Seventh Annual Post45 Graduate Symposium

April 8-9, 2022 

Northwestern University

Submission deadline: November 30, 2021

Keynote Speaker: Michelle Huang

Additional Faculty Participation by Harris Feinsod, Kalyan Nadiminti, Lauren Michele Jackson, Justin Mann, Lakshmi Padmanabhan, Nick Davis, Francisco Robles

Post45 seeks graduate-level works-in-progress related to post-1945 literature and culture. We welcome submissions that expand our conception of post-1945 literature’s histories, boundaries, and future trajectories, or place it in a comparative, transnational, or hemispheric frame. We also invite contributions that generate traction on the urgency of race and empire to post-45 studies and emphasize connections between US ethnic studies and postcolonial studies. We also welcome work that queries the boundaries of post-45 as a field formation.

Works-in-progress may range from conference papers to articles or dissertation chapter drafts. All works-in-progress will be pre-circulated; this will allow participants to consider papers carefully and to generate thoughtful critical feedback—a benefit often absent in traditional conference formats. During the symposium, each paper will receive 30 minutes of discussion. We anticipate dividing papers into smaller workshop groups, though all participants will be encouraged to attend and contribute to as many sessions as is workable for them. 

In addition to paper workshops, the symposium will feature a keynote address by Michelle Huang and a faculty roundtable on race, ethnicity, and empire. We are currently planning to hold the conference in person but are preparing an online contingency plan. We will make a final decision with regards to an in-person or virtual format in January and notify all participants accordingly. In the case of an in-person conference, all sessions would be conducted over the course of a single weekend (April 8-9). In the case of an online conference, all sessions would be spread out and conducted over the course of two consecutive weekends (either April 2-3 and April 8-9, or April 8-9 and April 16-17). 

Post45 is a collective of scholars working on American literature and culture since 1945. The group was founded in 2006 and has met annually since to discuss diverse new work in the field. The Post45 Graduate Symposium meets annually to discuss works in progress. Now in its seventh year, it has convened in the past at UC-Irvine, Rutgers and Princeton University, Michigan State University and the University of Michigan, Yale University, UC Berkeley and Stanford University, and UNC Chapel Hill.

Submissions: Those interested should submit 250- to 300-word abstracts through the following Google Form by November 30, 2021: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdEsKMSum1qtwySSwlP65xFgl405IWX-MK3-UNR1p0zH9P44g/viewform?usp=sf_link

Note: The form will collect your name, academic affiliation, a brief academic biography, paper title, and an arbitrary four-digit code of your choosing (e.g., 6459). To facilitate the anonymized submission process, it will also require you to upload your abstract, titled only with the same four-digit code. This abstract should not include your name or your institution’s name.