CALL FOR PAPERS: VIRTUAL CONFERENCE AND EDITED VOLUME

Abstract deadline:
Please submit 500-word abstract and brief bio to Kelly Comfort (kcomfort@gatech.edu) by Monday, October 26, 2020.

Information about the virtual conference:
I intend to organize accepted submissions into a two-day virtual conference in early December 2020. All accepted participants will rank suggested date(s) and time(s) for the online conference to allow for maximum participation. Presenters will submit either a 15-minute videotaped presentation or a 10-page conference paper at least one week before the conference date(s). I will upload those onto a password-protected conference website. Everyone will be asked to watch the videos and read the papers before the virtual discussion sessions for each paper. To the extent possible, each presenter should attend all discussion sessions to foster as much dialogue as possible among the group. We will also dedicate time to a closing discussion of the collective influence of Huysmans’ novel À Rebours and his protagonist Des Esseintes on Latin American modernismo. I plan to limit conference participation to 8 to 15 presenters in order to keep the expectations of watching the videos and reading the papers as well as attending all (most) discussion sessions manageable. These same presenters will ideally be the contributors to the edited volume. You are welcome to invite interested colleagues and students to attend the conference even if they do not present. The conference will be completely virtual and free of charge.

Information about the edited volume:
All conference presenters will be invited to submit a chapter contribution for consideration in the edited volume “Poisoned By a Book”: The Influence of J.-K. Huysmans’ À Rebours on Latin American Modernismo. Final acceptance will be based on the quality of the paper, while also accounting for an expansive treatment of the topic without repetition among chapter topics. Chapters should be approximately 20 pages and follow MLA guidelines. Please write in English, although you may include French and Spanish citations in the original followed by English translations in parentheses.