Call for Abstracts Extended (10/21/02):
In order to gather a wider variety of proposals, the editors have
extended their deadline for the submission of abstracts. The editors
especially encourage essays by women scholars and/or about women
authors. Several female authors (such as Jenifer Levin, Carol Anshaw,
and Lucy Jane Bledsoe) are listed below; however, this list is by no
means inclusive given the variety and volume of American sports
literature.
ESSAYS ON AMERICAN SPORTS LITERATURE
Edited collection from Greenwood Publishing
We invite proposals for a collection of critical essays on the
connections between sports literature and culture in twentieth- and
twenty first century America. The collection will be published by
Greenwood Publishing Group.
The general purpose of this book is an examination of the ways sports
fiction, drama, and poetry have responded to social and cultural
concerns in America since 1900. Proposed essays may focus on specific
social moments (e.g., sports literature and the Civil Rights Movement)
or on specific texts by writers both canonical and non-canonical. The
collection's essays are meant for scholars, students, and serious
general readers who are interested in American sports literature and
culture.
The tentative table of contents will group essays related to the
following areas:
Sports Literature: Ethics and Values
Possible approaches that would fit within this category include:
* American national and political myth, allegory, and symbolism
* Figuration of religious or spiritual aspirations in sports
literature
* The use of sports to define or critique social and personal
behavior
Sports Literature: Race and Ethnicity
Possible areas of focus within this category include:
* Sports literature and the expression of racial and ethnic
difference and/or similarity
* Racial equality as it is described or imagined in sports literature
* Ways racial and ethnic minorities have been characterized by
non-minority writers
Sports Literature: Class and Money
Possible areas of focus within this category include:
* Sports literature that draws on or seeks to transcend class
boundaries
* Imagining economic advancement through sports
* Writing that addresses Fans vs. Owners vs. Players in the arena of
professional sports
Sports Literature: Gender and Sexuality
Possible areas of focus within this category may include:
* Sports literature as defining or defying gender roles
* Sports literature and sexuality/sexual preference
* Violence and masculinity as portrayed in sports literature
Sports Literature: Language and Aesthetics
Possible areas of focus within this category may include:
* Modernism and/or Postmodernism in sports literature
* Formal analyses of metaphor, symbolism, narrative construction,
etc.
* The presentation of beauty in sports literature
Other relevant topics that may be considered include:
* Sports literature and the development of adolescent identities
* Literature that addresses current problems in the culture of sports
(e.g., the unruly and violent behavior of parents at children's
sporting events)
As these categories indicate, we encourage papers that approach American
sports literature from a variety of perspectives. In general, we seek
high-quality essays that offer original readings of sports fiction,
drama, and poetry either by revisiting the work of canonical writers or
by discussing the sports-related work of writers not often considered by
academics. A non-inclusive list of possible authors includes: Sherman
Alexie, Sherwood Anderson, Carol Anshaw, Toni Cade Bambara, T. C. Boyle,
Rita Mae Brown, John Cheever, Robert Coover, Don DeLillo, David Allan
Evans, Ellen Gilchrist, Ernest Hemingway, Maxine Kumin, Ring Lardner,
Jenifer Levin, Jack London, Bernard Malamud, Jason Miller, Joyce Carol
Oates, Marge Piercy, John Updike, John Edgar Wideman, and August Wilson.
Ultimately, we envision the collection will be equally balanced between
essays that provide new interpretations of works by single authors and
those that explore relevant themes in sports literature by drawing
together the work of several writers.
Please submit 500-word abstracts for proposed essays of 5,000 words by
October 21, 2002 to:
Michael Cocchiarale
Humanities Division
Widener University
Chester, PA 19013
mfc0001@mail.widener.edu
Or:
Scott Emmert
Department of English
University of Wisconsin -- Fox Valley
1478 Midway Road
Menasha, WI 54952-1297
Emmert_S@msn.com
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From the Literary Calls for Papers Mailing List
CFP@english.upenn.edu
Full Information at
http://www.english.upenn.edu/CFP/
or write Erika Lin: elin@english.upenn.edu
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