CFP: Literature on Trial (5/1; 10/6-10/7)

From: David Richard Pehlke (dpehlke@emory.edu)
Date: Wed Mar 01 2000 - 16:13:39 EST


The Department of French and Italian and the Program in Comparative
Literature present "Literature On Trial", an interdisciplinary conference
to be held October 6-7 at Emory University.

Keynote Speaker: Barbara Johnson, Harvard University.

Call for Papers: Since the expulsion of the poets from Plato's Republic,
literature has often stood accused of being dangerous and useless. Even
today, literary studies are called upon to defend themselves against
charges of irrelevance, non-productivity, and elitism. While
representations of trials in literature may reflect self-consciously upon
the literary text, trials of literary works question the work's status as
a legitimate object of scholarly inquiry. What is at stake in putting
literature on trial? What are the accusations to which literary studies
have had to answer? To what extent do these accusations reflect upon the
threat that literature may pose to the status of law? What is, then, the
crime of the literary act?

Avenues of Exploration: This conference aims to address the association of
literature and law by exploring three general areas: representations of
trials in literature, trials of specific literary texts, and the trial of
literary studies in general. We encourage interdisciplinary approaches
and welcome papers from all disciplines and periods.

Specifics: Please submit a cover letter and two copies of a 300 word
abstract for a twenty minute presentation by May 1, 2000. Participants
will be notified by May 17. Send to:
        
                Literature on Trial
        Department of French and Italian
                Emory University
                Atlanta, GA. 30322

Inquiries should be directed to Christopher Howe at chowe@emory.edu

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