EXTENDED DEADLINE: Proposals accepted through Wednesday, January 17, 2007

The Department of English, Saint Olaf College, Northfield, Minnesota,
will host a conference on "Literatures in English," June 6-9, 2007. We
invite proposals for papers, panels, discussion sessions and other
formats through which the conference topic might be addressed.

What is the effect of re-conceptualizing an English major as a Major in
Literatures in English? What are the consequences upon courses drawn
from, and curricula based upon, traditionally discrete national
literatures, primarily British and American? What new kinds of courses
are made possible by such a re-configuration? What happens to students
and their understanding of English in this model? To what extent does
the global rise of literatures in English compel us to rethink the
notion, direction and integrity of the received literary canon?

These and other questions pertaining to theory, themes, curriculum and
pedagogy, will be the focus of the conference. For full details of the
conference, including speakers (Gaurav Desai; Chitra Divakaruni; and
Kendel Hippolyte), topics, presentation formats, and instructions for
the submission of proposals, see the conference website at:

http://www.stolaf.edu/events/litengconf/

In addition to submissions bearing on any of the conference themes, we
are at this stage particularly interested in proposals addressing the
following topics:

* Curriculum Construction: What should be included in an undergraduate
English major whose shaping conception, whose chronological conclusion,
are global literatures in English? What is involved in moving from a
major based on the historical canons of British and American literatures
to one opened up to global literatures in English?

* Pre-20th Century Literatures in English: What authors or texts in the
pre-20th Century canon pre-figure issues raised by global literatures in
English? How does an emphasis on global literatures in English enrich or
complicate received literary historical narratives and the reading of
particular writers and texts from earlier periods?

* American Literature and Global Literatures in English: Is there a
tension between these two rapidly expanding fields, the one pulling in,
the other pushing out? What is the proper balance in an undergraduate
English major between a more inclusive sense of national identity and an
increased global awareness?

* "Phones": What can we learn about global literatures in English from
comparison and contrast with other global literatures (such as
Francophone, Hispanophone, and Lusophone) based on dispersed European
languages?

For further information, beyond that found on the conference website,
please contact:
Jonathan E. Hill, Department of English, Saint Olaf College, Northfield,
MN 555057; 507-646-3448; hillj_at_stolaf.edu

         ==========================================================
              From the Literary Calls for Papers Mailing List
                        CFP_at_english.upenn.edu
                         Full Information at
                     http://cfp.english.upenn.edu
         or write Jennifer Higginbotham: higginbj_at_english.upenn.edu
         ==========================================================
Received on Sat Dec 09 2006 - 18:58:25 EST