Please feel free to forward this call to anybody who might potentially
be interested in our conference.

Thank you.

Waterloo Centre for German Studies

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

*Call for Expressions of Interest and Proposals*

/*Diaspora Experiences: German-Speaking Immigrants and their Descendants*/

*Waterloo Centre for German Studies*

*University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada*

*24-27 August 2006*

The Waterloo Centre for German Studies at the University of Waterloo
invites expressions of interest and, subsequently, proposals for papers
of thirty minutes length to be given in English (preferred) or German at
an international interdisciplinary conference on the diaspora
experiences of German-speaking immigrants and their descendants.

The Kitchener-Waterloo region, home to the Waterloo Centre for German
Studies and University of Waterloo, is Canada's most prominent area of
German settlement.

The conference will explore commonalities and differences experienced by
German-speaking immigrants and their descendants when living in
geographical and linguistic settings other than those of their own
ethnic origin. These can include individuals and groups in all
continents of the world. Sessions will be planned with a focus on
history, linguistics, literature and film. Topics within these may
include, among others:

    *

      acculturation strategies of German-speaking people (assimilation,
      integration, separation);

    *

      bilingualism, loss and maintenance of the German language among
      immigrants and their descendants;

    *

      emigration/immigration history;

    *

      emigration/immigration of German-speaking people as a subject of
      literature and film;

    *

      gender issues;

    *

      impact of WW I, WW II and the experience of Germany under National
      Socialist rule on German-speaking people in the diaspora;

    *

      interactions between German-speaking immigrants and their
      descendants, with others in their adopted countries, and among
      members of different waves of German-speaking immigrants;

    *

      relations between the German language and identity development.

Potential participants are invited to address these issues within
specific geographical contexts and/or as part of international and
cross-cultural comparisons.

To be considered, please send an initial brief (a sentence or two)
expression of interest, with your rough topic by September 30, 2005.
This will assist us in planning and budgeting. Follow this with a
proposal of up to five hundred words without your name, and on separate
sheets your name, address, professional affiliation and brief curriculum
vitae. You may submit by e-mail attachment (preferred), fax or mail, to
arrive in the organizers' hands not later than November 30, 2005. We
will acknowledge receipt of expressions of interest and proposals
quickly and inform you of the result by February 28, 2006. All proposals
will be assessed anonymously by an international panel of expert
scholars in the respective fields. Presenters will be required to submit
the full text of their presentation to the conference committee by July
15, 2006. These will be posted on the conference website and be made
available to conference registrants through the use of a password.
Subsequently, selected papers will be included in the published
conference volume. These contributions will need to fit the thematic
framework described by the volume's editor. The volume will be in
English. Contributions written in German and accepted will be translated
in co-operation with their authors.

All presenters will receive travel subsidies and will be expected to
attend and participate actively in the full conference. The conference
program is planned to include three keynote speakers of international
reputation in the field and will offer opportunities to become
acquainted with the region of Waterloo. It will be open to the public.

Reply to:

Diaspora Experiences Conference Committee

Waterloo Centre for German Studies

University of Waterloo

200 University Ave. West

Waterloo ON N2L 3G1

Canada

E-mail: _wcgs_at_uwaterloo.ca <mailto:wcgs_at_uwaterloo.ca>_

Fax: 519 746 5243

Phone: 519 888 4567, ext. 7547

www.wcgs.ca

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Received on Tue Jun 28 2005 - 12:44:46 EDT