American Literature before 1865 Panel at PAMLA
This session welcomes papers that explore any aspect of American Literature before 1865, including American Renaissance, Colonial, and Puritan literature. While we are open to papers dealing with a variety of topics and authors during this time period, we are particularly interested in papers that engage with the special conference theme of "Acting, Roles, Stages." As such, papers dealing with issues such as acting as art and metaphor, theories of role play and theatricality, and conceptions of the world stage and the public audience in American Literature prior to 1865 are particularly welcome. If your paper does not tap into these specific themes but deals with literary topics relevant to this era, you are still more than welcome to submit a proposal. Possible topics could also include, but are not limited to: the role of acting and the theater in literature and/or drama prior to the Civil War; the influence of literary movements on performance and stagecraft techniques; performative identities and the staging of everyday life; social roles, role play, and societal expectations; individuals who use performance to elicit social change; and questions of truth/sincerity in light of performativity.
This panel is part of the 116th annual Pacific Ancient and Modern Language (PAMLA) conference which will be held in Bellingham, Washington from Friday, November 9th until Sunday, November 11th, 2018. To submit a proposal for this session, please go to https://www.pamla.org/2018/topic-areas and select "American Literature before 1865." Once you have created an account you will be able to use the online submission system to submit a proposal.
If you have any questions about this panel, feel free to email me: ebutlerp@vols.utk.edu
Best Wishes,
Emma Butler-Probst