Stories and histories of power, 24-25 Septembre 2026.

 Confirmed Keynote speaker : Peter Boxall

Based on the premise that any account is the result of a re-ordered selection in facts which is the mark of the power of the author and/or the institution or cultural group they stand for., this conference will examine factual and fictional narratives of power in the English-speaking world.

While Los Angeles has regularly been called the “City of Angels,” historian Kelly Lytle Hernández has argued that a more appropriate epithet would be the “City of Inmates,” as Los Angeles has historically been a site for innovations in imprisonment, surveilling, policing, and oppressing various communities for their race, ethnicity, class status, sexuality, and other out-group identifications. Literature and cinema have long been fertile sites for examining the ramifications of police- and prison-centric ideologies within American society and culture, particularly for a city that defined itself by cinema.

The International Vladimir Nabokov Society seeks paper proposals for presentations on the following themes for the Modern Language Association’s Annual Convention (January 7-10, 2027, Los Angeles):  

Nabokov, Freedom, and Anti-Authoritarianism

Call for ChaptersInvoking History: Power, Bodies, BDSM

Edited Volume (proposed for Routledge)

About the Volume