This CFP is for the MMLA Permanent Section on Travel Writing/Writing Travel.

Some people think of traveling well as something akin to a science: they focus on concrete packing lists, meticulous itineraries, and other quantifiable preparations that are presumed to guarantee a perfect trip. Others think of ideal travel as an art: they prefer the unexpected and the uncontrolled, and they choose to value the less tangible qualities of attitude and experience. This panel welcomes papers that engage with travel as/for/through art and/or science. Papers might take up topics as diverse as travel to collect art objects, artists as travelers, the art(s) of travel, scientific and exploratory travels, the science(s) of travel, travel and scientific technologies, and/or any of the ways that these topics intersect.

Papers from any historical or literary periods are welcome. Proposals (300 words + a brief CV) should be addressed to Andrea Kaston Tange (akastont@emich.edu) by April 5, 2015. Queries welcome.

The MMLA conference will take place in Columbus, OH from November 12-15, 2015. For more information about the conference as a whole, see here: http://www.luc.edu/mmla/convention/