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<P>Call for Papers</P>
<P>The Ninth International Symposium on Comparative Literature November 4-6,
2008</P>
<P>Department of English Language and Literature, Cairo University</P>
<P>¡§Egypt at the Crossroads: Literary and Linguistic Studies¡¨ Deadline for
abstracts: March 15, 2008</P>
<P>Because of its geographical, historical, and cultural placement, Egypt has
been¡Xsince time immemorial¡Xboth literally and metaphorically at the
crossroads. Enjoying the strategic location that it does¡Xat a meeting point
between Africa and Asia, facilitating contact between the two continents and
Europe, and at a juncture between the Mediterranean and the Red Sea¡XEgypt is a
rich amalgam of diverse cultural heritages: Ancient Egyptian, Greek, Roman,
Persian, Coptic, Islamic. Influenced by all these and, in modern times, the
French and British, the inhabitants are in the happy position of being
hybrid¡XAfrican, Arab, Mediterranean¡Xbut indubitably and inimitably Egyptian.
It is, perhaps, this unique situation that inspired the Egyptian geographer
Gamal Hamdan (1928-1993) to write of Egypt as having a ¡§natural gift¡¨ which
may explain ¡§the secret of Egypt¡¦s survival and vitality through the ages and
in spite of the ages.¡¨</P>
<P>Contributors to the Symposium are invited to explore the various aspects and
paradoxes of Egypt through literature and language, making use of, though by no
means restricted to, the following suggested topics:</P>
<P>„X Egypt in World Literature (African/Arab/Mediterranean)</P>
<P>„X Teaching Egyptian/Arabic Literature in Non-Egyptian Cultures</P>
<P>„X Teaching English Literature in Non-English-Speaking Cultures</P>
<P>„X The Presentness of the Past in Literature and Language</P>
<P>„X Egyptian Literature in Translation</P>
<P>„X Travel Literature</P>
<P>„X Revisiting the Canon in Literary and Linguistic Studies</P>
<P>„X New Forms in Literary and Linguistic Studies</P>
<P>„X Orientalism: Past and Present</P>
<P>„X The Quest for Identity</P>
<P>„X Cross-Linguistic/Cross-Cultural Studies of Different Discourse Types</P>
<P>Presentations may be in one of the following forms: papers (20 minutes),
workshops (45 or 90 minutes), and poster sessions.</P>
<P> </P>
<P> </P>
<P>Please complete the form below and send it to the following address:
cairosymposium08@yahoo.com</P>
<P>Guidelines for submissions:</P>
<P>„X The languages of the Symposium are English and Arabic.</P>
<P>„X Replies will be posted by April 30, 2008.</P>
<P>„X Fees: Registration and Proceedings + cultural events: USD 300 for</P>
<P>non-Egyptian participants; LE 300 for Egyptian participants; LE 50 for
attendance; free admission for students.</P>
<P>The Ninth International Symposium on Comparative Literature</P>
<P>Topic area:</P>
<P>Title of presentation:</P>
<P>Name of presenter:</P>
<P>Affiliation:</P>
<P>Address:</P>
<P>E-mail:</P>
<P>Equipment needed (if any):</P>
<P>Abstract (300 words):</P></FONT></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>