Calls for Papers

Check out the following resources for more extensive CFP listings:

U. Penn's English Literature CFP List

ACCUTE's CFP Page

Conference CFP's:

"Somebody or Something Else": EGSS's 7th Graduate Conference on Performance and Performativity

Montreal, Qu. March 12-13 2010.
Proposal Deadline: January 1st, 2010.

The seventh annual Universite de Montreal English graduate conference seeks to examine the constructed nature of human life and thus invites 250-300 words abstract for papers dealing with the notions of performance and performativity in literature and the arts. Although performance was traditionally associated with theatre and the interpretation of a written text by actors, the idea of performance also applies to everyday life, to the behaviour individuals are obligated to adopt in order to function in society. Every face-to-face encounter becomes a performance especially if we think of performativity as the internalization of a script. Once internalized, this script can be repeated in a way that recalls Judith Butler's notion of performativity, where gender is understood as marked on the body through socially prescribed acts and practices, which challenges essentialist theories on gender and sexuality. Notions of performativity can also be applied to all forms of state or social coercions, because it is in the interest of nations and states to inculcate certain attitudes or behaviours upon populations for the sake of social "order" or "cohesion." Meanwhile, ethnic peoples are expected to perform their ethnicity according to the norms elaborated by the West. But if everything is a performance, then what is "real life?" Since notions of performance and performativity transcend genres, periods, and media, they can be interpreted as inherent to all literary expressions. This conference is then concerned with some of the most provocative notions of performance and performativity, from the highly theoretical fields of gender, postcolonialism and postmodernism, to the contemporary phenomena in popular culture, visual arts, and experimental poetry. We will also be accepting submissions for creative work (maximum 5 minutes) for an event that will be held on Saturday night.

Possible topics for papers include: Postcolonialism/ ethnic identities, Identity politics, Citizenship/ the city, Sexuality/ Gender, Theatre/ Film Studies/ visual performance, Classes (as in upper, middle, and lower), Coercion/ subject formation, The nation, Indoctrination, Dystopias/ utopias, Imposture/ Impersonation, Mimesis/ parody/ satire, Popular culture, experimental poetry, or Oral storytelling.

Please submit your abstracts at conference.egss[at]gmail.com

Martyred Bodies and Religious Communities in Medieval and Early Modern Europe

Edmonton, AB. February 26-27, 2010.
Proposal Deadline: January 3, 2010.

The Medieval and Early Modern Institute at the University of Alberta invites proposals for individual papers for its Graduate colloquium. Although we will accept papers on anything related to the medieval or early modern period, we also encourage papers related to the themes of the conference: how was martyrdom performed and portrayed in the medieval or early modern period, and what was its public impact? What role did martyrdom play in building and dividing religious communities?
suggested topics include:

Please send a one-page CV and abstracts of 300 words or fewer to mrea[at]ualberta.ca. Paper should be no longer than 20 minutes.

Imagining and Representing Identities in Canada: Words and Images of The Cultural Mosaic

Edmonton, AB. March 19, 2010.
Proposal Deadline: January 4, 2010.

Canada has become a source of inspiration for numerous countries in terms of integration and multiculturalism. As a result, we would like to take this opportunity to explore the way in which texts, images, and other mediums express the idea of Canada as a cultural mosaic and the controversial questions that come with the notion of multiculturalism and the concept of "transcultural." We would like to invite you to submit abstracts that deal with literary texts, visual works or other media that underscore or problematize questions of multiculturalism and the "transcultural" in Canada. The presentations should be approximately 15 minutes and should be delivered in English or French.

They could focus on the following research topics: The way in which literary and visual works paint an image of Canada as a nation; The representation of fractures within the heart of multiculturalism; The manner in which migrant literature participate (or do not) in reinforcing the cultural mosaic; The relationships between migrant cultures and the Canadian mythography; or the representation of multiculturalism in arts, media and politics. Following the conference, certain papers will be considered for publication in the journals TranscUlturAl and Alternative francophone.

Please send your proposals (250 words maximum) or any other questions by e-mail to multiculticanada2010[at]gmail.com by January 4, 2010 at the latest.

Guts, Glamour and Gossip: "History Across the Disciplines" Conference

Halifax, NS. March 19-21, 2010.
Proposal Deadline: January 15th, 2010

The theme of this year's conference is "Guts, Glamour and Gossip." Especially relevant to this theme are issues concerning authority and government, rebellion and resistance, as well as rhetoric and popular culture as they continually define the notions of heroics, social banditry, martyrdom, and celebrity. There are no temporal or geographical limitations to this theme, and all proposals will be considered.

Interested applicants should submit a 250-word abstract by January 15th to dalconference2010[at]gmail.com. Append to the abstract your area of study, degree level and year, along with contact information. Presentations are between 10 to 15 minutes each, so papers should be no more than 8 pages in length. In order to be considered for the John Flint Prize for best paper/presentation, including a $250 honorarium, finished papers must be received by February 5th.

Alternative Culture Now: The Politics of Culture at the Present Conjuncture

Conference Website
Budapest, Hungary. April 8-10, 2010.
Proposal Deadline: January 25, 2010

How do things stand with respect to the fate of the alternative? Branded and normativized, incorporated into a whole ensemble of mainstream discourses, and no longer the threat it once posed to capitalist and communist states alike, the political and social force of the alternative seems to have faded away. And yet the dream of the alternative continues to inspire political and social movements, artists, theorists, and all kinds of creative practices. How might we begin to situate and think alternativity as a global phenomenon at this precise conjuncture in world history? What is alternative about culture today? And what might or can it become?

Paper Submissions should include: (1) contact information; (2) a 300-500 word abstract; and (3) a one page curriculum vitae or a brief bio. Please submit individual paper proposals or full panel proposals via e-mail attachment by January 25, 2010 to alternativeculturenow[at]gmail.com with the subject line 'Alternative Culture Now.' Attachments should be in .doc or .rtf formats. Submissions should be one document (i.e. include all required information in one attached document).

The Ecological Community

Cape Breton University, NS. August 19-21, 2010.
Proposal Deadline: January 30, 2010.

The Association for Literature, Environment, and Culture in Canada, in conjunction with Cape Breton University, invites submissions for its inaugural conference to be held in August 2010, on the theme of "The Ecological Community." Proposals may take the form of individual papers, pre-formed panels, workshops, literary readings, or roundtables. We welcome interdisciplinary approaches, graduate student work, scholarly research outside the academic humanities, and proposals from writers, artists, and activists working beyond the university system.

ALECC is a growing organization of writers, academics of all stripes, and individuals passionate about the environmental arts and humanities. Our three-day conference will also include field trips to sites of ecological and cultural interest in the area around Cape Breton University, such as the Sydney Tar Ponds reclamation site, Cape Breton Highlands National Park, the Glace Bay Miner's Museum, and the Cabot Trail, along with opportunities for birding and botanizing.
Our theme invites participants to investigate the current state of communities and to meditate on things as they might be - how might humans live sustainably in an ecological community?

While we are open to proposals that touch on any aspect of the conference theme, we particularly solicit proposals for papers and literary readings related to the following topics:

Proposals for individual papers or literary readings should be 500 words in length; pre-formed panel proposals should be 300 words in length (with individual 500-word proposals for each paper); and proposals for roundtables or workshops should be 750 words in length, including a tentative list of speakers where possible. Send your proposal to: rpickard[at]uvic.ca in PDF format.

Journal CFP's

English Language Teaching (journal)

www.ccsenet.org/elt/

Deadline for Submissions: open call
(.pdf)