in its contemporary formation is often traced back to the catastrophe of World War II and the large number of European academics whose displacement was produced in its wake. Though the Euro-centric post-War vision of world literature has been gradually overcome with the introduction of East Asian, South Asian, and Middle Eastern (and, more rarely, Latin American and African) texts to syllabi and graduate programs, much of the pedagogy of world literature is still organized by national traditions and historical epochs defined by empires and states. Like the return of the repressed in Freud's famous formulation of the Unheimlich (lit.

Call for Papers: Interconnections / Interconnexions

UPDATE: Extended Deadline
CfP: Podcasting’s Listening Publics
Participations: Journal of Audience and Reception Studies

Co-editors: Dario Llinares (Brighton), Alyn Euritt (Leipzig), Anne Korfmacher (Köln)

“Listening is essential to the engagement with most of our media, albeit that the act of listening which is embedded in the word ‘audience’ is rarely acknowledged. It is a no less curious absence in theories of the public sphere, where the objective of political agency is often characterized as being to find a voice - which surely implies finding a public that will listen, and that has a will to listen” (Lacey viii).

Edited Book on

Re-centering Cultural Performance and Creative Practice in Post-colonial Africa

Diplomacy, Soft Power, and Sustainability

CALL FOR PAPERS

Call for Papers on Monsters & the Monstrous (Open-Topic)

The Northeast Alliance for Scholarship on the Fantastic and the Monsters & the Monstrous Area invite paper proposals for the 2020 conference of the Northeast Popular Culture/American Culture Association (NEPCA) to convene at Southern New Hampshire University in Manchester, New Hampshire, from Friday, 23 October, to Saturday, October 24.

The revised deadline for proposals is June 30, 2020.

Please note: This year’s conference will be entirely virtual.

Monsters & the Monstrous Area:

Guest Editor: Robyn Dudic

In a society gradually turning to more inclusiveness and tolerance, this special issue of gender forum is dedicated to highlight the relevance and importance of Gender and Queer Studies with regard to contemporary academic literature.

Reminder – Call for chapters:

Call Me by Your Name edited collection

Editors: Edward Lamberti and Michael Williams

We hope everyone is staying safe and well during these difficult times.

Call for Papers for a proposed edited collection tentatively titled “Idols: Pop Culture Icons as Brand Ambassadors for Fashion and Cosmetics in China” to be edited by Amanda Sikarskie, Ph.D., University of Michigan.

In China, popular culture idols are vital to the luxury fashion and cosmetics industry as brand ambassadors. This volume hopes to fill a critical gap in the English-language literature on this subject, bringing together authors from China, the United States, and around the world.

Edited Collection—Reimagining Ernest J. Gaines for the 21st Century