South Atlantic Modern Language Association Conference,

November 4-6, 2021, Atlanta GA

Since the 1970s, anglophone literature has increasingly been defined through global circuits of culture and commerce. Although some authors may still claim an autonomy from the logic of the market, scholars in postcolonial and global modernist studies today emphasize how contemporary literature remains inevitably entangled in commercial life: from funding, publishing, and advertising, to the battles for cultural capital among awards committees, universities, and nonprofit institutions. This panel aims to explore the relationship between contemporary anglophone literature and its markets. Papers might consider how clusters of authors have reconciled commercial recognition with their cultural identities; how editors, magazines, and publishing houses contributed to the shaping of contemporary literary history; and how the shifting market for anglophone literature continues to shape our understanding of terms like “modernism.” Priority will be given to papers that can move beyond one author’s personal record and link a granular attention to everyday life with large-scale questions in intellectual history. I am also open to developing this panel either in the traditional 3-person format or as a roundtable, depending on the submissions.

Please send a CV and 250-300 word abstracts to Ian Afflerbach at ian.afflerbach@ung.edu by July 10th, 2021.