French Panels
38th Convention, Northeast Modern Language Association (NeMLA)
March 1-4, 2007
Baltimore, Maryland
These 12 topics on Francophone literature and culture will be part of NeMLA's Convention in Baltimore. The individual panel calls are listed below.
Abstract Deadline: September 15, 2006
Please include with your abstract:
Name and Affiliation
Email address
Postal address
Telephone number
A/V requirements (if any)
20th Century French Theatre Board-Sponsored. French theatre at the mid-twentieth century--from playwrights as diverse as Anouilh, Sartre and Ionesco--provided provocative, innovative and poetic responses to major cultural and political shifts. Papers are invited that explore any aspect of these works and their legacy to the world stage. Send abstracts in body of email to Northeast.MLA@gmail.com, with "French Theatre" in subject line.
Francophonie and Rebel Writers Does "Francophonie" still exist? Some young African writers seem to answer "no." While Nimrod, a Chadian-born writer says: "a Francophone writer does not exist" the Franco-Djiboutian, speaking in the name of the new generation of Africans writing in French states: "We are from no Francophone chapel." Are these statements symptomatic of identity crisis or is it an act of rebellion of the former colonized? Either way, they introduce a fresh look at the African literary landscape. This panel explores these interrogations focusing on the opportunities and challenges of such rebellion. Send abstracts to Moussa Sow: sow@tcnj.edu
French and Francophone Women Writers of the Eighteenth Century French and Francophone women writers played a very important role in the Eighteenth century. In their novels they express their resistance to arranged marriage and to the silence with which women were supposed to accept their roles. The goal of this panel is to review the work of these French women writers and the role their books played creating a political, social consciousness and stirring of new ideas. Send abstracts to: Dr. Zoe Petropoulou, St. John's University, Dept. of Languages and Literatures, 8000 Utopia Parkway, Jamaica, NY 11439; petropoz@stjohns.edu
French Cinéma Today Papers are invited that explore the work of contemporary French filmmakers, with a particular interest in new female directors. Lisa DeTora, Lafayette College: detoral@lafayette.edu
History in Canadian and Quebec Literatures How do recent texts published in English Canada and Quebec correspond or diverge in their treatments of the past? Proposals are invited that draw on any aspect of history (traditional or underrepresented; local or international) and its treatment in Canadian and Quebec literatures and/or literary criticism. Individual papers need not be comparative as the panel itself will be. Please send 500-word abstracts to Andrea Cabajsky at cabajsa@umoncton.ca.
From Negritude to Creolization Board-Sponsored Panel. This panel invites papers that explore theories of identity in the French Caribbean. Send abstracts to Carinne Mardorossian, SUNY-Buffalo: cm27@buffalo.edu
The Legacy of Victor Hugo. Board-Sponsored. This panel invites papers (in French or in English) on any aspect of the works or influence of Victor Hugo. Send abstracts (250-500 words) to Kitty C. Dean, Nassau Community College: kittydean@earthlink.net
Marguerite Duras: "Je suis créole" dit-elle Board-Sponsored. Duras' oeuvre made a legend of the author's Indochinese childhood and the Durasian aesthetics is often reminiscent of calligraphy. Papers are invited that will address aspects of creolity in Duras' poetics (space, rythms, paradox) and exploration of "being in the world." Noelle Carruggi, New School University: noelle_Carruggi@yahoo.com
A Paradox of Identities: Reading Difference in French Fiction and Film If French identity is founded on the principles of Republican universalism, what place does "difference" have in contemporary French society? What are the representations of difference in recent French fiction and film? How does cinematic and literary fiction wrestle with the seeming incompatibility between French identity and the expression of gendered, cultural, ethnic, sexual identities? Send 1-page abstracts to Marjorie Salvodon: msalvodo@suffolk.edu
Poètes du Maghreb et du Moyen-Orient War and political conflict have led many poets from the Arabic World to live in exile in France - among others, Andrée Chédid and Venus Khoury-Ghata (Lebanon), Abdellatif Laâbi (Morocco), and many more. Papers are invited that explore the work of poets from the Middle East and Northern Africa. Noelle Carruggi, New School University: noelle_Carruggi@yahoo.com
Post-Colonial Cannibalism in Literature and the Arts The term ‘cannibalism' has repeatedly been used by imperial Europe in an effort to distinguish itself from the subjects of its colonial expansion and justify the colonization of territories. Although this term was in the past used to construct differences between colonizers and colonized it is now used to deconstruct these differences. This panel will explore the construction of such a concept and how it has been used in literature and the arts to draw new boundaries between "us" and "other" and renegotiate identities. Please send abstract to Magali Compan (mxcomp@wm.edu)
Rébellion, passion et transgression dans les romans de Maryse Condé For this roundtable we are looking for presentations in French or English leading to a discussion of the themes and poetics of rebellion, passion and transgression in the novels of Maryse Condé..Noelle Carruggi, New School University: noelle_Carruggi@yahoo.com
Representations of Home in Francophone Women's Autobiography How have Francophone women writers represented 'home' in their autobiographical writing? Is home an idealized entity, or something to conceal or reject, and how is this concept articulated? This panel welcomes any approach to both 'home' and autobiography. Please send abstracts to Natalie Edwards at natalie.edwards@wagner.edu
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For the complete Call for Papers for the 2007 Convention, please visit: www.nemla.org.
Interested participants may submit abstracts to more than one NeMLA panel; however panelists can only present one paper. Convention participants may present at a paper session panel and also present at a creative session or participate in a roundtable.