This session examines the relationship between religion and American literature. It welcomes papers that explore the intersectionality between religion, politics, and literature.  How can literary texts help us understand the discourses of the religious right or the left and their search for community?  How does faith contribute both to harmful or positive visions of community?  What can literature teach us about the type of faith that will allow us to create and embrace “the beloved community” introduced by Josiah Royce, and later highlighted by Martin Luther King, Jr.? Proposals that engage with the conference theme of "Geographies of the Fantastic and the Quotidian” are of particular interest. 

Please submit a 350-word abstract and short bio to the PAMLA CFP page by Augst 15.