Call for Papers:
Constructions of Memory in Contemporary American Literature
International Conference organised by
Université Paul Valéry, Montpellier III
June 21-23, 2000
The construction of American identity accompanying the territorial
expansion of the United States involved the rejection or negation of Old
World and Native American cultures. Now, however, with the rise of ethnic
or minority literatures, contemporary U.S. writers are returning to this
"forgotten" past. These alternative sites of memory may have no more valid
claims to representing objective reality than the federating concepts that
formed an earlier national literature. But in contrast to that work of
homogenization the new literatures of the United States are characterized
by plurality, interactivity and synergy. They announce a multi-cultural
United states whose features are not yet defined. Contemporary acts of
memory are not simply nostalgic returns to the past; rather, in the most
accomplished works, they are transfigurations of the present.
We invite scholars of contemporary literature to reflect on the
rediscovery and transformation of the past, following a number of possible
directions:
--the representation of pre-Colombian cultures
--the representation of ways of life that were abandoned during the great
waves of immigration
--the return to continents left behind--Africa, Asia, Europe
--the return to key moments in the history of the U.S.
Emphasis should be given to the new artistic forms employed in these acts
of memory and to the redefinition of American modes of expression that they
entail.
Send inquiries and abstracts of 150-200 words (before January 30, 2000) to
any of the organisers listed below:
Wendy Harding: harding@bred.univ-montp3.fr
Jacky Martin: jwmartin@bred.univ-montp3.fr
Simone Pellerin: pellerin@smr1.univ-montp3.fr
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