North Carolina Symposium on Teaching Writing
"Perceptions and (mis)Representations: Writing in Secondary and Post-Secondary Classrooms"
October 16-17, 2009
North Carolina State University
Raleigh, NC
The North Carolina Symposium on Teaching Writing is interested in facilitating discussions focusing on student writing in high school, community college, and university environments. While the examination of issues regarding any of these environments is important, it is also crucial for scholars to consider the transition from secondary to post-secondary education and how instructors at each level can work with students who are developing writing expertise. To that end, the symposium organizers welcome proposals for panels and papers on a variety of topics; those addressing any of the concerns above will be given special consideration.
Related topics include (but are not limited to):
* Architecture of writing programs
* Assessment of student writing
* Placement of students in college writing courses
* Influences of "end of grade" testing on student thought processes
* Efficacy of AP and IB college preparatory programs
* Integration of technology & new media into the writing classroom
* Models for (and connections between) writing instruction in the secondary and post-secondary classroom
* Prosperity in an era of budget cuts and faculty reduction
* Curricular exchange: sharing expectations of writing programs in high schools, community colleges, and universities
The keynote speaker for this year’s symposium will be Kathleen Blake Yancey, Kellogg W. Hunt Professor of English and Director of the graduate program in Rhetoric and Composition at FloridaStateUniversity, as well as past president of the National Council of Teachers of English and incoming editor of the journalCollege Composition and Communication.
Specific Guidelines for Submission:
Individual paper proposals should be 200-300 words in length.
Panel submissions should not total more than 1000 words.
Panels will be 75 minutes in length, including Q&A.
All sessions will be held in rooms with internet access and projection capabilities. Please indicate any other special technology requirements.
We encourage participation from all faculty ranks, and we particularly encourage contingent faculty, K-12 faculty, and graduate student participation.
The deadline for proposals is May 18, 2009.
Submit proposals as a Microsoft Word compatible attachment (.doc) or PDF to:
Kevin Brock ()
The AmericanShakespeareCenter, in partnership with Shakespeare’s Globe in London, will host its fifth Blackfriars Conference, “Inside Out/Outside In,” in honor of Andy Gurr in Staunton, Virginia, from 20-25 October 2009. Registration fee includes tickets to the ASC productions of 1 Henry IV, Merry Wives, Titus Andronicus, Much Ado About Nothing, and The Rehearsal by George Villier (et al); opening and closing banquets; a special presentation by the ASC actors honoring the work of Andy Gurr; and Paul’s Menzer’s Shakespeare on Ice, a play and cocktail party.
We are inviting proposals for papers on topics to do with early modern drama in performance, including but not restricted to the staging, texts, design, repertory, personnel, and the business of plays in early modern England. Paper presentations are limited to 10 minutes (presentation without actors) and to 13 minutes (presentations with ASC actors). Presenters should be aware that they will hear the sound of a thundersheet when two minutes remain and will exit pursed by a bear when time is out.
In order to submit a 300 word abstract and a short bio to Sarah Enloe, Director of Education, by 30 May 2009, go to the ASC website, Please include a brief statement saying whether or not you would be interested in having your work in a volume of Blackfriars Conference essays.
We realize that in an economic downturn, any travel expenses may present a challenge to you or your organization. We hope that the unique format and topics at this conference will inspire you to invest in the imagination engendered by this event. Opportunities for this kind of scholarly interaction are too rare to miss, so plan to make a fall break of shows and stimulating scholarship in a beautiful autumn setting.
Reading Milton, Special session at MLA sponsored by the Milton Society of America (3/15/09)
“Reading Milton” is interpreted broadly and all-inclusively. 8-page or 20-min. papers by March 15, 2009. Please send abstracts or complete papers to Ken Hiltner ().
"The Arts of Democracy" (Deadline June 1, 2009)
It is often assumed that the arts, and particularly the fine arts, create and sustain the kinds of social distinctions that are antithetical to true democracy. This is the claim advanced by Pierre Bourdieu's influential Distinction where he argues that what appear to be innocent differences in aesthetic tastes are, in fact, the markers of class identity that enforce social hierarchy. However, there is a countervaling tradition, represented most famously by John Dewey, that insists that the arts are necessary to the health and longevity of democratic culture, and many contemporary artists and theorists are devoted to developing an aesthetic that participates in the development of democratic ideals.
Is a democratic aesthetic merely wishful thinking, or do the arts have some role to play in democratic culture? Soundings: An Interdisciplinary Journal is soliciting articles which address the relationship between the arts and democratic culture and politics. Possible topics include:
Revolutionary Rhetoric/ The literature of Democracy: How Literature Influences Democracy
The Restorative Function of Art/ The Aesthetics of Overcoming Hardship
The Arts as a Model for Democratic Collaboration and Conflict Resolution
How Art Locates/Influences/Creates the Language of Cultural Diversity
The Aesthetics of Politics or Political Aestheticism
The Ethics of Supporting the Arts During Economic Crisis
Virtual Spaces: The Internet and the Globalization of Democracy
Democratic Kitsch
Please send three copies of your manuscript along with an electronic file to:
SOUNDINGS: AN INTERDISCIPLINARY JOURNAL
University of Tennessee
216 Aconda Court
Knoxville, TN37996
Deadline: June 1, 2009
For more information consult the SOUNDINGS website: You are welcome to direct any further inquiries to Shaun Morgan, Managing Editor, at .
Title: Obama-Mania: Critical Essays on Representations of President Barack Obama in Popular Culture
Contact:
Editors: Derrais Carter & Nicholas Yanes
Publisher: McFarland
Website/Blog:
Deadline for Abstracts: May 25th, 2009
Description of the Book:
The 2008 Presidential Elections has been one of the most intensely debated and commented on race in modern history. The passionate standpoints expressed in this election not only stems from ideological conflicts, but from Barack Obama’s uniqueness as a Presidential candidate. This book collects specific examinations of President Obama in popular culture with the hope of creating a scholarly record of Obama’s presence in popular media free of historical revisionism. With this in mind, Obama-Mania will bring together essays that examine how Barack Obama’s image has been used in comic books, music, television shows, movies, and how talk shows and radio programs have commented on Obama’s campaign and election. In short, the specific focus of this book is not specifically on Obama and the politics surrounding the 2008 Presidential election, but on the conversation between popular culture and President Obama.
Expectations for Proposals and Essays:
Ideal proposals will contain a clear thesis, an abstract which is two to three paragraphs long and a list of potential sources. Additionally, we want a clear thesis, not an overview of a medium. For instance, if one is to talk about Obama in comic books, we will not accept a paper discussing every Obama comic book appearance. Additionally, if a person wants to write about the President’s influence on music, we will not accept an essay simply documenting every song which was used in the campaign or that makes reference to the new Obama.
We are not looking for political propaganda. Submitted essays must not be an “I love Obama” or “I hate
Obama” paper. We are looking for papers of academic quality.
We are looking for 10 to 12 essays between 6250 and 7500 words - this includes each work’s bibliography. Essays need to be MLA formatted – parenthetical citations, not footnotes. And it is up to the author(s) to get permission to reprint copyrighted material.
Though this should go without saying, we will not accept work that is plagiarized or that has been published elsewhere.
Proposed Topics:
1) Comic Books & Science Fiction: Depictions of Obama as Superhuman
2) Music: How have musicians addressed Obama and the 2008 Election
3) Television and Film
a. Movies: The Cinematography of Change
b. Scripted Fictional Television: How Escapist Television Predicted and Has Been Influenced by Political Reality
4) Non-Fiction Political Programs: News Shows and Radio Programs
5) Internet: To Obama Girl and Beyond
For more specific information for proposed topics please contact the editors at:
CFP: Bitten by Twilight: Youth culture, media, and the Twilight saga
Edited by Melissa Click, Jennifer Stevens Aubrey, and Lissa Behm-Morawitz
Proposal deadline: April 10, 2009
The editors seek essays that explore Stephenie Meyer¹s wildly popular Twilight series. We are particularly interested in essays that explore the cultural significance of the Twilight phenomenon and its impact on youth culture. The collection will feature scholarly work from a diversity of theoretical and methodological perspectives, including: analyses of the series¹ messages, production and marketing processes, and audiences. Wewelcome work from a wide variety of disciplines, including: communication, sociology, cultural studies, psychology, religious studies, and gender studies.
Possible topics include, but are not limited to:
--Representations of gender, race, class and sexuality
--Religion, morality, and values
--Feminist and anti-feminist themes in Twilight
--Intended and unintended audiences
--Fans and anti-fans
--Genre and vampire/werewolf folklore
--Relationship models (romantic, friendship, and familial)
--Space and place in Twilight
--Celebrity culture and Stephenie Meyer, Robert Pattinson, and Kristen Stewart
--Translation of the series for the screen
--The Twilight franchise
This collection will be proposed to Peter Lang's "Mediated Youth" series.Please email a 250-word proposal, short bibliography, brief author¹s bio, and contact information to Melissa Click at by April 10,
2009.
Notification of accepted proposals will be made by May 15, 2009.
First chapter drafts of 6000 to 8000 words will be due in early fall 2009.
--
Melissa Click, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Department of Communication
203D SwitzlerHall
University of Missouri
Columbia, MO65211
phone: 573.884.4694
fax: 573.884.5672
You are cordially invited to submit abstracts and/or panel suggestions for an international scholarly conference devoted to the life, work, and influence of Bruce Springsteen.
The conference, organized by Virginia Tech and Penn State Altoona, will be held at Monmouth University in northern New Jersey from September 25-27, 2009. The festivities will include various live acts, as well as keynote addresses by rock critics and figures from the music industry.
Papers will be considered for, but certainly not limited to, the session rubrics below. Full-panel submissions are also encouraged. The deadline for paper submission is April 30, 2009.
- Springsteen’s Musical Influences
- Springsteen and Critical Theory
- Springsteen on War: Vietnam, Iraq and Beyond Springsteen and Citizenship
- Springsteen and the Politics of Culture
- Springsteen and New Jersey Springsteen’s Musical Legacy
- Springsteen in the 21st Century
- Springsteen and Gender
- Springsteen’s Musical Contemporaries
- Springsteen and Dylans’s American Dreamscapes
- Springsteen and Performance
- Springsteen and the American Pastoral
- Springsteen and Work and Class
- Springsteen and Musicianship
- Springsteen and the E Street Shuffle: The Ever-Changing Instrumental Frame
- Springsteen and American Roots Music Traditions
- Springsteen and the Art of Staying Relevant
- Springsteen as Narrative Poet
- Springsteen and Rock n’ Roll Iconography
- Springsteen and Presidential Politics/Iconography
To submit an abstract, please go to and click on the abstract link.
For more information, contact:
Mark Bernhard, Ph.D.
Director
Continuing and Professional Education
702 University City Boulevard (0364)
Virginia Tech
Blacksburg, VA24061
540-231-4682
540-231-9886 (Fax)
Visit the website at