ecocriticism and environmental studies

Utopia on the Tabletop: CfS

“Quite the contrary, Skepticus. I believe that Utopia is intelligible, and I believe that game playing is what makes Utopia intelligible.”

— Bernard Suits, The Grasshopper: Games, Play, and Utopia

We invite abstracts of 200-500 words on the theme of utopia and tabletop roleplaying games (TTRPGs). Please also include either a 50-300 word bio, or a CV, or a link to your website. Send abstracts to j.c.walton@sussex.ac.uk by 1 February 2021 with “Submission” in the subject line. Chapters of 5,000-8,000 words will be due 1 September 2021.

THE MINEASTRY OF POSTCOLLAPSE ART AND CULTURE: CONTEMPORARY ARTISTS AND CULTURAL WORKERS NETWORKED FOR RESILIENCE BEYOND THE ANTHROPOCENE (VIRTUAL PANEL)

The MLA has recently opened slots for additional “just-in-time” sessions for this year’s convention (to be held virtually from January 7-10, 2021). The session organizers invite abstracts for 15-minute presentations exploring the work of William Wordsworth in light of this year’s convention theme of ‘persistence.’

CALL FOR PAPERS

New Literaria Journal, in collaboration with the Department of English, Assam University(A Central University), India invites papers for its International e-Conference on ‘Re-thinking the Postcolonial: Texts and Contexts’ to be held on 25th, 26th and 27th September, 2020.

CONCEPT NOTE

While it may be too soon to assess the long-lasting impact that the Covid19 pandemic will have on our societies and ways of life in the future, it is timely to consider how the collective experience of emergency and crisis tends to prompt reflections and critique —sometimes renewed, though not always— on the ways in which we live, as well as tending to inspire new conceptualizations and directions in thought, behavior, policy, and the arts.

Laura Pavón (Graduate Center, CUNY)

Matteo Cantarello (William & Mary) 

https://www.mdpi.com/journal/humanities/special_issues/food_cultures

Dear Colleagues,

Launched as part of a larger initiative, 'Who is Afraid of the Humanities' is an academic podcast which discusses the passing scene of research and teaching in the Arts and Humanities in different parts of the world. 

In each episode of this podcast, the host interviews students, researchers, academics, activists, and enthusiasts in the field of Arts and Humanities and attempts to highlight the role of Humanities in addressing important and pressing challenges through research, teaching and other academic/activist engagements. 

Subject: Call for Papers: Native American Literature at CEA 2021

Call for Papers, Native American Literature at CEA 2021

April 8-10, 2021 | Birmingham, Alabama

Sheraton Hotel, Birmingham | 2101 Richard Arrington Jr Blvd N, Birmingham, AL 35203

The College English Association, a gathering of scholar-teachers in English studies, welcomes proposals for presentations on [special topic title] for our 52nd annual conference. Submit your proposal at www.cea-web.org

Medieval animal studies has tended to privilege literary and encyclopedic texts, viewing animals within Aristotelian hierarchies of rationality, while research on animals in medieval medicine has focused on their use as ingredients, rather than their potential status as patients. There have been few discussions of animals and humans in relationships of care, or of animals as the recipients of medical treatment. In this panel, we seek to expand these conversations by centering veterinary medicine, including treatment manuals (e.g., hawking handbooks), literary representations of veterinary practices (e.g., romance heroes caring for horses), and other genres that concern the (un)ethical, (il)legal, or (im)proper treatment, training, or keeping of animals.

Climate change is an important issue that has become a frequent topic in twentieth as well as twenty-first century literature and film. From science fiction of the past to the present-day speculative fiction, this roundtable presents an opportunity to provide and study examples both past and present regarding climate change issues in literature and film. Dystopias written by international writers reflect the world-wide concern regarding climate change. For example, novelists such as British-born Maggie Gee’s The Flood or French-born Pierre Boulle’s La Planète des singes[The Planet of the Apes] speculate on the possibility of climate changes causing devastating destruction.

While it is considered dubious to anthropomorphize animals to learn about them, learning with animals asks scholars to consider both animal and human ways of being and knowing, as well as where those epistemologies might overlap or diverge. Attempting to learn with animals requires consideration of the value of anthropomorphization. Drawing on the burgeoning field of animal studies, we invite literary scholars to consider how literature imagines animals and their ways of being and knowing—whether alternate or familiar.

Studies in Travel Writing special issue:

‘Vertical Travel: Deceleration, Microspection, Confinement’

Guest edited by Charles Forsdick (University of Liverpool), Zoe Kinsley (Liverpool Hope University) and Kate Walchester (Liverpool John Moores University)

Come Rain or Rhyme: Weather in Medieval Literature

International Medieval Congress 2021

(July 5-8, 2021)

University of Leeds