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IDENTITIES IN THE MAKE: MIGRATION AND CULTURAL CHANGE IN THE TWENTY-FIRST
CENTURY (conference of the Spanish Association of Canadian Studies)
 November 17-18, 2006

Residencia La Cristalera - Universidad Autónoma de Madrid
Miraflores de la Sierra (Madrid)

Writing the Diaspora in Canadian Literature in English:

Coral Ann Howells (University of Reading, UK)
Pilar Somacarrera (Universidad Autónoma de Madrid)
pilar.somacarrera_at_uam.es

Abstract
Diaspora – the dispersal of people around the world – which is often forced
by major historical and political upheavals, carries along with it seeds
from the original land that help people on the move and their descendants to
root themselves in new places. Robin Cohen's Global Diasporas tentatively
describes diasporas as communities of people living together in one county
who "acknowledge that the `old country' – a notion often buried deep in
language, religion, custom or folklore – always has some claim on their
loyalty and emotions." A member's adherence to a diasporic community is
demonstrated by acceptance of an inescapable link with the past and a sense
of co-ethnicity with others from a similar background. At the beginning of
the new millennium, the world looks to Canada, which has a wide variety of
diasporic communities that trace connections to locations such as Africa,
South Asia, the Caribbean or Eastern Europe. This panel invites proposals
for 20-minute papers which address some of the following topics in texts by
Canadian writers of the diaspora writing in English: the experience of
displacement; the idea of "home"; problems of acculturation: hybrid
identities; the gaps between generations; the tensions between individuals
and their communities; the link between past and present; aspects of gender,
race, class, religion and power; ghettoization and alienation; globalization
and diasporic communities. These factors and others which the participants
may suggest make diaspora spaces in English Canadian literature dynamic and
shifting, open to repeated construction, deconstruction and reconstruction.
Theoretical approaches which address the terms "diaspora," "immigrant," and
"postcolonial" in relation to English Canadian literature are also invited.

CALL FOR PAPERS:

1. All paper proposals will be electronically submitted to the chair
person(s) of the chosen Theme Panel with a copy to the Organizing Committee
of the Conference (congreso_at_estudioscanadienses.org)
2. The evaluation of the paper proposals and the communication with their
authors will be carried by the chairperson(s) of each Theme Panel.
3. The deadline for submitting paper proposals is 15th May 2006. After that
date, the chairpersons will send the Organizing Committee a list of the
papers accepted to their Panels.
4. Each paper proposal should include the following items: a) name, academic
institution and e-mail of the paper author; b) Title and abstract of the
paper (500 words max.)
5 Every Theme Panel, in order to be maintained, must include at least three
papers. Each speaker will have 20 minutes for presentation
6. After receiving the final list of papers, the Organizing Committee is
allowed to propose the aggregation of Panels according to their thematic
affinity for academic or organizational reasons

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Received on Sat Feb 18 2006 - 09:59:45 EST