The James Fenimore Cooper Society will host two panels at the 36th Annual Conference of the American Literature Association, to be held at The Weston Copley Place, Boston, MA, May 21-24, 2025. For additional information: https://americanliteratureassociation.org/ala-conferences/ala-annual-conference/

Roundtable Discussion: Teaching Cooper Today

The Cooper Society invites participants to join us for a series of short and informal talks leading to an open conversation focused on the challenges and strategies for teaching Cooper in the 21st century. We seek participants who have taught/teach Cooper from a range of approaches and levels. The roundtable encourages a lively exchange, bringing Cooper into the classroom and lecture hall across a wide perspective.

Discussion Facilitators: Stephen Carl Arch and Keat Murray, eds. MLA Approaches to Teaching the Novels of James Fenimore Cooper

Papers should be a maximum of 15-20 minutes (6-8 pages) in length. Brief discussion will follow the presentations. Presenters need not be members of the James Fenimore Cooper Society, though we certainly hope they will choose to join. Please note that per ALA guidelines, no one may present more than one paper at the conference, though additional participation in a Roundtable discussion is permissible.

Please submit a 250-word abstract and a brief cv (2-3 pages) to Luis A. Iglesias (luis.iglesias@usm.edu)  by January 12, 2025. Please indicate whether the paper may be published in the James Fenimore Cooper Society Journal. Also in your proposal indicate any audio-visual requirements or needs. All proposals should be both pasted into the text of the email and included as attachments (word files or pdfs preferred). For additional information, please visit the James Fenimore Cooper Society webpage for resources and visual archives as well as the membership application: (https://jfcoopersociety.org/)

Papers presented at the conference will, with their authors' permission, be published in the James Fenimore Cooper Society Journal and made available online at the Cooper Society website. Papers may be mildly revised later for publication.

Luis A. Iglesias

Associate Professor, English

Vice President, James Fenimore Cooper Society

University of Southern Mississippi

118 College Drive, #5037

Hattiesburg, MS  39406

601.266.4060

Luis.Iglesias@usm.edu