Call for Papers: College English Association National Conference
39TH ANNUAL CONFERENCE | PASSAGES

St. Louis, Missouri

March 27-29, 2008

PASSAGES
Inspired by the St. Louis Gateway Arch, CEA pays tribute to St. Louis and
to the many pioneers who passed through its threshold, risking the world
they knew for nothing more (or less) than the promise of a new beginning.
Our theme for the 2008 conference is PASSAGES.

We could have chosen various terms to investigate this theme--travel,
sojourn, migration--but the word “passages” not only suggests the many
journeys we hope to explore in literature and film, but also signals the
importance of the transitional moment, when one must leap into the unknown
and face/embrace the change that follows. Of course, presenters need not
explore a work solely devoted to this theme. Papers focused on the image
itself would be welcome.

We invite papers on “Spiritual Passages -- Religion and Literature”
Religious texts embrace the term as a means to connect the real world with
the mystical world. Consider that the most common euphemism for death is
“passing,” as if life and death are separated by a dividing line that one
need only pass over. In many religious stories and folk tales, gods pass
among their creatures unaware, or even pass as one of them: Christ as a
man; Aphrodite as a shepherd girl; Zeus as a bull, a swan, a shower of
gold. Faiths that embrace reincarnation see the spirit passing through
different forms, different stages, before reaching her ultimate
destination. Papers exploring passages of the spirit, be they heaven-bound
or hell-bent, in print or celluloid, are welcome.

PROPOSALS
Proposals should be submitted via the online database at
http://english.ttu.edu/cea/conftool by November 1st, 2007.

When you submit your proposal via the online database, you may use a
pull-down menu to indicate your topic. Indicate at that pull-down menu that
your submission should be directed to me, Maryellen Potts, chair of the
Religion and Literature panels, email: mepotts_at_comcast.net.

To preserve time for discussion, CEA limits presentations to 15 minutes.

If you have no access to computers, please send hard copy proposals via US
mail by October 15th to:

Marina Favila
CEA Program Chair
English Department
James Madison University
MSC 1801
Harrisonburg, VA 22807

All presenters must become members of the College English Association by
January 1, 2008. For membership information, contact Joe Pestino at
jpestin5_at_naz.edu

For more information about CEA, the general conference theme, or other
special sessions, please consult the CEA web site http://www2.widener.edu/~cea/

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Received on Tue Sep 25 2007 - 14:55:31 EDT