[Discussion] UPDATE: Literature Travels: Literature and Cross-Cultural Exchange (UK) (5/3/05; BCLA, 9/12/05-9/14/05)

[Sule Tarakcioglu]

Deadline extended:

Literature Travels: Literature and Cross-Cultural Exchange
An international bilingual conference (English/French)
Call for Papers
British Comparative Literature Association
Workshop Conference
12-14 September 2005
University of Wolverhampton (Telford Campus)

A workshop conference, sponsored by the British Comparative Literature
Association and the History & Governance Research Institute, University
of Wolverhampton


Call for papers, special session proposals and workshop proposals

(a) Call for papers

In recent times travel writing has acquired prominence as an object of
study by scholars across the broad academic and international community
of literary and cultural studies. This conference focuses on the
relationships between literature and travel, not only in terms of travel
writing but also considering literature that participates in
cross-cultural exchange in the widest sense. It will cover three broad
aspects of this relationship:

* travel writing

* travel as a theme and metaphor in literature

* how literature travels (e.g. reception, diffusion, intermediaries).


Our title reflects the multivalent relationship between literature and
travel. Literature travels as a condition of its being, defining itself
as 'literature' by testing and transgressing the boundaries of
communities. Yet literature also travels in various material forms, such
as travel literature, translation, holiday fiction, or contraband. And
literature travels with travellers, readers, reviewers, expatriates -
human agents of cultural transmission and exchange - who help create new
reading communities that spill over national boundaries.

'Literature Travels', then, will examine such cross-cultural agents and
products of transmission and exchange in European Literature and print
culture. Among other things, it explores the contact zones that
literature travels in and to.

Although the following list is not intended to be prescriptive, we
welcome papers on such topics as:

* Travel fiction and fictional travels

* Literary tourism and tours by literary travellers

* Literature for or accompanying those in transit (e.g. translation,
guidebooks, periodicals, railway novels, holiday reading, gifts to
travellers of national/local literature)

* Sites of cross-cultural literary exchange (e.g. salons, communities
of exiles and expatriates, coteries, foreign-language reading rooms and
libraries)

* Intermediaries as literary travel agents, text traffickers, custom
officers and immigration officials

* Literary text as honoured guest, asylum seeker or illegal immigrant
	
* Cross-border and cosmopolitan literary movements and identities

* Gender and national/international identity in literature and travel
writing
	
* Reception and reviewing of translation or foreign-language
publications (e.g. reviews of reviews)
	
* Cosmopolitan cities in literature and travel writing (e.g. Paris,
London, Rome, Vienna)
	
* Literature and migration

* Travel and journey as literary image/metaphor/symbol
	
* Translation as journey
	
* Translation as change of citizenship.


Proposals for 20-minute papers should be submitted by 3 May 2005 in the
form of an abstract not exceeding 300 words.


(b) Proposals for special sessions

We also welcome proposals for special sessions. Convenors of special
sessions are requested to submit a title and abstracts of three
20-minute papers by 3 May 2005.


(c) Proposals for workshops

We also hope to devote at least one parallel session to a series of
discussion workshops on an aspect of the conference theme.

Each workshop will be run by a leader or two co-leaders who will give a
short introductory presentation and then lead an intensive group
discussion of their chosen texts. These texts might be from any genre,
discipline or language community, though we think the success of the
workshop will depend on choosing works or excerpts that are also
sufficiently brief (Texts will be made electronically available to
participants).

If you would like to propose and lead a workshop, please submit by 3 May
2005 a short description of what you would like to accomplish and a
preliminary list of discussion materials.

After the selection of leaders, topics will be announced on the
conference website and delegates will be asked to sign up for a session
of their choice.


Submission of proposals

On-line
Proposals can be submitted on line. Please see our web site at
www.wlv.ac.uk/literature-travels
<http://www.wlv.ac.uk/literature-travels>.

E-mail
Alternatively you may e-mail your proposals for papers or workshops
(approximately 300 words) by Friday 3 May 2005 to the conference
organisers: Dr Benjamin Colbert or Dr Glyn Hambrook
(literature-travels@wlv.ac.uk <mailto:G.Hambrook@wlv.ac.uk>).

Post
Those who do not have access to e-mail may submit by post to the
following address:

Literature Travels Conference
C/o Dr Benjamin Colbert & Dr Glyn Hambrook
History & Governance Research Institute
University of Wolverhampton
Millennium City Building
Wolverhampton
West Midlands
WV1 1SB
United Kingdom


Please use these contact details for any other enquiries you may have
concerning the conference.




 From the Literary Calls for Papers Mailing List