Deadline for submissions: January 31, 2018
Full name/name of organization: Northern Illinois University
Contact email: mcllm@niu.edu

 

CALL FOR PAPERS: MCLLM

Conference Date: April 13th-14th, 2018

Deadline for Proposals: January 31, 2018

Theme: “Borders and Transitions”

The 26th annual Midwestern Conference on Literature, Language and Media (MCLLM) at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, IL, is currently accepting proposals for 15-minute presentations from individuals and panels. This year’s conference theme is Borders and Transitions. This theme encourages argument-driven papers that explore the relationship between ever-changing geographical, cultural, and technological boundaries and the humanities. How do language, literature, and media both reinforce and challenge these boundaries? How do these changing boundaries impact approaches to scholarship within the humanities?

We encourage a variety of approaches to these questions, including (but not limited to) the following topics:

-Changing Concepts of Nationality, Race, Class, Disability, Gender, and Sexuality
-Transnationalism and Hybridity
-Interdisciplinary Humanities (ex. Science and Literature)
-Political and Historical Change
-Public vs. Private Identity
-Society and Technology
-Art as Activism
-Pop Culture and Academia

MCLLM welcomes proposals from a wide range of research in the humanities. Possible research areas include: literature and poetry, creative writing, linguistics, written and visual rhetoric, journalism, narrative and documentary film, music, games/video games, anime, television, radio, new and social media, history, and pedagogy in these fields.

This year’s distinguished keynote speaker is Peter J. Capuano, associate professor of English and the director of the Interdisciplinary Studies Program at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Examples of his work include his 2015 book Changing Hands: Industry, Evolution, and the Reconfiguration of the Victorian Body, along with essays such as “Digital Dombey” and “Computational Contexts and Dickensian Depths.” Dr. Capuano’s research demonstrates a variety of exciting new approaches to discussing literature, particularly in terms of reconsidering traditional boundaries between the humanities and the sciences.

If you are interested in presenting at the conference, please submit 200-500 word proposals by January 31, 2018, to mcllm@niu.edu. Include a cover page with your name, institutional affiliation, graduate student or faculty status, email, and phone number. Panel proposals should include a brief overview of the panel’s theme and purpose, along with an abstract and cover page for each paper.

Founders Award

The Founders Award carries a $500 prize, given to one graduate student attending the conference and presenting a paper. The award honors Chuck Bowie and John Carlberg, the co-founders of the MCLLM conference. All graduate students presenting at the conference are eligible. This award is given based on the strength of the proposal, particularly in terms of how it relates to the conference theme and the quality of the argument presented.