CFP: Experimenting with Literary Form: The Developing Cultural Work of the
American Short Story, 1865-1914
NEMLA 2003 (March 6-9, 2003, Boston, MA)
Deadline: Sept. 15, 2002
The period between 1865 and 1914 saw the development of several =
different schools of fiction in American literature: realism, romance, =
regionalism, and naturalism all vied for literary supremacy during this =
time. Within this complex web of literary production, the short story =
emerged as the most widely used form for experimenting with the =
different types of literature being produced. But what was the short =
story being used for besides literary experimentation? Was the short =
story a form that was available to perform cultural work as well? This =
panel will examine how authors made use of the short story to negotiate =
the literary possibilities these competing schools offered them, =
specifically in terms of how the short story functioned as the literary =
form that could be used to mediated the competing aesthetic agendas =
foregrounded by each of these styles of fiction. At the same time, =
authors had begun using the short story to critique larger cultural =
phenomenon (such as the critique of racism in Chesnutt's short fiction, =
of gender inequality in Chopin, the Americanization process and the =
threats offered to America by immigrants in Cahan, etc.). With the =
proliferation of periodicals during this time period and the multiple =
possibilities that they offered for publication, the short story =
increasingly became the site for the period's struggle between art and =
cultural work, aesthetics and politics. What I hope to get at in this =
panel is analyzing the short story's specific role in the development of =
American literature, or, to put it another way, what it means for the =
short story to become the site of mediation for the competing visions of =
aesthetic production in American literature.
The 2003 NEMLA convention will be held in Boston, MA at the Hyatt =
Regency Hotel. All convention participants must be NEMLA members and =
must be registered for the convention by Dec. 1, 2002. NEMLA membership =
forms and conference registration information can be found at the NEMLA =
web site: http://www.nemla.org
Deadline for 250-500 word proposals is September 15, 2002. Please send =
queries and submissions to:
Tom Morgan
176 St. James Pl.
Buffalo, NY 14222
(716) 886-6234
e-mail: tlmorgan@acsu.buffalo.edu
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