Annual Convention of the Midwest Modern Language Association,
November 9-12, 2006 in Chicago, Illinois.

Proposed Special Session — Ludic Literature: Serious Play in the 20th
and 21st Centuries

What is at stake when writers play literary games? This proposed
special session for the 2006 MMLA convention will investigate why
certain literary works of the last century can be characterized as
playful. Does this designation point to the context of their
production, their innovative explorations of form, their spectacular
manipulations of language, or their appeal to the reader's
involvement? If a text is characterized as frivolous or trivial,
what, are the ethical implications of this judgment? Although play
risks marginalization, what allows us to distinguish between the
serious and its supposed opposites? Is work involved in creative
play? We will also consider how the boundaries between the serious
and the unserious shift during the century.

Please send 250-word abstracts to either Alison James
(asj_at_uchicago.edu) or Kelly Austin (austink_at_uchicago.edu). Deadline
for submission: April 15, 2006.

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Received on Sat Mar 18 2006 - 13:37:43 EST