Caribbean Currents Navigating the web and the world

XXII Annual West Indian Literature Conference

In the beginning was the Word, then came the Web. . . .

This conference will explore the complex relationship between literature and technology, and the many challenges this association poses to literary scholars, writers, and others. The <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 />Caribbean region in particular faces the challenge of staying current with burgeoning technologies, in having a greater voice over who controls the access and commodification of its cultural artifacts, and in determining how to preserve its literary, oral, and visual works.

 Negotiating the entanglements that ensue when literature intersects with technology is one of the main issues we urge participants to ponder. However, the conference theme has been deliberately worded to solicit the broadest possible interpretations, and all submissions are welcome.

Topics for consideration:

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• Anancy's Legacy: Master of the Web and the Word
  
• "Nobel" Ventures: Special panels on Walcott & V.S. Naipaul
  
• Preserving the Caribbean's Literary, Oral, and Visual Treasures
  
• Whose Caribbean? Access, Ownership, Dissemination . . .
  
• Divine (W)rituals: Literature and Religion
  
• Voyeurism and Surveillance
  
• Caribbean Arts and the Mass Media
  
• Writing the Caribbean body: Textual and Technological Representations
  
• The Caribbean Film Industry
  
• Divergent Current

Proposed Special Sessions:

 Roundtable: The State of Caribbean National Libraries and Archives. We invite proposals from Caribbean library scientists on the state of our literary and cultural storehouses, as well as to report on the types of initiatives that might be needed to bring our libraries into the twenty-first century. We would also like experts to explain the techniques used to maintain and access these national treasures.

Roundtable: Caribbean Cultural Institutions. While many islands have established various institutions responsible for the promotion of Caribbean cultural practices, many of these institutions do not operate outside the boundaries of the region. Representatives of these institutions are encouraged to address funding, and other issues they believe pertinent to their institutional advancement.

Digital Initiatives: Anthurium - cyber-home of the Caribbean Writers Summer Institute Digital Archives and the forthcoming Caribbean Literary Studies Online Journal. CLS will officially unveil the free, public, electronic archive of the Caribbean Writers Summer Institute, convened annually at the University of Miami from 1991-1996 under the directorship of such major writers as George Lamming, Edward Baugh, Kamau Brathwaite, Lorna Goodison, Earl Lovelace, Olive Senior and Mervyn Morris. The project compiles videotape footage, photographs, and program information in digital format. The archives will debut on the CLS Internet hub Anthurium, a multimedia internet platform that will also house the organization's forthcoming electronic publication.

Submission Requirements

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• We welcome proposals for individual and panel presentations; however, participants are encouraged to submit proposals for complete panels of three or four presentations
  
• Participants should be aware that papers accepted for presentation at the conference will be considered for publication in the inaugural edition of the Caribbean Literary Studies Online Journal.  
  
• Abstracts should be approximately 250 words or less, and should include the name, title, contact information, and a brief biography of the author. Panel proposals should duplicate this information for each presenter, and indicate the main contact person for the panel.

All submissions and inquiries will be handled by Andrea Shaw and Prudence Layne on behalf of the Conference Chair, and should be sent electronically to caribbeanlit.english@miami.edu, via fax (305) 284-5635, or by mail to:

Caribbean Currents Conference Chair
Dr. Sandra Pouchet Paquet
Department of English
University of Miami
P.O. Box 248145
Coral Gables, FL 33124

Tel: (305) 284-2114 (messages only)

Conference Information

"Caribbean Currents: Navigating the Web and the Word" is the 22nd convening in the Annual Conference on West Indian Literature series. This series is presented under the auspices of the faculties of the University of the West Indies.