“Cultures of Collectivity in Pre-Revolutionary French Literature”

In keeping with this year’s MMLA conference theme of “Cultures of Collectivity”, this panel solicits propositions that reflect on the many ways in which the individual and the collective were conceived in pre-revolutionary society. Rather than viewing the individual and the collective as being separate facets of social existence, papers that look at the liminal movement between subjective experience and the larger political body will be of particular interest. Possible topics include, but are certainly not limited to:

The PAMLA 2021 Travel and Literature session welcomes proposals focused on travel, odyssey, and mobility through literary lenses as broadly conceived, with special interest in movement through city spaces. Since this year’s conference theme is “City of God, City of Destruction,” we are particularly interested in essays that consider the ways in which literary works address the city as a site for spiritual exploration, identity loss, or renewal for characters who travel to, from, or through urban spaces. How does travel or movement through city spaces address issues of identity, perception, or power?