Immigrant or Exile? (Literatures of the U.S. in Languages Other Than English - 2009 MLA Annual Convention-
2009 MLA (Modern Language Association) Annual Convention
The MLA Discussion Group on Literatures of the U.S. in Languages Other Than English announces the theme of its annual meeting, to be held at the 2009 Convention of the Modern Language Association in Philadelphia:
Immigrant or Exile?
When do immigrants position themselves as exiles? When do exiles become immigrants? Cultural production, broadly construed as literature and other forms of creative media, “made in the U.S.A.” in languages other than English has often thematized the experience and affect of exile, uprootedness, and dislocation. The panel will examine whether, how, and why significant differences may exist in the poetics/aesthetics of works produced from the viewpoint of “exiles” or from that of “immigrants.” Furthermore, these two categories are hardly static, and the transition from exile to immigrant may occur for a variety of reasons – or not at all. The designation as one or the other may form a consensus among a given community or, conversely, represent a stance taken by an individual writer or artist. Literature or other works of art can either legitimize that consensus or create dissonance. Obviously, the lines of tension that emerge are specific to particular groups, each with their own histories, aspirations, and relationship to their homeland and to the U.S. Given this extreme diversity, papers dealing with works from any linguistic community are welcome. Studies of contemporary works are encouraged, though the panel is open to proposals dealing with any time period.
Possible topics of proposals may include but are not limited to the following questions:
• How do writers represent diaspora?
• How does the experience of war condition the immigrant or the exile?
• What accommodations do immigrants make to the U.S. culture that exiles do not?
• What linguistic compromises do immigrants make in their native language that exiles do not?
• How is nation building reflected in immigrant cultural production?
• What conclusions can be drawn about the politics, circulation, and reception of exile/immigrant televisual or theatrical production?
• How do the political interests of the exile differ from those of the immigrant?
• How is the expression of nostalgia different for immigrants and exiles?
• How do indigenous writers use the language of exile and diaspora?
• How do writers address internal "immigrant" exile and alienation?
Abstracts (250 words or less) and CVs should be sent to Michael_C_Bruce@hotmail.com no later than March 15, 2009.
N.B.: The 2009 MLA Annual Convention will be held in Philadelphia from 27 to 30 December. The exact date and time of this session have not been determined.
Registration and housing information will be available in September2009.