Caribbean Literary Studies at the University of Miami
& The Historical Museum of Southern Florida
present
Calypso and the Caribbean Literary Imagination
March 17th - 19th, 2005, in Miami, Florida
CALL FOR PAPERS
Calypso music embeds Caribbean cultural commentary in a blend of musical sounds—beats that reverberate with the music's transatlantic links. "Calypso and the Caribbean Literary Imagination" invites submissions that explore the nexus between Caribbean literature and calypso music and considers the various forms of literary instrumentation that utilize elements of calypso music. While the conference's theme is anchored in Caribbean literature, we welcome papers that stretch the limits of this theme and consider calypso's cultural connotations and the ways in which this music illuminates aspects of Caribbean culture, including the aesthetic, economic and political dimensions of the transmission of music across cultural boundaries. Additionally, scholars are invited to investigate how artistic traditions and cultural identities are affected by imperial systems, migration, independence movements, mass media, commercial markets and tourism. Possible topics for consideration include the following:
• Images and Representations of Calypso in Caribbean Literature
• The Writing and Publishing of Calypsos
• Indo-Caribbean Culture and Calypso Music
• The Intersection of Dancehall and Calypso
• The Impact of "Foreign" Recording Industries on Calypso
• The International History of Calypso
• Calypso Performers and the Delivery of the Calypso Text
• "Rum and Coca-Cola": Calypso and Cultural Hybridity
• Media Representations of Calypso
• Soca Chutney, Rhapso, and Other Emerging forms of Calypso
• Calypso and its Parallel Caribbean Musical Traditions
• Calypso and the Body
• The Drama Queen and Calypso
Submission deadline: December 18th, 2004.
Please send abstracts to caribbeanlit.english@miami.edu.
The Historical Museum of Southern Florida:
http://www.historical-museum.org