"Au beau milieu des choses"/Women “In the Middle of Things”: The Poetics of the Present

Appel à contribution

Date limite : 28 septembre 2007

Women “In the Middle of Things”: The Poetics of the Present

(Session dans le cadre de la "2008 Women in French Conference", Fort Worth, TX, 10-12 avril 2008)

This panel will address how – and to what effects – a sense of “being in the middle of things” is evoked or established in particular sorts of narratives through the centuries. What literary practices, devices and techniques draw attention to the processes and contingencies of an unfolding present in these narratives? Consider for example contemporary narratives of women's endurance that focus on physiological processes, on sensations and emotions in the here-and-now.

Although such narratives past and present can indicate a “presentist” perspective – one that seemingly excludes past and future – “being in the middle of things” may also relate to processes such as remembering and foretelling. Papers in this panel could discuss (women in-the-middle-of) processes as varied as remembering, enduring, gazing, wandering (flâner), working, performing, speaking, and reflecting – in, for example, interior monologues, trauma narratives, autobiographical fiction, epistolary novels and travel writing.

Please send your abstract to/ Veuillez envoyer votre proposition d'exposé (250-300 mots, en français ou en anglais) à l'adresse : kschwerd@uwo.ca

Dr Karin Schwerdtner
Professeure adjointe, Département d'études françaises
Membre affiliée, Department of Women's Studies and Feminist Research
Université Western Ontario / The University of Western Ontario
London (Ontario), Canada N6A 3K7

@uwo.ca>