Call for Papers

Gender in a Postnational Context (WGSC Sponsored Panel)

43nd Annual Convention, Northeast Modern Language Association (NeMLA)
March 15-18, 2012
Rochester, New York – Hyatt Rochester
Host Institution: St. John Fisher College
Keynote speaker: Jennifer Egan, 2011 Pulitzer Prize winner, A Visit from the Goon Squad

GENDER IN A POSTNATIONAL CONTEXT: This panel aims to discuss how contemporary authors figure gender in a postnational context. Recent discussions across scholarly disciplines have begun to question the suitability of national affiliation in the wake of globalization, mass migration and transnational networking that have led to alternative definitions and strategies of community formation, international advocacy, and global feminisms. This panel investigates the ways in which writers are able to negotiate and construct gendered identities in this postnational era, as well as how these texts might work to undermine or redefine the national space through the lens of gender. Papers might consider the global activism by writers such as Eve Ensler and Lynn Nottage or the postcolonial feminisms of Ama Ata Aidoo, Esmerelda Santiago and others. Papers on other writers or genres are most welcome. Send abstracts to Johanna Rossi Wagner at jrwagnerpsu@gmail.com

Deadline: September 30, 2011
Please include with your abstract:
Name and Affiliation
Email address
Postal address
Telephone number
A/V requirements (if any; $10 handling fee with registration)

The 43rd annual convention will be held March 15-18th in Rochester, New York at the Hyatt Regency Hotel downtown, located minutes away from convenient air, bus, and train transportation options for attendees. St. John Fisher College will serve as the host college, and the diverse array of area institutions are coordinating with conference organizers to sponsor various activities, such as celebrated keynote speakers, local events, and fiction readings.

Building upon the excellence of past NeMLA conferences, the association continues to grow as a vibrant community of scholars, thanks to the wide array of intellectual and cultural opportunities at every venue. Compact yet diverse, Rochester also boasts important historical connections; it is the site of the home, publication operations, and orations of Frederick Douglass, where he edited the North Star, as well as his eponymous periodical, and delivered the speech, "What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?". Visitors can explore the houses of abolitionist, suffragette, and reformer Susan B. Anthony and the inventor of devices popularizing photography, George Eastman, as well as shopping and eateries; attendees will also be within reach of the beautiful Finger Lakes region, known for its local wineries.

Interested participants may submit abstracts to more than one NeMLA session; however, panelists can only present one paper (panel or seminar). Convention participants may present a paper at a panel and also present at a creative session or participate in a roundtable. http://www.nemla.org/convention/2012/cfp.html