Department of English Language and Literature

Faculty of Philology

University of Montenegro

CALL FOR PAPERS

The XV International Conference on Anglo-American Literary Studies

“Home-Thoughts, from Abroad”

(from a poem by Robert Browning)

          “Home-Thoughts, from Abroad”is the topic for the next international conference on Anglo-American literary studies to be held in Cetinje, Montenegro, on June 27-28, 2019.

          The conference topic is taken from Robert Browning's poem of the same title. In this poem, the lyrical persona imagines what England, his/her home country, looks like in spring. Browning wrote the poem from his self-exile in Italy, when he, as many of his compatriots, early modernists and modernists, believed it to be morally imperative to interrogate the concept and the values of home, answering thus Heidegger’s concurrent fear that modernity is incapable of dwelling mostly due to alienation and technology. However, the momentousness of the topic comes through the global image of massive population shifts, on one, and the deterritorialization of home through digital media, on the other hand. Furthermore, as home is not only a particular physical space, but also a place in memory and a representational space, it has often been searched through cultural formations and rituals, individual names and bodies, and, thus, could be also found and founded in literature. Apart from this, the plurality of the title is meant to be an invitation to prospective attendees to explore various approaches and interpretations of this topic (not only literary, but also cultural, social, historical...), moving from the very broad to the more particular and circumscribed.

          We are pleased to announce that our confirmed keynote speakers are Professor Kryštof Kozák, head of the Department of North American Studies, Institute of International Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences, Charles University Prague, Czech Republic, and Shelly Oria, writer, New York, USA, author of New York 1, Tel Aviv 0 and the novella CLEAN, and editor of the upcoming anthology Imperfect Victims. She teaches at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, where she lives. American poet, composer, performer and Torah teacher Alicia Jo Rabins (Portland, USA), winner of the American Poetry Review/Honickman First Book Prize will talk about her poetry via skype.

          The venue of the conference will be the reading room of the National Library “Đurđe Crnojević.” The library is of a special historical interest and one of the most beautiful buildings in Montenegro.

            Abstracts of 300 words, including keywords, the author’s name, affiliation, and email, should be sent to Aleksandra Nikčević-Batrićević (alexmontenegro@t-com.me) or Marija Krivokapić (marija13a@gmail.com). The deadline for submissions is April 1, 2019.

          The conference fee is 80 euros payable upon registration. It includes conference material, the book of abstracts, refreshments, conference dinner and an excursion.

            Cetinje is a cultural capital of Montenegro, and is not far from the airports in Podgorica and Tivat (Montenegro), Tirana (Albania), and Dubrovnik (Croatia). It offers a variety of accommodation styles, from short term apartment rentals, bed & breakfasts, to hotels. 

          Should you have any questions about the event, please don’t hesitate to contact us.

For the Organizing Committee,

Dr. Marija Krivokapić

Dr. Aleksandra Nikčević-Batrićević

For the Academic Committee,

Dr. Janko Andrijašević, University of Montenegro

Dr. Mirjana Daničić, University of Belgrade, Serbia

Dr. Bojka Đukanović, University of Montenegro

Dr. Aleksandra V. Jovanović, University of Belgrade, Serbia

Dr. Marija Krivokapić, University of Montenegro

Dr. Aleksandra Nikčević-Batrićević, University of Montenegro

Dr. Biljana Oklopčić, University of Osijek, Croatia

Dr. Timoty Petete, University of Oklahoma, USA

Dr. Armela Panajoti, University of Vlore, Albania

Dr. Petar Penda, University of Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Dr. Thom Phillips, Bath Spa University, United Kingdom

Dr. Alan Riach, Glasgow University, United Kingdom

Dr. Sanja Runtić, University of Osijek, Croatia

Dr. Robert Sullivan, Retired Professor of Literary Studies and former Fubright Professor at Universities of Zagreb, Montenegro, and Mostar

Dr. Nina Sirković, University of Split, Croatia