The Disruptive Child in Literature of America (NeMLA 2020 Boston)

Deadline for submissions: September 30, 2019

Contact email: amanda.greenwell@uconn.edu

The child occupies a fraught space in American culture, as notions of the “rebellious adolescent” and the “infant nation” have long tethered political upheaval to the figure of the child. This panel seeks to examine child figures who have performed disruption in the literature of America with particular interest in disruption that confronts notions of authority, ownership, and belonging.

This panel defines “child” loosely, welcoming, for instance, considerations of figures not necessarily children in the sense of age, but nevertheless infantilized in literary or cultural terms; likewise, it welcomes papers focused on literature written from and about “America” understood as a name for a land, nation, people, or concept. Rather than focus on a particular range of texts, it seeks a diverse representation of authors, texts, and time periods in order to isolate the figure of the child as the unifying thread and focal point of discussion.

Submissions of 300 words and a brief bio are due by September 30, 2019.

NeMLA 2020 will be held in Boston March 5-8 2020 at the Marriot Copley Place.

Direct link to abstract and submission button: https://www.cfplist.com/nemla/Home/S/18138. To apply, create or log into your free NeMLA account.

NeMLA information:  https://www.buffalo.edu/nemla/convention.html.

Please direct questions to Amanda Greenwell at amanda.greenwell@uconn.edu.