Diversity in the Modern French Novel ( 1^st Biennial Symposium on French and Francophone Culture)

Diversity in the Modern French Novel

April 27 and 28, 2012

The 1^st Biennial Symposium on French and Francophone Culture

Department of Classical and Modern Languages and Literatures

Texas Tech University

Lubbock, Texas

The French program of the Department of Classical and Modern Languages and Literatures of Texas Tech University announces a symposium on diversity in the modern French and Francophone novel (19^th-21^st-century). Participants will explore three dimensions of diversity in the novel: perspective (narrative), content (thematic), and form (generic).  We are soliciting abstracts (250 words) from a group of scholars to comprise four panels on Friday or participate in the roundtable discussion on diversity Saturday afternoon.  All approaches, perspectives, and authors will be considered.  

The symposium will take place on Friday, April 27 and Saturday, April 28. The Saturday session includes papers from Texas Tech graduate students followed by a roundtable with scholars on diversity in the Francophone and French world.  Abstracts are due by March 4, 2012.

Possible topics include, but are not limited to:

·       Minorities, marginalized identities

·       Hybridized genres

·       Realisms, nouveau roman, contemporary novel

·       Genres and subgenres

·       Construction of the modern canon

·       Race and ethnicity

·       Religions, atheism, secularism

·       Sexualities

·       Constructed identities

·       Inventories, lists, classifications, taxonomies 

·       Fauna, plants, genres, species, ecocriticism

·       Narratives of integration and tolerance

·       Oppression, exclusion, marginalization, censorship, etc.

·       Concepts of multiplicity and/or diversity

·       Outliers and exceptions

·       Ideologies and philosophies

·       Narrating difference, perspective, autonomy, agency

·       Linguistic and cultural diversity

Contact email for abstracts in French or English:

Christopher Bains

Hafid Gafaïti

diversity.novel@gmail.com