This year, MMLA’s general call questions what the academy “owe[s] democracy,” namely how academics engage with shared truths. In keeping with the general call, the Religion and Literature permanent section invites proposals that examine how authors interrogate institutionalized systems of belief. 

Those aspiring to be on the panel should feel empowered to offer proposals that interpret the concept of religion rather loosely by potentially including the academy as an institution of belief. Maintaining a broad interpretation of religion to include all intersections of faith, folklore, belief, and literature, expressions of belief may include creeds, mottos, mission statements, the constitution, charters, manifestos, doctrines, etc. 

Priority will be given to papers that call attention to how issues of belief–whether academic, religious, and/or secular–are often built upon internal systems of faith or “Truths.”

Please send 250-word abstracts with title to Dr. Seth Johnson at swjohnson3@ua.edu, no later than April 15th, 2023.