American Literature Association Symposium on American Fiction
1890 to the Present
October 8-9, 2010
Call for Papers
Keynote Speaker: Dianne C. Luce
ALA symposia provide opportunities for scholars to meet in pleasant settings, present papers, and share ideas and resources. The October 2010 symposium will focus on American fiction from the turn of the 20th century to the present. Papers are welcomed on individual novels and short stories as well as on genres, movements, and related topics. Proposals for panels and roundtable discussions are also encouraged.
Location: DeSoto Hilton Savannah, 15 East Liberty Street, Savannah, Georgia
Conference Director: Olivia Carr Edenfield
Georgia Southern University
Conference Fee: $150
Please email all proposals to the Conference Director, Olivia Carr Edenfield before July 15, 2010
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Conference Details: The American Literature Association will return to the DeSoto Hilton in Savannah for a symposium on American fiction, October 8-9, 2010. Please plan to stay in the conference hotel as this helps us meet our commitment to the hotel and keeps our rates low. The DeSoto is located in the heart of the historic district, nestled between two of Savannah’s loveliest squares and only a short walk from River Street, City Market, and Forsythe Park.
Sessions run Friday and Saturday, October 8-9. On Friday October 8th, there will be a luncheon as well as an evening reception featuring key note speaker Dianne C. Luce, President of the Cormac McCarthy Society and noted McCarthy scholar. The second luncheon will be Saturday October 9th with a closing reception scheduled for the evening. Meal preferences will be sent to conference participants at a later date.
Individuals may propose papers or panels by emailing the conference director, Olivia Carr Edenfield, at
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no later than July 15, 2010. The proposal should include the title of the presentation or panel, an abstract that provides the conference director with a clear idea of the material that will be covered, a brief vita or description of the presenter’s qualifications, and complete mailing addresses and emails for all participants. The proposal should be both
pasted into an email and sent as an attachment (preferably in WORD). All emails will be acknowledged in a timely manner. The conference director welcomes proposals for roundtables and panels that deal with the development of important genres and literary movements. Please note that no audiovisual will be available for the symposium.
Those proposing papers and/or panels will be informed of acceptances in mid August. Participants will be asked to make their hotel reservations immediately and to pre-register using the material posted at the end of this announcement. A program will be placed on the website prior to the conference and printed programs will be available at the symposium.
ALA Guidelines: The most common ALA format is a time slot of one hour and twenty minutes with three papers and a chair. This permits time for discussion and three papers of approximately 20 minutes (or nine typed double-spaced pages). Organizers of panels are free to use other formats provided they respect the time limits. Furthermore, the ALA encourages panel organizers to experiment with innovative formats including discussion groups and panels featuring
more speakers and briefer papers. Chairs will make sure that the panels start and end on time and that no speaker goes beyond the allotted time limit. We prefer that chairs not present papers on the panels that they are moderating, and no one may present more than one paper at an ALA symposium.
The conference fee covers the costs of the conference including two meals and two receptions. We encourage all of those who are on the program to pre-register. The conference fee is $150 for all participants. We regret that we are unable to offer a lower rate for graduate students and independent scholars for this symposium.
ALA Membership: Membership in the ALA is not required in order to propose or present a paper. In fact, technically the members of the American Literature Association are the various author societies. Individuals may keep informed about the activities of the ALA by checking our website (www.americanliterature.org), which is the primary source for information about ALA activities. Individuals can also be placed on a mailing list by sending a check for $10 made out to the American Literature Association to: Alfred Bendixen, English Department, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843. Those on the mailing list will receive copies of the annual call for papers and the conference announcement/registration packet.
Directory of Scholars: If you wish to be listed on the directory of scholars on our website (www.americanliterature.org) please email
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with the phrase ALA Directory in the subject line and your name, preferred address, phone number (optional), and email (optional but strongly recommended) in the text.
The easiest way to find out about the conference and all ALA activities is by consulting our website: www.americanliterature.org
Please note that the American Literature Association maintains the lowest conference fees of any major scholarly organization because it operates without a paid staff. If you have any questions that are not answered by this announcement, please contact the conference director, Olivia Carr Edenfield, at
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, or Alfred Bendixen, Executive Director of the ALA, at
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.
Smith College and the Willa Cather Foundation present
The International Cather Seminar 2011
Willa Cather and the Nineteenth Century
June 20-25, 2011
Smith College, Northampton, MA
Call for Papers
While we will, as always, welcome a broad array of approaches to Cather's writing, we hope via the work of the 13th International Seminar to examine the legacy of nineteenth century culture in Cather's life and work and to explore through her writing the transition from a Victorian to a modernist America. We envision this as a continuation and perhaps a complication or expansion of the conversation about the nature of Cather's modernism that emerged so fruitfully from the Chicago Seminar. Accordingly, The Seminar encourages papers that will address a wide range of intersections and connections between the full range of Cather's work and this pivotal cultural moment, including:
Willa Cather and Nineteenth-Century Writers and Cultural Figures
Willa Cather and Histories: of race, of sexuality, of class identity
Willa Cather and intellectual ferment: the professions, the forms of knowledge, the new social sciences
Willa Cather, the Slave Narrative, and the Antebellum South
International Approaches to Teaching Cather
Willa Cather and New England
The Seminar will take place on the campus of Smith College, in Northampton, MA, a setting replete with connections to Cather's life and work. We thus encourage papers that consider Cather and New England within the context of turn of the century culture. Diverse critical and theoretical perspectives are encouraged, as are proposals for sessions focused on exchange rather than formal presentation. Interested contributors should submit abstracts of 500 words with a cover letter and brief résumé by March 1, 2011. Papers should be 10-12 double-spaced pages for a 20 minute presentation time.
Seminar Co-Directors
Richard Millington
Smith College
Northampton, MA 01060
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Anne Kaufman
Milton Academy
170 Centre Street
Milton, MA 02186
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