Deadline for submissions: June 10, 2017
Full name/name of organization: American Literature Association
Contact email: skosiba@troy.edu
Call for Papers
American Literature Association Symposium
“Regionalism and Place in American Literature”
September 7-9, 2017
Hotel Monteleone, New Orleans, Louisiana
American regional writing, as a literary movement, often has a limited association with a few decades during the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. At times, many writers have cringed at being described as “regional,” fearing limiting or marginalizing classification. Other writers have embraced the term. However, more recent research has often argued for a renewed importance in regional scholarship or the scholarship of place and has redefined how we look at canonical definitions of regionalism and place. This symposium seeks to deepen our understanding of the importance of regionalism and place in past and present American literature by continuing to question spatial boundaries and definitions. Are regions confined to big patches of landscape or can cities and neighborhoods be regional? How do we address or define more recent regional concepts like the “Postsouthern” or “Postwestern”? What does regionalism look like in the 21st century and how does it define (or fail to define) our sense of place? What is it to publish or write “regionally”? We welcome paper proposals, panels and roundtable discussions on all aspects of regionalism and place within American literature and particularly encourage interdisciplinary papers and projects.
Keynote Speaker: Dr. Michael Steiner, Emeritus Professor of American Studies, California State University, Fullerton
One page proposals or panel suggestions can be sent to program director Dr. Sara Kosiba at skosiba@troy.edu by June 10th, 2017.