ecocriticism and environmental studies

According to mythographer Lewis Spence a myth explains "our relation to the universe, the environment or a social programme". In the Irish context, this definition of myth helps to understand the interrelationship between the retrieval of the Irish mythological lore and the construction of communal identity that characterised twentieth century Irish history, literature and socio-political reality. Spence's broad definition of myth, though initially referring to gods or supernatural beings, can easily be adapted to explain the construction of contemporary myths.

CFP:
On the Aesthetic Legacy of Ishmael Reed:
Contemporary Reassessments

Under this working title, Paul Tayyar (Golden West, California) and Sämi Ludwig (UHA Mulhouse, France) want to collect the views of young scholars and artists who represent yet another generation cherishing Ishmael Reed's work. After a furious start in the 1960s, Reed found a place in the contemporary African-American canon in the 1970s when some major criticism appeared on his writing. In the 1980s interest in him slackened--although we know that many young scholars in particular love his stories, his poems, and his essays.

---------------------------------------------------------

Call for papers

Third International and Interdisciplinary Conference on Emotional Geographies, April 6-8, 2010

---------------------------------------------------------

The Third International and Interdisciplinary Conference on Emotional Geographies will be held at The University of South Australia in Adelaide April 6-8, 2010. Hosted by the Hawke Research Institute and the Bob Hawke Prime Ministerial Centre.

Deadline extended to July 14.

Call for Papers
Early Modern Culture, 1450-1850

The Sixteenth Annual Meeting of the Group for Early Modern Cultural Studies (GEMCS)

"Tracing Footprints"

October 22-25, 2009
Dallas, Texas

GEMCS was formed in 1993 to promote the study of literature, history, art history, and material culture from the Renaissance to the mid-nineteenth century across disciplinary, geographic, and cultural boundaries.

This year's theme, "Tracing Footprints," is intended to be suggestive rather than prescriptive. As always, GEMCS welcomes panels and proposals on all aspects of culture between 1450 and 1850.

The Jack London Society is sponsoring a panel at this year's American Literature Association Symposium on American Fiction 1890-Present, October 8-10, 2009. The conference is taking place at the De Soto Hilton in Savannah, Georgia. Proposals of no more than 200 words are invited for 20-minute papers on any aspect of Jack London's fiction. Please send your proposals by email to kbrandt@scad.edu. Proposals are due by July 12, 2009.

For more information on the Symposium visit the ALA website at: http://www.calstatela.edu/academic/english/ala2/

Saving the Planet: Saving our Souls
Essays on Faith & Ecology

Submissions due September 1st

Submissions are now open for an anthology of essays exploring the sometimes strained, often misunderstood relationship between ecology and spirituality. Essays should address some aspect of ecological awareness within a faith community and can consider themes of: sacramentalism, sustainability, dietary habits, prayer, meditation, activism, ecumentalism, new monasticism, literature and ecocriticism, human interaction with the natural world and others.

Call for Papers

Early Modern Culture, 1450-1850

The Sixteenth Annual Meeting of the Group for Early Modern Cultural Studies (GEMCS)

"Tracing Footprints"

October 22-25, 2009

Dallas, Texas

Deadline extended to July 14.

GEMCS was formed in 1993 to promote the study of literature, history, art history, and material culture from the Renaissance to the mid-nineteenth century across disciplinary, geographic, and cultural boundaries.

The animals of the world exist for their own reasons. They were not made for humans any more than black people were made for white, or women created for men. –Alice Walker

While we ourselves are the living graves of murdered beasts, how can we expect any ideal conditions on this earth? –George Bernard Shaw

The Center of Interdisciplinary Research in Languages, Arts and Humanities (CRILLASH) of the Université des Antilles et de la Guyane, welcomes proposals for papers for the 3rd Symposium of the Young Caribbean Researchers to be held January 21-22, 2009 on the campus of Schoelcher in Martinique, French West Indies. The conference is a biennual event for the fostering of innovative research among academics, artists and writers who either belong to the Caribbean Diaspora or have dedicated an important part of their studies to the "Sixth Continent".

EXTENDED DEADLINE: June 30, 2009

Transcultural Memory
A conference jointly organized by the Department of English and Comparative Literature, Goldsmiths, University of London, and The Centre for the Study of Cultural Memory, Institute of Germanic & Romance Studies, University of London
This conference marks the inauguration of The Centre for the Study of Cultural Memory.
Date: 5-6th February, 2010.
Conference organizers: Lucy Bond, Rick Crownshaw and Jessica Rapson (Goldsmiths); Katia Pizzi and Ricarda Vidal (Institute of Germanic and Romance Studies).
Venue: Institute of Germanic and Romance Studies, University of London
Keynote speakers:
Astrid Erll (University of Wuppertal)
Andrew Hoskins (University of Warwick)

Looking for submissions for a collection of essays on teaching early Modern literature, and Shakespeare in particular, from an ecocritical perspective.

The volume encourages essays that show how teaching early modern texts ecocritically can be a matter of engaging in political struggle on behalf of the environment. Presentist approaches and essays that look at Shakespeare in different historical moments (including contemporary performances/films) are particularly welcome. Those who are ecocritics who happen to teach Shakespeare or other early modern texts, in addition to those who would describe themselves as Shakespeare or early modern scholars, are equally welcome to submit.

"Our Monsters, Ourselves"

This panel seeks papers on the historical significance and meaning of the monsters everywhere in our cultural moment. Following the line of thought that a society's supernatural monsters in many ways define them, "Our Monsters, Ourselves" hopes to open the discussion of the ways monsters in recent fiction and film represent the tacit panics, problems and pleasures of English-language, North American culture in 2010. Monsters are defined, for this panel, as those creatures presented as explicitly and literally "supernatural" or "artificial" by their authors.

A short list of dramatis personae might include vampires, ware-wolves, robots, ghosts, AI figures, witches and demons.

The Sidney Society will sponsor three open sessions on Philip Sidney and his Circle at the 45th International Congress on Medieval Studies Western Michigan University (Kalamazoo, Michigan). The conference website is here: http://www.wmich.edu/medieval/congress/

May 13-16, 2010

Abstracts are invited on any subject dealing with Philip Sidney and his circle. As ever, we encourage proposals from newcomers as well as established scholars.

Papers should be limited to twenty minutes in reading time. Please do not submit an abstract to two different sessions of the conference in the same year.