CALL FOR PAPERS

"Literary Odysseys"
Comparative Literature Graduate Student Conference: February 23 and 24, 2007
Website: Colorado.edu/comparativeliterature/literaryodysseys

Plenary Speakers:
Daniel Schwarz (Cornell University)
Helmut Müller-Sievers (Northwestern University)

CALL FOR PAPERS

The graduate students of the University of Colorado at Boulder's Department of
Comparative Literature and Humanities invite paper proposals on the topic of
"Literary Odysseys."

This conference will investigate various ways of thinking about the theme and
figure of the journey. The journey has been and continues to be a thematic
cornerstone in every age and in every literature, from epic to lyric, from
Biblical exegesis to deconstruction, from poiesis to pop art. The journey can
be located at the center of Comparative Literature, insofar as the field
defines itself by its rejection of traditional borders, whether they be
national, linguistic, temporal, or disciplinary. This motif offers ways to
transgress these many boundaries, to cross these many thresholds. In all of its
literal and figurative senses, the journey helps us to identify and address the
diverse complexities challenging us in our reading, research, and writing.
Please join us for an exploration of this compelling subject, and an inquiry
into how it illuminates the discourses of comparative studies.

Graduate students are invited to submit abstracts relating to one of the
following panel subjects. If more than one subject seems interesting, you may
send multiple abstracts, but we will, however, accept only one paper per
student. Please be aware that if your paper is accepted, we might not be able
(because of organizational issues) to place it on the panel you requested. A
prize will be awarded for best essay.

-- Allegorical journeys in the classical epic
-- Metapherein and the traversal of tropes
-- Nostalgia and the voyage home
-- Literal and figurative wanderings in the literature of exile
-- Travel journals and their depictions of the foreign and domestic
-- Travel and the widening of perspectives
-- The (trans)formative journey
-- Crossing into unknown realms: Textualizing the unconscious
-- The passage from one language to another
-- Gender journeys
-- Theorizing the journey and the journey of theory
-- A veritable inquiry: Literature and the quest for truth
-- Paths toward revelation, apocalypse, telos
-- Aperture and closure
-- Cultures (and their art) over time
-- Life's journey and its depictions in film, visual arts, literature
-- The creative process and the rendering of artistic experience
-- Ambiguities and the liminal position
-- Movement in, through, and out of time
-- The transgressive journey
-- Declarations of artistic innovation
-- "Is our discipline still alive?" The path of Comparative Literature

Abstracts (and papers) should be in English. Presentations should be 20 minutes
and no longer. Email abstracts of 250 words to Odysseys_at_Colorado.edu. Please
include a Word attachment AND paste the abstract into the email, with the title
of the panel you are applying to as the email's subject. Both the abstract and
email should include the author's name, affiliation, full address and phone
number, proposed title of each paper, and the titles of each panel to which the
student is applying (i.e. if sending two abstracts, clearly indicate to which
panel each one relates). Also, please indicate if you will require
technological support during your presentation.

Visit our website at www.Colorado.edu/comparativeliterature/literaryodysseys

Submission Deadline: November 1, 2006

Send abstracts to Odysseys_at_Colorado.edu

We look forward to seeing you next spring. In addition to the conference panels
and plenary speeches by two distinguished scholars, participants are invited to
a welcoming breakfast on Friday morning, a cocktail reception with free
appetizers in downtown Boulder on Friday night, and a final reception on
Saturday evening. Between papers and events, you will also have a chance to
enjoy all that Boulder has to offer. Located at the foot of the Flatiron
Mountain Range, and home to gorgeous hiking trails and bike paths, as well as
great restaurants, bars, and cafes, Boulder is a cultural center in the midst
of a sublime natural setting.

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Received on Sat May 20 2006 - 10:08:49 EDT