CFP: Lydia Maria Child Society

American Literature Association Conference in Chicago
20–23 May 2026 at the Palmer House

https://americanliteratureassociation.org/ala-conferences/ala-annual-conference/

Revised Deadline: January 26, 2026

Political Rhetoric and Emotions in the Work of Lydia Maria Child

Lydia Maria Child’s writings have long been associated with nineteenth-century U.S. sentimental culture. To create social justice and political change, Child most frequently used sympathy to change the hearts and minds of her readers. Critical work over the last decades has examined the theoretical implications of sympathy, noting that its political effectiveness is at times undermined by its inadvertent reification of racism and oppressive ideologies. As the twenty-first century political landscape dramatically shifts, it demands new rhetorical strategies from us. It is in this cultural context that The Lydia Maria Child Society welcomes insights into other methods Child may have used or tried out to stir the emotions and effect change through her writings. As we look back over her fiction or nonfiction, where might we find political discourse that does not rely on sympathy? Or perhaps literary moments that utilize some elements of sympathy while also finding ways to avoid some of sympathy’s more problematic implications?  Papers addressing this question might analyze the rhetorical workings of a particular scene or section from one of Child’s works—or they might focus instead on a rhetorical strategy and explore where and how Child uses it across multiple writings. Papers that reference the “politics of unfeeling” that Xine Yao explores in Disaffected are welcome—but so too are papers that explore ways that Child commandeers an abundance of emotions in her readers. Welcome too are papers that explore this set of questions in the literary work of Child’s contemporaries. Finally, panelists are welcome to consider both the potential and pitfalls of adopting the identified rhetorical strategies into our own political moment.

Please send 200-word abstracts in Word documents to Sandy Burr at sburr@nmu.edu by January 26, 2026.  Early submissions welcome!