This panel seeks papers about the diverse manifestations of democracy and patriotism in American fiction. Open to a wide range of areas, periods, and approaches within this broad topic. Submissions might address (but certainly are not limited to):

• Representations of the democratic process
• Critical visions of democracy
• Overt, fictionalized depictions of American patriotism
• Satirical or parodical representations of patriotism
• Intersections of democracy and/or patriotism with form
• Relationships between democracy (e.g., as an ideal) and patriotism (e.g, as an act)
• Impact of other cultural forms (e.g., art, music, etc.) on democracy and patriotism in fiction
• Fictional representations of historical events that reshaped the forms of American democracy and patriotism
• Works that consider the effect of race, gender, and class on democracy and/or patriotism

The 2015 RMMLA Annual Convention will be held October 8-10 in Santa Fe, NM. Abstracts for the "United Fictions, Fictional States: Democracy and Patriotism in American Fiction" session should be 200-250 words and must be submitted, along with a current CV, via email by February 1. Please email abstracts and CVs to dcolson@emporia.edu

Dan Colson
Assistant Professor of English
Emporia State University