CFP: Transatlantic Connections: "The Jew" in the Literatures of England and America (4/1/03; 10/22/03-10/26/03)

Transatlantic Connections: "The Jew" in the Literatures of England and =
America
"We want Jewish writers, Jewish books . . . . There is none now, and the =
fault is our own! We make no effort to enlighten our neighbors as to the =
true spirit of the hope that is in us, though no struggle is too great =
to obtain a proper position and estimation in the Christian world . . . =
. it is not enough to make the Jew respected, but to have JUDAISM =
rightly reverenced: and to do this, there must be a JEWISH LITERATURE, =
or the Jewish people will not advance one step."

-Grace Aguilar, The Jewish Faith, 1846

The 2003 ALA Jewish American Literature Conference, October 22-26, in =
Boca Raton, Fl seeks papers for a panel exploring the transatlantic =
connection between England and America in the representation of "the =
Jew" as a literary figure. "The Jew" gained ascendancy in British =
literature with Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice and saw a surge of =
representations, negative as well as positive, in the 19th and =
early-20th centuries with Jewish and non-Jewish authors alike: Grace =
Aguilar, Maria Edgeworth, George Eliot, Benjamin Disraeli, Charles =
Dickens, Anthony Trollope, Thomas Hardy, etc. Many of these authors, as =
well as others, furthered negative depictions of Jews in their texts; =
while others, like Aguilar for example, used their literature to correct =
that negative stereotype and educate their readers, and the public more =
generally, in matters of Judaism and religious tolerance. Such writers =
gained great popularity in America, maintaining a steady readership and =
following. This panel seeks to explore the transatlantic connection =
between these British authors and their American counterparts. What =
influence, if any, did they have on their contemporaries in America, as =
well as those that were to follow? What elements, in regards to the =
depiction of "the Jew" as a literary character, do the two worlds share? =
How do they differ? This panel is open to paper suggestions that explore =
any number of connections between the two literary worlds.

Please send 250-500 word abstracts via email to Traci Klass =
(tklass_at_english.ufl.edu) by April 1, 2003.

Traci Klass
Department of English
University of Florida
4008 Turlington Hall
Gainesville, Fl 32606
tklass_at_english.ufl.edu

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Received on Sun Feb 09 2003 - 19:12:55 EST