5^th MESEA Conference
The Society for Multi-Ethnic Studies: Europe and the Americas
May 18–20, 2006
University of Navarra, Pamplona, Spain
Call for Papers

Speakers:

Myriam Chancy,            Writer and independent scholar
Shirley Geok-Lin Lim    University of California, Santa Barbara
Jeremy D. Popkin     University of Kentucky
Joan-Pau Rubiés            London School of Economics and Political Science

ETHNIC LIFE WRITING AND HISTORIES

We invite paper abstracts and complete panel proposals on all aspects of ethnic life writing and histories in the Americas, Europe, Asia, and Africa.
We encourage interdisciplinary perspectives that highlight the intersections between life writing, history, sociology, and culture. Topics may include, but are not limited to: theoretical intersections between auto/biography and history; expanding the concepts of auto/biography and histories; theory as auto/biography; auto/ethnography as auto/biography; autobiographies and biographies; the cultural work of life writing texts; testimonio; genres of life writing in ethnic contexts; travel and travel writing: writing selves, writing histories; life writing as historical inscription; family memoirs; narrative perspectives in history and auto/biography; questions of ethics in life writing; autobiography, history and law; concepts of nationhood and history through life writing; voices in history, historical voices; alternative histories; auto/biographies by/about historians; creating cultural and/or collective memory through life writing; visualizing auto/biographies and histories; the media and virtuality: film as auto/biography and history; the Internet and blogs as forms of life writing; theater studies and autoperformance; hearing and speaking: aural and oral auto/biography and histories; the sociologies and economics of auto/biography and histories; different worlds, different auto/biographies, different histories – globalization and its (dis)contents.

Three hard copies of 300-word abstracts or full panel proposals (that include a description of the panel and specific abstracts) as well as an electronic copy must be submitted to MESEA’s Program Director, Yiorgos Kalogeras, Department of English, Aristotle University, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece (kalogera@enl.auth.gr) by November 15, 2005.
At this conference, MESEA is inaugurating its Young Scholars Research Awards. For more information: http://www.mesea.org

CFP for 5th MESEA Conference, The Society for Multi-Ethnic Studies: Europe and the Americas, Pamplona, Spain: May 18–20, 2006 - Mediated Voices: Constructing, Challenging, and Eradicating Methods of Mediation in African American Women’s Narratives.

This panel explores the various dimensions of first-person, as-told-to narratives of African American women’s lives in slavery and freedom. From the eighteenth through twentieth centuries, non-literate and enslaved African American women related personal experiences to interviewers and amanuenses for a multitude of reasons. Constructions and authorship of these narratives have been debated and cause texts to be excluded from being classified as part of African American women’s literary tradition. Consequently, when scholars examine and attempt to situate these texts into specific literary traditions, the authority and positions of the writer and narrator are confusing and questionable. At the heart of these textual mediations are African American women who were complicit in, resisted or worked to eradicate the mediation to create “writings” that were uniquely self-representative.

Send one-page proposals by October 15 to: DoVeanna S. Fulton (doveanna.fulton@asu.edu) and Joycelyn K. Moody (moodyjk@earthlink.net). For more information on the MESEA conference go to: http://www.baas.ac.uk/news/confdets.asp?confnews=Europe&id=577

DoVeanna S. Fulton, Associate Professor, English Department, Arizona State University, P.O. Box 870302, Tempe, AZ 85287-0302, (480) 965-6356, (480) 965-3451 (fax)

List of Members’ Panel Suggestions for the 5^th MESEA Conference

Pamplona, May 18-20, 2006

Please remember that you must write directly to the Panel Convenor with your paper proposals. The Convenor will then submit the completed panel to the Conference Program Director by 15 November.

1. Panel title: “Homeland Security and the Management of ‘Life’ and ‘Death’”

Co-convenors: Grace Hong (University of Wisconsin-Madison) and Sanda Lwin (Yale University).

         This panel takes up the conference theme, “Ethnic Life Writing and Histories” in order to raise the question of what is meant by and recognized as "life" in the contemporary moment. Since the events of September 11, 2001, the United States has utilized a discourse of injury to legitimate brutal and unilateral war against Afghanistan and Iraq, to justify the coerced participation and support for these attacks from European and Asian allied nations, and to rationalize racist immigration policy and racial profiling. While U.S. has claimed that these wars are necessary for self-protection and “homeland security,” such claims obscure the ways in which these wars are aggressive imperialist attempts to reconsolidate U.S. control in the face of its weakening global economic influence. Perhaps instigated by U.S efforts at global hegemony, and fueled by attacks in Madrid and London, European nations are themselves using such notions as “homeland security” to justify their own racist immigration practices and racial profiling tactics.

         In this context, racialization is managed through the selective definition and protection of “life” and the differential extension of “death,” as legitimated through the notion of “homeland security.” Which violations of life are recognized as such, and which are narrated as merely ways of maintaining “security”? The torture and indefinite detention of prisoners without trial in Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo, the dearth of images of soldiers killed in Iraq as well as images of Iraqi civilian casualties, and the shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes, the Brazilian man misrecognized as “Asian” and killed by British police immediately following the July 7 bombings are only a few examples of the ways in which certain lives are valued and certain deaths are mourned, while others are not.

         Given this context in which racialization is produced through a differential relationship to death—physical, social, and political—racialized cultures become an archive in which we can read for alternative definitions of “life” and “death.” This panel thus also takes up a genealogy of anti-racist thought—particularly queer and feminist analyses—which has emerged to contest nationalist and hegemonic definitions of “life” and “death” Such alternative deployments are particularly crucial now as definitions of life and death are mobilized by the U.S. to legitimate war and to rationalize a new global political economic order.

Scholars engaged in any analyses related to this topic are invited to submit proposals for this panel. Please send 1-page proposals, postmarked or sent electronically (e-mail or fax) by October 15, 2005, to:

Grace Hong, Department of English, 7187 Helen C. White Hall, 600 N. Park Drive, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, Email: gkhong@wisc.edu, Fax: 608-263-3709 (Please put “ATTN: Grace Hong” prominently on the cover sheet)

2. Panel title: “Academic Autobiography and Intellectual History”

Convenor: Rosalia Baena (University of Navarra)

This panel invites papers which analyze academic and/or intellectual autobiographies by transcultural authors in contemporary writing. Academic autobiography may be defined as "a published text presented as a truthful account of the author's own life, written by someone who has spent a significant part of that life as a professional member of an academic discipline, and in which the role of that academic discipline in the author's life is evident either in the content or in the construction of the narrative, or both" (Jeremy D. Popkin).

I am interested in the analysis of the definition and function of autobiography among academics: what motivates the writing of these autobiographies; the narrative strategies used; how the authors’ scientific trajectory and their epistemological positions affect the way they organize their life writing exercises; the repercussions that events of the private sphere exposed to the public view have; reflect on whether autobiography is simply an intellectual artifact or if it is related to social positions and academic strategies, etc. Moreover, I would like to investigate the position of academic autobiography in the context of contemporary cultural and intellectual history, reading these ostensibly subjective and personal narratives as significant interventions in the development of twentieth-century political, social, literary, and historical theory. Authors that may be considered include Edward Said, Jill Ker Conway, Shirley Lim, Maya Angelou, Eva Hoffman, Richard Rodriguez, Alice Kaplan, Maria Torgovnik, among others.

Please send 500-word abstracts to Rosalia Baena (rbaena@unav.es) before October 15^th, 2006.

3. Panel title: “New Forms of Ethnic Life Writing—Blogging and the Internet”

Convenor: Dorothea Fischer-Hornung (University of Heidelberg)

Color or Content: does race and ethnicity matter when you blog? Why are blogs such powerful tools in the discourse of ethnicity? Does the immediacy of blogging change the structure and process of ethnic identity formation? Tracing the evolution of blogger’s identity over time, is it shaped more by cultural preferences than skin color or ethnic heritage? Do blogs provide a way to investigate traditional genealogies or to create inventive new ones? Is specific ethnic culture becoming generally global culture or can we observe an increase in ethnification? Are blogs part of “post-ethnicity” – a growing willingness—and ability—to cross cultures in a post-national age? Do blogs enable more freedom or do they actually exert a controlling influence through the formation of extra-personal communities?

Clearly the personal and public, history and life writing, are finding new and creative expression in the day-to-day life of bloggers.

What would the deconstruction of statements like the one taken from a blog (Dec 12, 2003) tell us about ethnic identity? “You have no idea who I am, what my background is, etc. You are making all these assumptions based on the colour of my skin. The observations of someone who has spent the vast majority of his adult life in this part of the world [Asia] are perfectly valid as far as I am concerned and I am heartened that the majority of, for want of a better phrase, indigenous bloggers seem not to have a problem with that….” <http://www.flyingchair.net/story.php?storyID=876>.

What effect do blog headers have, for example, “Teen charged with Ethnic Intimidation on blog” <http://www.blogherald.com/2005/05/19/teen-charged-with-ethnic-intimidation-on-blog/>?
               How do texts or images interface in blogging? How can we interpret life writing in the proliferating digital images 
enabled by blogging software such as the series of thousands of images of a company desperately trying to hold out in New 
Orleans on sites like: <http://sigmund.biz/kat/>?
What long-range effect do political blogs like Xymphora <http://xymphora.blogspot.com/> have? This site, which has become part of the Library of Congress Web Preservation Project because of its blogging on 9/11, on Sept 5, 2005 introduced the concept of “ethnic cleansing” in reference to events surrounding Hurricane Katrina. This concept elicited numerous, personal, political, partly lengthy and very thought-provoking responses within the subsequent days.

If you are interested in investigating some of these questions, please submit an abstract to: Dorothea Fischer-Hornung: fischer-hornung@mesea.org. Deadline: October 15, 2005.

4. Panel title: “Traveling Nurses: Nancy Prince, Mary Seacole, Florence Nightingale and the Transatlantic Stories of their Lives”

Convenor: Carmen Birkle (Johannes Gutenberg-Universität, Mainz)

Nursing was one of the few areas of life that were almost exclusively restricted to women in 19^th-century America. However, it was by no means a reputable affair if done professionally. Before the Civil War, it was mostly a private occupation, usually practiced by women within the family or a closer circle of friends. But with the Civil War, the need for nurses increased, and many women – often from the upper social classes – volunteered. However, professional training was rare, and it was even less common if a woman was black. But if we consider nursing in a more general sense, women were nurses in the 19^th century because of their general confinement to the private sphere, to the raising of children, and to the taking care of the sick in the family.

Thus, it comes as no surprise that Nancy Prince (1799-1856), an African American free woman from New England, had to take care of her mother and her numerous younger siblings. To escape from this dreary situation, she got married in 1824 and traveled with her husband to St. Petersburg in Russia, where he was a servant at court. To make her own money, as a form of nursing she took in children boarders and finally began to produce baby linen and children’s garments. Because of ill health, she left Russia before her husband (who died there) and returned to the U.S. only to embark on new enterprises. She found many poor black orphans and attempted to establish an asylum, which, however, miserably failed for lack of finances. Forever in search of “fields of usefulness,” she sailed to Jamaica in 1840. There she wanted to support emancipation and to teach children to read, write, work, and believe in God. Prince rejected the limitations of private nursing, rejected taking care of an incapable mother, who defined herself only through the number of children she gave birth to, and rejected having children of her own. Instead, she went into the field of public nursing, taking care of and educating children on a larger scale.

The African Jamaican Mary Seacole (1805-81), too, through her education as a nurse and her work with soldiers during the Crimean War, made public nursing her profession. The Italian-born English woman Florence Nightingale (1820-1910) was one of the few (white) women in the 19^th century who was actually trained in nursing and who later established nursing schools and published books about relevant topics. She became famous because of her engagement as a nursing administrator during the Crimean War (1854-56) and her improvement of hygienic conditions in military hospitals.

Instead of having children of their own, through public nursing and social work, Prince, Seacole, and Nightingale – to different extents – broke the boundaries between and integrated the gendered and racially marked private and public spheres in order to lead self-sufficient lives. Traveling in order to nurse implied that chances for public occupation were not myriad, but by writing about both their traveling and their nursing, the three women assumed authority over their lives that were marked in significantly distinct ways by racial and gender obstacles because of their different cultural, ethnic, and national backgrounds. In my paper, I will analyze Prince’s and Seacole’s travel narratives, focusing on the idea of the need for transatlantic journeys in order to be professionally active, and some of Nightingale’s letters written during and about the Crimean War and will put particular emphasis on their narrative strategies of authorization as well as on the brief (transatlantic) encounter between Seacole and Nightingale during the Crimean War. Prince’s, Seacole’s, and Nightingale’s public nursing as well as the narrativization and publication of their experiences questioned gender roles and separate spheres and redefined the roles and positions of women in a transatlantic context.

Send abstracts by October 15, 2005 to Carmen Birkle (birkle@uni-mainz.de).

5. Panel title: “Thirty Years after Names: Native American Life Writing Revisited”

Convenor: Iping Liang (National Taiwan Normal University)

For over a century Native Americans have experienced one of the most complex and poignant relationships with the narrative form of autobiography in the history of non-mainstream literatures in North America. As far back as 1833 a pattern of co-authorship was established with the publication of Black Hawk by J. B. Patterson, to be followed in the next century by Cogewea (Mourning Dove and Lucullus McWhorter, 1927), Black Elk Speaks (Nicholas Black Elk and John Neihardt, 1932), and arguably Waterlily (Ella Deloria and Franz Boas, completed in 1944 and first published in 1990). The issues of co-authorship, collaboration and co-incorporation, in the words of Arnold Krupat, seem to define the nature of “Indian autobiography” “as a genre [based on] the principle of original bicultural composite composition” (1985: 31).

            As Krupat notes, the concept of “Indian autobiography” is contradictory (1985: 30). Despite its oddity with oral traditions, “Indian autobiography” has flourished since N. Scott Momaday’s Names: A Memoir (1976). In the course of thirty years, the genre has been enriched by works such as The Way to Rainy Mountain (1977), Storyteller (1981), Halfbreed Chronicles (1986), Interior Landscapes (1990), Faces in the Moon (1994), Killing Custer: The Battle of the Little Bighorn and the Fate of the Plains Indians (1994), Mixedblood Messages (1998), Family Matters, Tribal Affairs (1998), I Hear the Train (2001), Winning the Dust Bowl (2001), Woman Who Watches Over the World: A Native Memoir (2002), Books and Islands in Ojibwe Country (2003), etc. As various as the forms and voices of these texts are, Native American biographical narratives are, nevertheless, characterized by what Simon Ortiz says in his poem: “I Tell You Now.”

Thirty years after Names, MESEA 2006 would be a good occasion to revisit the genre of Native American life writing. This panel welcomes the widest possible theoretical criticisms and textual analyses. Possible topics to be considered include the issue of authorship and subjectivity; the individual and the collective; comparative studies; cultural translation; genre blurring; cross cultural collaboration; crossblood and crosswriting; life writing as Native ethnography; dispossession and life writing; the pictorial tradition of Native life stories; as well as the material context of the production of Native American biographical narratives. We also welcome proposals that concern other Native life writing (co)authors, such as Occom, Apess, Winnemucca, Wooden Leg, Yellow Wolf, Geronimo, Eastman, Bonnin and Luther Standing Bull.

Send abstracts by October 15, 2005 to Iping Liang (lip@ntnu.edu.tw).

6. Panel title: “The Logic of Fragmentation in Ethnic Life Writing”

Convenors: Ana Maria Manzanas (University of Salamanca) and Jesús Benito (University of Valladolid)

“One has been told by others that life is all about identity and coherence and continuity,” writes James Hans in Imitation and the Image of Man We are taught to seek unity as opposed to dispersion and fragmentation, yet our lives do not unfold in the manner of a Victorian novel; life is not coherent and continuous and does not follow a linear perspective, as traditional autobiographers would have it. “Progress,” redefined by Derek Walcott as “history’s dirty joke,” was the backbone of Franklin’s Autobiography, but can hardly account for the lives of the subaltern others. This panel welcomes papers looking at the ideological and aesthetic consequences of deconstructing unity, linearity and continuity in ethnic writing. If we do away with the logic of universalism, purism and monolingualism, what other logic or logics remain? How does fragmentation absorb and displace hegemonic forms of knowledge into the perspective of the subaltern, as Walter Mignolo claims in Local Histories, Global Designs? The panel intends to address other questions such as when and how does heterogeneity become a positive rather than a negative dispersion of energy? How can multiplicity and fragmentation become a more accurate way of looking at the self?

Send abstracts by October 15, 2005 to Ana Manzanas (amanzana@usal.es).

7. Panel title: “Assuming Ethnic Identity in Autobiographical Novels”

Convenor: Cathy Waegner (University of Siegen)

The young, white, upper middle-class author Gayle Brandeis has written a powerful first novel called The Book of Dead Birds (2003): She describes the painful path of the daughter of a Korean prostitute and an African American soldier, growing up in a racialized district in San Diego. The author has conducted intensive research in order to authenticate the settings, events, and references to Korean culture in her bildungsroman. In numerous interviews, however, Brandeis insists on the autographical, deeply personal impulses of her book with its first-person narrator.

            What are the problems involved when an author assumes an ethnic mask, in this case a composite yellow/black one? Mere “literary minstrelsy”? Arrogant presumption on the part of the mainstream author? Even unethical?? Does the charisma of the first-person narrator fade when the ethnicity of the author is known? Or is the author’s imaginative feat intensified for the reader? Which narrative strategies enhance the interface between autobiography and fiction? Do we in fact have to re-think notions of “the autobiographical”? How do texts like this affect general perceptions of racialization and the history of ethnic persons?

         Ideally, contributors to this panel would, taken as a whole, present a range of ethnicities of both authors and masks.

Send abstracts by October 15, 2005 to Cathy Waegner (waegner@anglistik.uni-siegen.de).

National Association for Ethnic Studies, Inc.

CALL FOR ABSTRACTS/PROPOSALS

2006 NAES CONFERENCE

34th Annual National Conference

March 30—April 1, 2006

San Francisco, California

ETHNIC COMMUNITIES IN TRANSITION

The National Association for Ethnic Studies invites abstracts/proposals for papers, panels, workshops, or media productions from people in all disciplines and interdisciplinary areas of the arts, business, social sciences, humanities, science and education.

The conference will create a lively forum for the discussion of issues related to ethnic communities, including, but not limited to the following:

Race relations in the Pacific Rim, ethnic voices in literature, art and music, coalition building, allied communities, transforming communities, transnational communities, pan-ethnicity, bisexual/transgendered/gay/lesbian communities, intermarriage, language, definitions of family, interracial adoption, hybrid and biracial communities of children, scientific communities, environmental racism and city planning, housing, racially segregated families, disappearance of ethnic communities through outmarriage, ethnic business ventures, community institutions, schools, ethnic military communities, “federal communities” (Los Alamos, reservations), ethnic sex workers and mail order brides.

Two-hundred-fifty-word abstracts/proposals should be submitted by October 15, 2005, which relate to any aspect of the conference theme, with the participant’s institutional affiliation and mailing address, telephone and fax numbers, and e-mail address. The abstract/proposal must indicate whether the presentation is an individual paper or a complete panel presentation and if a/v equipment is needed. Complete panel proposals must include abstracts for each individual presenter.

All program participants must pay full conference registration and 2006 NAES membership dues.

Send abstracts/proposals to:

Dr. Maythee Rojas

Department of Women’s Studies

California State University, Long Beach

1250 Bellflower Blvd.

Long Beach, CA 90840-1603

Telephone: (562) 985-2604

Fax: (562) 985-1868

E-mail: mrojas2@csulb.edu

Deadline for receipt of 250-word abstracts/proposals: October 15, 2005

For more information about the conference and NAES, visit PRIVATE HREF="http://www.ethnicstudies.org/" MACROBUTTON HtmlResAnchor http://www.ethnicstudies.org

2nd International Conference on Technology, Knowledge and Society

The call-for-papers closes on 30 September 2005

THE SECOND INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON TECHNOLOGY, KNOWLEDGE AND SOCIETY Hyderabad, India, 12-15 December 2005 http://www.Technology-Conference.com

Following the success of the inaugural International Conference on Technology, Knowledge and Society held at the University of California Berkeley, USA, we are pleased to announce the second conference, to be held in one of the emerging IT centres of the world, Hyderabad.

The conference will take a broad and cross-disciplinary approach to technology in society. With a particular focus on digital information and communications technologies, the conference will address: human usability, technologies for citizenship and community participation, and learning technologies. Participants will include researchers, teachers and practitioners whose interests are either technical or humanistic, or whose work crosses over between the applied technological and social sciences.

The conference features an impressive line up of international main speakers, including Mr. S. Gopalakrishnan, COO, Co-founder and Member of Board, Infosys Technologies Ltd, and Genevieve Bell, Senior Researcher, Intel Research. The conference will also include numerous paper, workshop and colloquium presentations.

We would particularly like to invite you to respond to the conference call for papers. The conference will also include numerous paper, workshop and colloquium presentations. Papers submitted by participants will be fully peer-refereed and published in print and electronic formats in the International Journal of Technology, Knowledge and Society. If you are unable to attend the conference in person, virtual registrations are also available which allow you to submit a paper for refereeing and possible publication in this fully refereed academic journal, as well as access to the electronic version of the conference proceedings. Proposals are reviewed within four weeks of submission.

Full details of the conference, including an online call for papers form, are to be found at the conference website.

Yours Sincerely,

Prof. Amar Galla
The Australian National University
Canberra, Australia

MELUS India

CONFERENCE ANNOUNCEMENT (HYDERABAD, JANUARY 5-7, 2006)

MELUS-INDIA (The Society for the Study of the Multi-Ethnic Literature of the United States – India Chapter) invites you to its Seventh International Conference.

Dates: January 5-6, 2006

Venue: Inter University Center for International Studies (formerly ASRC), Hyderabad.

THEME: “DIALOG ACROSS CULTURES: BRIDGING DIFFERENCES IN AMERICAN LITERATURE”

MELOW (The Society for the Study of the Multi-Ethnic Literatures of the World) Invites you to its first International Conference which will dove-tail into the MELUS-India 2006 Conference.

Date: January 7, 2006

Venue: Inter University Center for International Studies (formerly ASRC), Hyderabad.

THEME: “DIALOG ACROSS CULTURES: INDIA AND THE WORLD”

Description:

The context for a dialog is any situation where one is exposed to a new experience or a fresh idea. The context, therefore, may be as varied as lectures, seminars, laboratories, theaters, museums, concert halls, pizza parlors, internet chat rooms, mailing lists and coffee houses, debates and discussions, or, more simply, times of quiet reflection in the library or even while taking a stroll. In short, there is a vast array of circumstances where we can encounter a new idea, whether between groups, or through one-to-one interactions between individuals, or the more solitary confrontation of the individual alone with himself. These encounters can result in the emergence of new worlds of understanding.

Dialog may be in the form of reading a book, discovering the beauty of a work of art, listening carefully to a musical masterpiece, developing a new idea, or designing a new experiment. In all these cases, dialog may take you to places unexplored hitherto. Boundaries and prevalent notions may be challenged or approached with a newer perspective, inaugurating and invigorating the existing canon. Sometimes silent communication also takes place, formless and voiceless, where articulation takes place through gestures and delicately nuanced body language. Or through alternate languages and mediums of expression.

The MELUS 2006 Conference (Jan 5-6, 2006) will explore these and related issues, taking up diverse genres – not literature alone but also cinema, theatre, media, and popular culture. 250-word abstracts of papers related to the theme in these areas are invited from members of MELUS-India. The focus will be American Literature but interdisciplinary perspectives are encouraged.

The MELOW 2006 Conference (Jan 7, 2006) will explore the same issues, focusing on India and her relationship to the world. How does the world see us, our writers and our literary traditions? How does our popular culture, our films, our folk traditions compare with those of other cultures? Where do we stand ! vis-à-vis our foreign counterparts? 250-word abstracts of papers related to these areas are invited. The focus will be Indian Writing in English (including translations into English) taking a comparatist perspective, elaborating on the theme of the Conference, i.e., “Dialog Across Cultures”. (However, please note, this conference will not include topics related to Diasporic Writing from India as we have already exhausted the topic at an earlier conference.)

For both the conferences, we are looking for papers that fall under the following heads:

Theories that deal with Dialog between Disparate Groups
Dialog Across Barriers: Race and / or Ethnicity
The Gendered Voice
Trans-cultural Dialog in Films, media or popular culture
Relationships between texts or genres
Power games in the creation, reception and dissemination of texts
Literary concerns and strategies that cut across boundaries
Texts that straddle multi-cultural spaces

Delegates should state clearly whether their abstracts are for MELUS-India (related to American Literature) or to MELOW (related to Indian literatures from a comparative perspective).

Deadline for all abstracts is Monday, August 31, 2005. However, send in your abstracts early. Email them to mjaidka@sify.com not as attachment but as part of the text message. Abstracts received after the deadline may not be considered.

Acceptance letters to selected participants, along with further details of the conference, will be mailed latest by the 30^th of September, 2005. Selected participants will be asked to send in their papers and Delegate fee.

The deadline for full papers and Delegate Fee will be 30^th November, 2005.

Please note: these dates are NOT flexible as proper arrangements have to be made in advance and rooms have to be booked at the venue.

For any queries contact: Manju Jaidka (Secretary, MELUS-India, MELOW), Professor and Chairperson Or Prof. Anil Raina, Dept of English, Panjab University, Chandigarh – 160014, Email: mjaidka@sify.com or anilraina@glide.net.in

4th Annual Meeting of the Cultural Studies Association (U.S.) Washington, D.C.

George Mason University, Arlington campus

April 19-22, 2006

The Cultural Studies Association (U.S.) invites participation in its Fourth Annual Meeting from all areas and on all topics of relevance to Cultural Studies, including but not limited to literature, history, sociology, geography, anthropology, communications, popular culture, cultural theory, queer studies, critical race studies, feminist studies, postcolonial studies, media and film studies, material culture studies, performance and visual arts studies.

The conference this year will feature plenary sessions on the culture of science and technology, cultural studies and the social sciences, and global cities and citizenship.

We welcome proposals in the following categories:

1: Individual papers. Proposals for individual papers are due by October 15, and should be submitted at http://www.csaus.pitt.edu/conf/submit.php?cf=3

Successful submission will be acknowledged. If you do not receive an acknowledgement within 24 hours, please resubmit. The acknowledgement will say that your proposal has been "successfully submitted," which does NOT mean your proposal has been accepted.

All paper proposals require:
a. The name, email address, institutional affiliation of the author, entered on the website.
b. A 500 word abstract for the 20 minute paper entered on the website.
c. Any needed audio-visual equipment must be noted following the abstract in that space on the site.

2. Preconstituted paper sessions, roundtable* sessions, or workshops.* These should NOT be submitted on this website, but should be sent to csaus@pitt.edu with the words "Session Proposal" in the subject line.
Session proposals are due by October 15th. All proposals will be acknowledged, but please allow at least two business days before inquiring.

All session proposals require:
a. The name, email address, phone number, and institutional affiliation of the proposer.
b. A 500 word overview of the session, identifying the type of session proposed. For paper sessions, also include 500 word abstracts of each of the papers: maximum, four papers per session; minimum three papers per session.
c. The names, email addresses, and institutional affiliations of each participant.
d. A request for any needed audio-visual equipment. All AV equipment must be requested with the proposal.

3. Seminar proposals. Due: October 15.
The conference will again feature a series of seminars. Seminars are small-group (maximum 15 individuals) discussion sessions for which participants write brief "position papers" that are circulated prior to the conference. Those wishing to lead seminars are encouraged to submit a proposal.

All seminar proposals require:
a. A 500 word overview of the topic designed to attract participants as well as the following:
b. The name, email address, phone number, mailing address, and institutional affiliation of the leader proposing the seminar.
c. A brief bio or one page CV of the leader proposing the seminar.
d. A request for any needed audio-visual equipment. All AV equipment must be requested with the proposal. Since seminars typically involve discussion of previously circulated papers, such requests must be explained.

Seminar proposals should be sent to:
May Joseph, Assoc. Prof. Global Studies
Pratt Institute
may.joseph@earthlink.net

Those interested in participating in (rather than leading) a seminar should consult the list of seminars and the instructions for signing up for them, available at http://www.csaus.pitt.edu after November 1.

All participants in the Fourth Annual meeting must be members of CSA.
Membership dues for 2006 will be $40 for those employed full-time, and $20 for those employed part-time and for graduate students. In addition, registration fees must be paid by all participants. See the registration page of this website for details about fees and deadlines.

If you have any questions about procedures for submission or other concerns, please e-mail us at: csaus@pitt.edu.

*Roundtables are sessions in which panelists offer brief remarks, but the bulk of the session is devoted to discussion among the panelists and audience members. Workshops are similarly devoted primarily to discussion, but they focus on practical problems in such areas as teaching, research, or activism. No paper titles may be included for roundtables or workshops.

From: Liz Conforti cultural+@pitt.edu

Job Postings

Northeastern University: Davis Distinguished Professorship in American Literature

The English Department of Northeastern University invites applications and nominations for the Davis Distinguished Professorship in American Literature. Requirements: Ph.D. in English, American Studies, or related field and credentials appropriate to appointment at the rank of full professor. The successful candidate will be a senior scholar with outstanding accomplishments in research and teaching in any field of American literature. We are especially interested in candidates who will bring breadth to the position and who will take an active collegial role in a small and intellectually diverse department. The position comes with a preferential teaching load and an annual research fund; salary is competitive and commensurate with qualifications. Please send application letter, curriculum vitae, and the names and contact information of at least three references to: Mary Loeffelholz, Chair, Department of English, 406 Holmes Hall, Northeastern University 02115. No email applications, please. To insure fullest consideration, applications should be received by November 15, 2005; however, all applications will be considered until the position is filled. Position contingent upon available funding. Northeastern University is an Equal Opportunity, Affirmative Action Educational Institution and Employer, Title IX University. From: Gerald Bergevin gwberg@comcast.net

Northeastern University: Tenure-track Position in African American Literature

The English department of Northeastern University invites applications for a tenure-track position in African American literature at the rank of assistant or early associate professor. PhD in English, African American Studies, or related field required for appointment at the rank of assistant; candidates at the associate rank must have a record of scholarship and teaching appropriate for tenure. Applications will be considered in all areas of specialization, but we would particularly welcome candidates with research and teaching interests in pre-1900 prose. Additional interests in Afro-Caribbean literature or transatlantic literary and cultural studies highly desirable. Teaching responsibilities include undergraduate survey and specialized courses as well as graduate seminars. Normal teaching load for research-active faculty in the English department is 2/2, with releases for assistant professors in their initial years of appointment. Please send a c.v. and a letter of application to Mary Loeffelholz, Chair, Department of English. No email applications, please; please do not send materials beyond those requested. For fullest consideration, applications must be received by November 15, 2005. Dossiers and writing samples will be requested of selected candidates. Interviews are planned for MLA 2005 in Washington, D.C.. Position contingent upon available funding. Northeastern University is an Equal Opportunity, Affirmative Action Educational Institution and Employer, Title IX University.

University of Connecticut: English Department Position - Associate Professor and MELUS Editor

The Department of English and the Office of the Vice Provost for Multicultural and International Affairs seek a tenure track/tenured Associate Professor to teach multi-ethnic literature and serve as the Editor of MELUS, the quarterly journal of the Society for the Study of the Multi-Ethnic Literature of the United States. Superior scholarship and excellence in teaching expected. Knowledge of one or more US ethnic literatures required, as are strong editorial and administrative skills. The successful candidate will have an appointment in the English Department and an interdisciplinary ethnic studies program. The position starts fall 2006. The editorship is for a minimum of five years. The teaching load for the term of the editorship is 1/1.

Salary: Competitive. The University of Connecticut actively solicits applications from minorities, women, and people with disabilities. Please submit a complete application, including cover letter, CV, dossier, three letters of recommendation, and a writing sample to: Robert Tilton, Head, Department of English, MELUS Search, 215 Glenbrook Road, U-4025, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, 06269-4025 by November 11, 2005. From: Worley, Robin robin.worley@uconn.edu

University of Texas at Austin: Director of Asian American Studies, College of Liberal Arts

Area: Asian American Studies

Discipline: Open; we are especially interested in American Studies, English, or History scholars. We are also interested in the following fields of specialization: cultural studies, immigration, labor studies, legal studies, or queer studies.

The College of Liberal Arts at the University of Texas at Austin invites applications for Director of Asian American Studies, at the Associate Professor or Professor level. Applicants are expected to be well-published, with evidence of original research and effective teaching at the undergraduate and graduate levels. Appointees will have administrative, teaching, and research responsibilities at the Center, home department, College and University levels. Salary is competitive and dependent upon qualifications and experience. Applicants should provide a vita, writing sample of scholarly work, three letters of recommendation, and teaching evaluations. The deadline for the application is October 31, 2005.

Application materials should be sent to Professor Mia Carter, Interim Director, Center for Asian American Studies, Geography 220, The University of Texas at Austin, 1 University Station, A2200, Austin, TX 78712. AA/EEO Employer.

University of Puget Sound: American Literature, Assistant Professor - Appointment, Full-time, tenure-line position; begins Fall Term 2006.

Responsibilities: Teach introductory and advanced courses in American Literature, including seminars in nineteenth-century American Literature, courses on major authors, surveys of American literature, and courses either in Native American literature or Gay and Lesbian literature. Will regularly teach first-year seminars in writing and rhetoric. Standard teaching assignment is three courses per semester. Other duties include continuation of professional development, advising students, and participation in departmental and university governance.

Qualifications

• Ph.D. in English (preferably completed before Fall 2006), with expertise in American literature from the nineteenth century, and a commitment to undergraduate teaching and liberal arts education. ABD considered.

• Teaching and research interests in Native American literature and/or Gay and Lesbian literature are highly desirable, as is flexibility across historical periods.

Compensation

• Rank: Assistant Professor

• Salary commensurate with education and experience.

Application Deadline: Interested individuals are encouraged to submit application materials postmarked no later than November 7, 2005 to ensure consideration.

How to Apply: To apply, submit interest letter, resume or curriculum vitae, and three letters of reference to:

American Literature Search - 672

University of Puget Sound

1500 N Warner #1007

Tacoma, WA 98416-1007

Applications are received and acknowledged by Human Resources and then forwarded on to departments/search committees for review and finalist identification. Applicants for this positions will receive notification by mail once a search has been concluded. From: Tamiko F. Nimura, Assistant Professor, English Department , University of Puget Sound , 1500 N. Warner St., CMB 1045 , Tacoma, WA 98416-1045

Bowling Green State University: tenure-track Assistant Professor in multi-ethnic American Literatures and cultures

The English Department seeks strong applicants for a tenure-track Assistant Professor in multi-ethnic American Literatures and cultures with secondary specialization in one or more of the following: Feminist, culture, race and postcolonial theories.

Duties: Teach courses in multi-ethnic literatures, 20th-century American literature, (major authors, themes, special topics, and surveys), as well as other courses in critical theory and American literature as expertise warrants. The successful candidate will be expected to engage significantly in scholarly publishing and professional activities, to serve on department and university committees, and to participate in the life and governance of the department, including its efforts to recruit, advise, and retain students.

Qualifications:
1) Doctorate in hand or by time of employment;
2) Strong background in multi-ethnic and 20th-century American literature;
3) Evidence of or potential for significant scholarly publication;
4) Evidence of outstanding teaching.

Salary: Competitive. Effective Date of Employment: The starting date of employment is mid August 2006. BGSU is a university of over 21,000 students with long traditions of teaching and scholarly excellence. It is located in a small city 25 minutes south of Toledo, Ohio, and one hour south of Ann Arbor, Michigan. The English Department offers undergraduate and graduate degrees in literature, creative writing, rhetoric and composition, and technical communication. The Department has a full-time teaching staff of 40, about 450 undergraduate majors and nearly 80 graduate students.

Submit application materials to Kristine Blair, Interim Chair, English Department, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, Ohio 43403-0191. Application files must include 1) letter outlining qualifications for this position; 2) curriculum vitae, 3) at least three current letters of reference; 4) transcripts. Application deadline: Postmarked by November 4, 2005. BGSU is an Equal Employment Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer and encourages applications from women, minorities, veterans, and individuals with disabilities. From: Jessica S. Wade, jswade@bgnet.bgsu.edu Secretary to Kristine Blair, Interim Chair, English Department, 213 East Hall, Bowling Green State University, Office 419/372-7543, Bowling Green, OH 43403, Fax 419/372-0333, http://www.bgsu.edu/departments/english

Santa Clara University: Assistant Professor of African American Literature

The English Department at Santa Clara University invites applications for a tenure-track faculty position in African American literature starting September 1, 2006. Qualified applicants must have a Ph.D. by June 2006 and must have demonstrated excellence in teaching African American literature; show evidence of potential or accomplishment in scholarly publishing; and be committed to working with undergraduates. In addition, expertise in any of the following is desirable: American studies; ethnic studies; African and African diasporic literatures and cultures; cultural studies; other areas of American literature; intersections of race, gender, and class; critical race theory; sociolinguistics and dialectology; rhetorical or discourse theories; intersections of race, rhetoric, and composition; community-based learning. Send letter of application and CV to Phyllis R. Brown, Chair, Department of English, 500 El Camino Real, Santa Clara, CA 95053-0310. Applications must be received by November 1, 2005.

Santa Clara University is the Jesuit university in Silicon Valley, and the oldest university in California. Located next to San Jose, Santa Clara is 45 miles south of San Francisco and 40 miles southwest of Oakland. SCU has approximately 4700 undergraduates. The English Department is large, collegial, and intellectually diverse. The regular course load is 2 courses per quarter. The University provides a housing assistance program for tenure-track faculty. More information about the University and the English Department are available at our web sites, <http://www.scu.edu> and <http://www.scu.edu/english>

Santa Clara University is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer and welcomes applications from women, persons of color, and members of historically underrepresented groups. The University will provide reasonable accommodation to all qualified individuals with a disability. From: "Michelle Burnham" MBurnham@scu.edu

Florida Atlantic University: tenure-track Assistant Professor with specialization in Creative Nonfiction writing

The Department of English at Florida Atlantic University invites applications for a tenure-track Assistant Professor with specialization in Creative Nonfiction writing and additional expertise in multicultural literatures.

The position may include African-American, Latino/a, Caribbean, Asian-American, Native American, and/or other multiethnic literatures of the United States), beginning August 2006. Located in subtropical South Florida, FAU serves a culturally and ethnically diverse six-county region (Broward, Indian River, Martin, Okeechobee, Palm ! Beach, and St. Lucie) with a population of more than five million people. The Department of English was nationally ranked by Black Issues in Higher Education (July 14, 2005) as a top African-American and Minority MA degree producer. Teaching assignment is normally five courses per year, on the Boca Raton and Davie campuses. The successful candidate will participate in growing MFA, MA, and BA programs and may participate in a variety of interdisciplinary college programs, such as the PhD track in Literatures, Literacies, and Linguistics, Ethnic Studies, Women's Studies, Peace Studies, Jewish Studies and/or Caribbean and Latin American Studies. Requirements include an MFA or PhD at time of appointment, publication record in field, and teaching experience. Send letter, vita, and three letters of recommendation to Professor Andrew Furman, Chair, Department of English, Florida Atlantic University, 777 Glades Road, Boca Raton, FL, 33431-0991. Applications must be postmarked by Nov. 3. Receipt of application will be acknowledged. FAU is an Equal Opportunity/Equal Access Institution. From: "Su Carlson" scarls11@fau.edu

California State University, Fresno: Multi-Ethnic American Literature English Department - Assistant Professor of English http://www.csufresno.edu/aps/vacancy/ah.html

Tenure track Assistant Professor position in American Literature with specialization in multi-ethnic literature to begin Fall 2006. Required: Ph.D. in English, Comparative Literature, American Studies or Ethnic Studies with substantiated research interest in multi-ethnic American literature in at least two of the following areas: Chicano/a literature, American Indian literature, Asian American literature, African American literature. A.B.D. considered for temporary lectureship with possible future conversion to tenure track. Duties include teaching undergraduate and graduate Multi-Ethnic American Literature and American Literature topics courses, as well as American Literature period surveys as part of a 12-semester-unit teaching load (normally 3 courses).

Candidates must have ability to work effectively with ethnically, culturally, and socio-economically diverse students. Salary competitive; unionized. Application form can be found at http://www.csufresno.edu/aps/vacancy/sc1.pdf. Send letter, CV, 15-30 page writing sample and dossier to: Magdalena Gilewicz, Hiring Committee Chair, English Department M/S PB98, California State University, Fresno, 5245 N. Backer Ave., Fresno, CA 93740-8001. Interviews at MLA. To ensure full consideration, all materials must be received by November 15, 2005. CSU Fresno is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer. From C. Lok Chua (Do not apply to Chua.) chengc@csufresno.edu, English Department, California State University, 5245 North Backer Avenue, #PB 98, Fresno, California, 93740, U.S.A., Phone 559-278-2553, FAX 559-278-7321

ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF ENGLISH (African-American Literature)

For the 2006-2007 academic year, the Department of English at Christopher Newport University seeks an assistant professor (tenure-track) who will teach courses in African-American, American and/or African literatures, innovative first- and second-year composition seminars in a newly invigorated writing program, and first-year seminars, as well as upper-level courses for a new liberal learning core curriculum. Successful candidates will hold a doctorate in English by August 2006. A demonstrated interest in scholarship and publication are required.

Christopher Newport University, a selective, state-supported liberal arts and sciences university of approximately 4,800 students, is located on the Virginia Peninsula between Williamsburg and Virginia Beach. The University is seeking outstanding teachers who will engage undergraduate and graduate students in creative and disciplined intellectual challenges. A commitment to excellence in undergraduate teaching and learning is a hallmark of CNU. For further information on CNU, please visit our web site at www.cnu.edu. The Department of English offers literature, writing, and language arts tracks in the BA and an MAT in Language Arts.

To apply, send letter of application, curriculum vita, three letters of recommendation, and a statement of your philosophy of teaching to:

Director of Equal Opportunity and Faculty Recruitment
African-American Literature Faculty Search
Search #8322
Christopher Newport University
1 University Place
Newport News, VA 23606

Review of applications begins November 1, 2005. Applications received after November 1, 2005, will be accepted but considered only if needed. Representatives from CNU will be available at the MLA Convention in Washington, DC. However, attendance at the MLA Convention is not required for consideration as a candidate for this position. Christopher Newport University, an EO Employer, is fully committed to Access and Opportunity.

University of Redlands: tenure-track position, African American literature

The University of Redlands invites applications for a tenure-track position, rank open, in African American literature, to begin September 1, 2006.

Qualifications: PhD. ABD will be considered for initial appointment.

We value lively literary practice and exciting undergraduate teaching. Successful candidates will be eager to join a small liberal-arts university with opportunities for teaching across the disciplines. We encourage applications from candidates whose teaching and research interests include critical, historically-informed approaches to race, class, gender, and sexuality. Located in Southern California, between Los Angeles and Palm Springs, our University has a number of interdisciplinary programs, including the Johnston Center for Integrative Studies and the Race and Ethnic Studies major. Our Department includes a renowned program in creative writing, with emphasis in poetry, fiction, and creative non-fiction. The University of Redlands is an Equal Opportunity Employer, strongly committed to diversity, and we seek applications from members of under-represented groups.

Our review of applications will begin November 10 and continue until the position is filled, and we will interview at the MLA Convention. Please send vita, statement of teaching philosophy, dossier, and writing sample to Daniel Kiefer, Chair, Department of English, University of Redlands, Redlands, CA 92373-0999.

UW-La Crosse: Tenure-track opening for Creative Writing teacher

Begins August 2006. Assistant Professor. Competitive salary. 4/4 load. Teaching duties include introductory and upper-level creative writing courses, mostly – but not exclusively – in prose. Other teaching duties include courses in Literary Journal Production, college composition, and lower-level literature courses. The position includes the opportunity to assume responsibility for Steam Ticket, an established regional/national journal of fiction and poetry.

Required: MFA or PhD in Creative Writing, or MFA in Creative Writing and PhD in an area we teach (English, Comp Lit, Cultural Studies, etc.). Degree(s) in hand by July 2006. Commitment to undergraduate teaching; capacity to teach a range of courses not limited to creative writing; consistent publications indicative of increasing strength in the craft.

Preferred: demonstrated proficiency in teaching; experience in publishing literary journals. The English Department at UW-La Crosse has been very successful in developing a multi-faceted, diverse curriculum. We welcome applicants who can contribute to this continuing effort. We especially encourage members of previously excluded groups to apply.

Letter of application, vita, transcripts, and three letters of recommendation to Richard Sullivan, Chair, Department of English, UW-La Crosse, La Crosse, WI 54601. All materials must be received by November 11, 2005. UW-La Crosse is an affirmative action/equal opportunity employer. Women, persons of color, and individuals with a disability are encouraged to apply. If you have a special need/accommodation to aid your participation in our hiring process, please contact Dr. Sullivan to make appropriate arrangements.

Tenure-track opening in Anglophone African/Caribbean Literature.

Begins August 2006. Assistant Professor. Competitive salary. 4/4 load. Teaching duties include college composition and lower-level literature surveys.

Required: PhD in English or Comparative Literature, in hand by July 2006; specialization in Anglophone African and/or Caribbean literatures; commitment to undergraduate teaching.

Preferred: demonstrated teaching effectiveness; experience teaching college composition; capability in multicultural and international literatures; capability/interest in developing content-based curriculum in area of expertise for English Education majors. The English Department at UW-La Crosse has been very successful in developing a multi-faceted, diverse curriculum. We welcome applicants who can contribute to this continuing effort. We especially encourage members of previously excluded groups to apply.

Letter of application, vita, transcripts, and three letters of recommendation to: Richard Sullivan, Chair, Department of English, UW-La Crosse, La Crosse, WI 54601. All materials must be received by November 11, 2005. UW-La Crosse is an affirmative action/equal opportunity employer. Women, persons of color, and individuals with a disability are encouraged to apply. If you have a special need/accommodation to aid your participation in our hiring process, please contact Dr. Sullivan to make appropriate arrangements.

Tufts University: Nineteenth-Century American Literature, Assistant or Associate Professor Tenure-Track [497]

Nineteenth-Century American Literature, Assistant or Associate Professor Tenure-track. PhD must be awarded by August 2006. Expertise in major early and mid-century American authors and the capacity to teach introductory, advanced, and graduate level courses in literature from the beginning of the century through the decades after the Civil War required. Preference will be given to those with secondary strength in earlier American literatures, trans-Atlantic relations, or theoretical approaches to ! the study of 19th-century American literature.

Candidates must demonstrate significant research potential; strong teaching record preferred. Review of applications begins November 1st 2005 and continues until position is filled. Preliminary interviews will take place at the MLA convention in Washington. Send letter, CV, letters of recommendation and writing sample to Lee Edelman, Chair, Department of English, Tufts University, Medford, MA 02155. Tufts University is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. We are committed to increasing the diversity of our faculty. Members of under represented groups are strongly encouraged to apply.

																	
																	West 
																	Virginia 
																	University:
																	
																	Assistant 
																	professor, 
																	tenure-track, 
																	American 
																	studies

																	
																	
																	Assistant 
																	professor, 
																	tenure-track, 
																	beginning 
																	August 16, 
																	2006.  
																	American 
																	studies; 
																	supporting 
																	specialization 
																	in popular 
																	culture, 
																	film 
																	studies, 
																	and/or 
																	science 
																	fiction.

																	
																	
																	Requirements: 
																	Ph.D. in 
																	English or 
																	American 
																	Studies; 
																	demonstrated 
																	achievement 
																	in research; 
																	evidence of 
																	effective 
																	teaching.  
																	
																	
																

																	
																	
																	Please send 
																	letter of 
																	application, 
																	c.v., and 
																	three 
																	letters
																	
																	
																	
																	
																	of
																	
																	
																	recommendation 
																	to: Timothy 
																	Dow Adams, 
																	American 
																	Studies 
																	Search
																	
																	
																	
																	
																	
																	
																	
																	 Committee,
																	
																	
																	Department 
																	of English, 
																	P.O. Box 
																	6296, West 
																	Virginia 
																	University, 
																	Morgantown, 
																	WV 
																	26506-6296.  
																	Applications 
																	will be 
																	considered 
																	until the 
																	position is 
																	filled; 
																	initial
																	
																	
																	review 
																	begins 
																	November 5, 
																	2005.  
																	
																	
																	
																

																	
																	
																	WVU is an 
																	equal 
																	opportunity/affirmative 
																	action 
																	employer and 
																	complies 
																	with all 
																	Federal and 
																	West 
																	Virginia 
																	State laws, 
																	regulations, 
																	and 
																	executive 
																	orders 
																	regarding 
																	affirmative 
																	action 
																	requirements 
																	in all 
																	programs. 
																	The 
																	University 
																	and 
																	department 
																	have a 
																	strong 
																	commitment 
																	to achieving 
																	diversity 
																	among 
																	faculty, 
																	staff, and 
																	students. We 
																	strongly 
																	encourage 
																	applications 
																	from persons 
																	of color, 
																	women, and 
																	other 
																	members of 
																	under-represented 
																	groups.
																	
																	
																

Westfield State College: Assistant Professor of Creative Writing, Poetry

Westfield State College invites applications for a tenure-track assistant professor specializing in the writing of poetry for Fall 2006. Candidates should have experience in teaching the writing of poetry and introductory creative writing courses in addition to teaching business and technical writing and/or composition. MFA or Ph.D. required. Candidates with specialties in traditional, popular, and/or cultural poetics are welcomed. Four courses per semester. Position contingent upon funding approval. Applications should be postmarked by November 18. Women, persons of color, and persons with disabilities are especially encouraged to apply. Salary is competitive.

Candidates should send letter of interest, c.v., graduate transcripts, and letters of reference to Professor Glen Brewster, Chair, Department of English, Westfield State College, 577 Western Avenue, Westfield, MA 01086-1630. AA/EOE. (http://www.wsc.ma.edu/english)

North Carolina State University: Position Announcement, Head, Department of English

The Department of English at North Carolina State University invites applications for the position of Department Head. With 56 tenure track and 68 non-tenure track faculty, 400+ majors, and nearly 200 graduate students, our department has a strong commitment to undergraduate and graduate education. At the graduate level we offer an interdisciplinary PhD in Communication, Rhetoric, and Digital Media; a cooperative PhD with Duke University in Linguistics; an MFA in Creative Writing; an MA with concentrations in English and American Literature, Linguistics, Creative Writing, World Literature, Film, and Rhetoric and Composition; and an MS in Technical Communication.

The Department of English is one of the nine departments in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences at North Carolina State University, a Doctoral/Research Extensive (Research I), land grant institution serving more than 29,000 students, in Raleigh NC, the state capital. The geographical location offers access to major intellectual and culture resources including the Research Triangle Park, Duke University, North Carolina Central University, UNC-Chapel Hill, and the National Humanities Center.

The Department seeks a scholar with a distinguished record of teaching and research, evidence of successful administrative experience, and a commitment to diversity and collegial leadership. We are especially interested in candidates who can help strengthen current programs, strongly and effectively advocate for the department, and enhance its national reputation.

Candidates should have a Ph.D. in English or related field and a record that would warrant appointment at the level of full Professor with tenure. Salary is competitive. Applicants should send a letter of interest indicating administrative accomplishments and views on departmental governance, as well as a curriculum vita. The committee will give preference to applications received by November 1, 2005 and plans to conduct interviews at the MLA in Washington, DC in December 2005. For an extended position announcement, please visit http://www.chass.ncsu.edu/english/englishnew/index.htm

NC State University is an affirmative action employer committed to equal opportunity for employees and applicants regardless of race, color, creed, national origin, religion, sex, age, veteran status, disability or sexual orientation. Individuals with disabilities desiring accommodations in the applications process should contact Jonathan Ocko, Nominating Committee Chair. Email: jonathan_ocko@ncsu.edu; Ph: 919 515-3307; Fax: 919 515-3886.

Send application materials to Jonathan Ocko, Chair of the English Head Nominating Committee, Professor and Head of History, Box 8108, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695-8108.

Metropolitan State University in the Twin Cities: American Indian Studies and African American Studies, Department of Ethnic and Religious Studies

The Department of Ethnic and Religious Studies at Metropolitan State University in the Twin Cities seeks applications for two full-time probationary, tenure-track faculty positions with expertise in American Indian Studies and African American Studies starting August 2006. The department offers both a major and a minor in an undergraduate interdisciplinary ethnic studies program.

The University: Metropolitan State University, a member of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities (MnSCU), serves approximately 10,000 students in the Greater Twin Cities Metropolitan Area. We are the most diverse university in the system, with more than 20% of our students coming from communities of color. The university offers programs leading to baccalaureate and master's degrees.

Full details on the positions, as well as guidelines for applications and contact information, can be found in PDF or Microsoft Word format at: http://www.metrostate.edu/hr/jobs.cfm Dossier review begins October 28th, 2005, the priority deadline, but the positions will remain open until filled.

Aureliano Maria DeSoto, Assistant Professor of Ethnic Studies, College of Arts and Sciences, Metropolitan State University, 700 East Seventh Street, St Paul, MN 55106-5000, telephone (651) 793-1492, facsimile (651) 793-1446, electronic mail: aureliano.desoto@metrostate.edu university homepage: http://www.metrostate.edu program homepage: http://www.metrostate.edu/cas/ethnic/major.html

Added in November 2005

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Class in the Classroom:, Strategies and Resources for Teaching about Working-Class Life and Culture

Center for Working-Class Studies, July 24-28, 2006, Youngstown State University

Despite new attention to class in American culture, it often remains on the sidelines in the classroom, even in courses that focus on diversity and inequality. Faculty struggle to find the right balance among race, gender, sexuality, and other aspects of culture and inequality, and even basic definitions of class are not clear. In teaching about difference and inequality, class is both an essential piece of the puzzle and the most confusing issue to discuss. Where does class fit in the curriculum? What resources and strategies work well to help students understand how class works? How can we integrate class into discussions of race, gender, and sexuality?

In July, 2006, the Center for Working-Class Studies will host a one-week institute for graduate students and faculty interested in strategies for teaching about social class, especially in the context of courses that address other cultural categories and ideas about inequality. Participants will discuss readings, presentations, and resources; share their own experiences and strategies; and develop assignments, syllabi, classroom activities, and/or research plans. The organizers hope to gather a diverse group, including faculty and students from different academic fields, geographical areas, and kinds of institutions.

For more information, visit the Center for Working-Class Studies website at www.as.ysu.edu/~cwcs, and click on “Class in the Classroom.”

American Literature Association 17^th Annual Conference

American Literature Association 17^th Annual Conference will be held on May 25-28 in Hyatt Regency, San Francisco. MELUS will be represented by two panels. One will be on ethnic graphic narratives, whose CFP will be issued soon by Derek Royal. The other one will be open in topic. Please send me a 250 word abstract for consideration before January 10, 2006.

Many thanks,

Wenying

Wenying Xu, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Director of Graduate Studies, Department of English, Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, FL 33431, (561) 297-2065, wxu@fau.edu

CSA conference (April 19-22, 2006)

The CSA conference (April 19-22, 2006) will again feature a series of seminars. Seminars are small-group (maximum 15 individuals) discussion sessions for which participants write brief ''position" papers that are circulated prior to the conference. Those interested in participating in (rather than leading) a seminar should consult the list of seminars below.

In order to participate in a seminar, send an email message to csaus@pitt.edu with "Seminar Request" in the subject line. Your message should list up to two seminars, ranked in order of preference, in which you would like to participate. (Note: You will be allowed to participate in only one seminar.) Your message should also include your name, contact information, and institutional affiliation.

Seminar requests should be sent by November 25, 2005. You will be notified of your seminar assignment by December 20, 2005.

SEMINARS FOR CSA CONFERENCE, APRIL 2006

#1 - Proposed Seminar: "Cultural Studies as Cultural Praxis: Reshaping the Research University"

Seminar Description: How can we better connect academic and community-based cultural work? This seminar is designed for participants interested in discussing and critically assessing current efforts to develop and institutionalize cultural studies curricula oriented toward diverse forms of cultural praxis. We are particularly interested in hearing about initiatives aimed at building sustainable arts and cultural pathways for campus-community partnerships ? including community and participatory action research strategies, arts and performance-based research projects, and service learning or other experiential pedagogies. We are also centrally interested in the implications of this type of activist scholarship for the future of cultural research in (and outside of) institutions of higher education, and in appraisals of the current neo-liberal policy landscape that enables and encourages this institutional shift in research and teaching priorities.

The co-moderators of this seminar are involved in developing and institutionalizing community-based public humanities and cultural studies graduate curricula at the University of Washington. We envision this seminar as an opportunity to learn more about related initiatives elsewhere and to open a conversation about this type of work to participants who may not be currently involved in such initiatives (and/or may be skeptical about them). We hope to conclude with suggestions for further collaboration among the seminar participants, as appropriate.

Seminar Requirements: Seminar participants will be asked to read three short essays (by Stuart Hall, Ien Ang, and Handel Wright) and to provide a brief (2-3 page) written response in which they raise one or more central questions or concerns. Ideally, these responses should balance a critical assessment of the readings and a description of the participant's institutional experience (if any) with praxis-oriented forms of cultural studies scholarship. The questions and concerns raised in the responses will serve as a jumping-off point for our discussion.

Response papers should be sent to the seminar moderators by March 21st, and will be distributed to all seminar participants by April 1st. The seminar moderators will also develop and circulate a summary of key questions and concerns raised in these response papers.

Seminar moderators' names and contact info:

Miriam Bartha, , Simpson Center for the Humanities, University of Washington, Box 353710, Communication Building, Suite 206, Seattle, Washington 98195-3710, mbartha@u.washington.edu, 206-543-3929

Bruce Burgett, Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences Program University of Washington Box 358530, 18115 Campus Way NE, Bothell, WA 98011-8246, burgett@u.washington.edu, 425-352-5403

Brief bios of the seminar moderators:

Miriam Bartha joined the Walter Chapin Simpson Center for the Humanities at the University of Washington in 2004 as Assistant Director, having earned her Ph.D. in American Literature from Rutgers University in 2002. She has taught literary, cultural, and feminist studies at Rutgers and San Francisco State Universities. She previously worked as an administrator at the P.E.N. American Center, an international nonprofit writers' advocacy organization based in New York, as coordinator of the Poetry and the Public Sphere series at Rutgers, and as project manager for the electronic archiving of HOW(ever), a historic journal of feminist experimental writing. In 2005, she co-directed (with Bruce Burgett) the Simpson Center's "Institute on the Public Humanities for Doctoral Students."

Bruce Burgett is Professor of American and Interdisciplinary Studies in the Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences Program at the University of Washington-Bothell (UWB), and graduate faculty in the English Department at the University of Washington-Seattle. He co-directed the "Placing the Humanities: New Locales, New Meanings" tri-campus faculty development workshop series in 2004-2005, currently co-directs the follow-up activities of the "Cultural Studies Praxis Collective," and is involved in developing a community-based M.A. in Cultural Studies at UWB (planned to begin in 2007). He is the author of Sentimental Bodies: Sex, Gender, and Citizenship in the Early Republic (Princeton, 1998), and is working on two books: American Sex: Cultures of Sexual Reform in and Beyond the Antebellum U.S. (Chicago) and Keywords of American Cultural Studies (NYU, co-edited with Glenn Hendler). He has taught, researched, and published widely in the fields of American Studies, Cultural Studies, and Queer Studies. He serves on the editorial boards of American Quarterly and American Literary History.

#2 - Proposed Seminar: Seminar on Biopower

The paradigm of biopower first elaborated by Michel Foucault has gained steadily as a means for thinking simultaneously a host of vital political and cultural issues: race and sexuality, empire and globalization, governmentality and the state, post-humanism and eco- politics, technoscience and human capital. The goal of this seminar will be to compare different applications of, and problematics raised by, the biopower analytics. Participants should re-read one of the following texts in preparation for the seminar: Foucault's The History of Sexuality (Volume One), Foucault's Society Must Be Defended, Giorgio Agamben's Homo Sacer, or another major theoretical statement. Participants will also be asked to share 2-3 page abstracts for whatever research project brings them to the question of biopower (if they have such a project). We will aim to move back and forth between our theoretical readings and the research projects with the aim of generating a deeper knowledge of what is at stake (and also what are the risks) in bringing this model to bear on our respective objects of critical inquiry.

Leerom Medovoi, Associate Professor of English, Portland State University, medovoi@pdx.edu

#3 - Proposed Seminar: Beyond Biopolitics: bodies affect and media

The seminar will explore what Michel Foucault described as 'the demonic mix' of biopolitics and sovereignty to rethink bodies, affect and media. By weaving together theories of 'new media' and 'biomedia' that have been deeply influenced by Gilles Deleuze among others, we will explore the status of political economy, ideological analysis, semiotics, the concepts of culture and language in and for critical theory. We will draw out the relationship between digital video technologies (database, compositing, surround sound, digital animation, and digital 'proprioception') and entertainment (video games, TV shows, blockbuster cinema, websites). We will take as a larger context the fraught connectivities developing between homeland security, the encrypted security of biomedia, entertainment and racism as exemplified in counter/terrorism, mass incarceration, war and massacre.

Amit S. Rai, Department of English, Florida State University, Williams 226, Tallahassee, FL 32306-1580, Office: 850-645-1459, Fax: 850-644-0811

Patricia Ticneto Clough, Sociology and Women's Studies, The Graduate Center, CUNY, New York, New York 10016, 212 817 8896

BOOKS

Brown Gumshoes
Detective Fiction and the Search for Chicana/o Identity

By Ralph E. Rodriguez

"Rodriguez is a first-rate literary scholar, well versed in a variety of methodologies and traditions. He offers informed and nuanced close readings of a number of key detective fictions, many of which are being discussed seriously for the first time in his study. He has assembled an important subgenre in the field of Chicano literature, and his book immediately positions him as the expert in the area.... Intelligent, innovative, provocative: this is Chicano studies at its very best."

—David Román, Department of English and Program in American Studies and Ethnicity, University of Southern California

Popular fiction, with its capacity for diversion, can mask important cultural observations within a framework that is often overlooked in the academic world. Works thought to be merely "escapist" can often be more seriously mined for revelations regarding the worlds they portray, especially those of the disenfranchised. As detective fiction has slowly earned critical respect, more authors from minority groups have chosen it as their medium. Chicana/o authors, previously reluctant to write in an underestimated genre that might further marginalize them, have only entered the world of detective fiction in the past two decades.

In this book, the first comprehensive study of Chicano/a detective fiction, Ralph E. Rodriguez examines the recent contributions to the genre by writers such as Rudolfo Anaya, Lucha Corpi, Rolando Hinojosa, Michael Nava, and Manuel Ramos. Their works reveal the struggles of Chicanas/os with feminism, homosexuality, familia, masculinity, mysticism, the nationalist subject, and U.S.-Mexico border relations. He maintains that their novels register crucial new discourses of identity, politics, and cultural citizenship that cannot be understood apart from the historical instability following the demise of the nationalist politics of the Chicana/o movement of the 1960s and 1970s. In contrast to that time, when Chicanas/os sought a unified Chicano identity in order to effect social change, the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s have seen a disengagement from these nationalist politics and a new trend toward a heterogeneous sense of self. The detective novel and its traditional focus on questions of knowledge and identity turned out to be the perfect medium in which to examine this new self.

Ralph E. Rodriguez is Associate Professor of American Civilization and Race and Ethnic Studies at Brown University.

CMAS History, Culture, and Society Series

Reveals the history and impact of Native American nonfiction writing.

THE PEOPLE AND THE WORD: Reading Native Nonfiction
Robert Warrior
University of Minnesota Press | 280 pages | 2005
ISBN 0-8166-4616-3 | hardcover | $59.95
ISBN 0-8166-4617-1 | paperback | $19.95
Indigenous Americas Series

Focusing on autobiographical writings and critical essays, as well as communally authored and political documents, The People and the Word explores how the Native tradition of nonfiction has both encompassed and dissected Native experiences. Warrior begins by tracing a history of American Indian writing from the eighteenth century to the late twentieth century, then considers four particular moments: Pequot intellectual William Apess’s autobiographical writings from the 1820s and 1830s; the Osage Constitution of 1881; narratives from American ! Indian student experiences, including accounts of boarding school in the late 1880s; and modern Kiowa writer N. Scott Momaday’s essay “The Man Made of Words,” penned during the politically charged 1970s.

“A tremendously exciting and long-overdue project in the intellectual development centered around American Indian studies.” —K. Tsianina Lomawaima

For more information, including the table of contents, visit the book’s webpage: http://www.upress.umn.edu/Books/W/warrior_people.html
For more information on the Indigenous Americas Series: http://www.upress.umn.edu/byseries/indigenous.html
Sign up to receive news on the latest releases from University of Minnesota Press: http://www.upress.umn.edu/eform.html

CALL FOR PAPERS

Multi-Ethnic American Graphic Narrative

In his book Reinventing Comics, Scott McCloud explores some of the problems concerning ethnicity and graphic narrative. Not only does he argue for an increased awareness of ethnic and gender representation in contemporary comics, but he also highlights many of the ethnoracial concerns underlying the history of comics in the United States. Using McCloud’s arguments as a springboard, MELUS plans on publishing a special issue devoted to multi-ethnic American graphic narrative. The scope of this issue could include the theoretical, literary, and historical sweep of graphic narrative and its links to multi-ethnic discourse. Possible topics could include, but are certainly not limited to:

· The evolution of ethnic representation in comics since the 1980s (presented through the work of such artists as Gilbert and Jamie Hernandez, Adrian Tomine, Art Spiegelman, Ben Katchor, Kyle Baker, Ho Che Anderson, Howard Cruise, and R. Kikuo Johnson)

· The coinage of “graphic novel” (by Will Eisner) as a literary form and its links to multi-ethnic expression

· The growth of graphic novels as a vehicle of American ethnic expression in the wake of Art Spiegleman’s groundbreaking Maus

· The ways in which recent films have adapted comic-inspired figures to explore the ethnic other

· The impact of Japanese Magna on American comics and culture

· Problems of ethnoracial representation in the underground comix of the 1960s

· The uses of classic superheroes, historic and contemporary, as images of the ethnic outsider

· Comic journalism, such as that found in the work of Joe Sacco, as a medium to explore ethnoracial conflicts

· Tropes of the monster, mutant, or zombie as a figuration of “the alien”

· Graphic narratives of the U.S. border, both in south (e.g., the work of Los Bros Hernandez) and in the Canadian north (e.g, the comic art of Seth, Julie Douchet, Ho Che Anderson, and Chester Brown)

· The cross-fertilization of comics and more traditional fictional narrative (such as that surrounding Michael Chabon’s character, The Escapist)

All essay submissions should be between 5,000 and 7,500 words, including notes and works cited. Contributors should format submissions based on the MLA Style Manual, 2^nd edition. Manuscripts emailed as attached MS Word files are strongly encouraged. If mailed, please send along a SASE if requesting return of copies.

Deadline for submission is June 15, 2006.

Please address all manuscripts and queries about this special issue to:

Derek P. Royal

Department of Literature and Languages

Texas A&M University-Commerce

Commerce, Texas 75429-3011

E-mail: Derek_Royal@tamu-commerce.edu / Fax: 903-886-5980

Only members of The Society for the Study of the Multi-Ethnic Literature of the United States may publish articles in MELUS

For more information on MELUS and its journal, please visit the MELUS web site at http://www.melus.org

http://faculty.tamu-commerce.edu/droyal/melus.htm

Call for Roundtable Participants: Demystifying the Dissertation
April 2006 Annual MELUS Conference, Florida

Email 1 page abstracts by 11/14/05 to kcardozo@english.umass.edu

The future of ethnic/literary studies depends upon the retention of diverse graduate students. General doctoral attrition rates range between 40-50%, and dissertation completion is often cited as a major obstacle in the humanities. At the same time, the dissertation process is often relegated to the informal or "hidden curriculum" of graduate programs. While some commercial guides exist, few formal disciplinary resources or structures orient students to the dissertation's scope, format, and process--even though the thesis is the scholarly foundation of an academic career and a crucial factor in hiring.

MELUS constituents might consider the following questions: does the privatized nature of the dissertation process have a disparate impact on nontraditional or historically underrepresented students (who may lack access to private academic networks?) And, given tensions between politics and poetics in the study of ethnic literatures: What are the politics of writing and completing an ethnic literature project in departments where these areas and/or ethnic faculty are underrepresented? How do "traditional" literary programs view interdisciplinary dissertations and how do ethnic studies programs view literary methodologies? What is the relation between a dissertation and one's future scholarly career?

I'm soliciting participants at all career levels (including graduate students) for an informative roundtable theorizing these important issues, as well as how improvement of dissertation practices could aid in the diversification of the academy. Email 1 page abstracts (for brief 5-7 minute roundtable remarks) regarding major problems as well as best practices surrounding the dissertation process by 11/14/05.

JOB POSTINGS

Ithaca College, School of Humanities and Sciences

Assistant Professor, Creative Writing

The Department of Writing at Ithaca College announces a search for a full-time, tenure-eligible position in creative writing (fiction) beginning August 16, 2006. Qualifications: MFA or Ph.D. in creative writing, or equivalent degree by June 2006; a documented publishing record in fiction; and college-level experience teaching fiction and first-year composition. Ability to teach in one or more of the following areas required: advanced composition, creative nonfiction, electronic or experimental fiction, gender-based writing, introductory creative writing, personal narrative, poetics, or writing from cultural experience. Offering one of the nation’s few comprehensive bachelor’s degrees in writing, we encourage our 170 majors to question and transcend the boundaries of genres, even as we provide important service courses to the college. As we continue to enrich our curriculum, we seek a colleague who will help us prepare students to write for and contribute to a global society. To learn more about our department, faculty, and curriculum, visit: http://departments.ithaca.edu/writing.

Interested individuals should apply online at www.icjobs.org and attach a cover letter and a vita. Questions about online application may be directed to the Office of Human Resources at (607) 274-1207. Inquiries about the position may be made to Dr. Anthony Di Renzo, Chair, Search Committee at (607) 274-3614 or direnzo@ithaca.edu. Screening of applications will begin on December 5, 2005 and will continue until the position is filled.

Ithaca College is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer. Members of underrepresented groups (including people of color, persons with disabilities, military veterans and women) are encouraged to apply.

EMERSON COLLEGE, Boston, Massachusetts

Emerson College is the only comprehensive college or university in America dedicated exclusively to communication and the arts in a liberal arts context. It is located in downtown Boston, at the gateway to the Theatre District and in close proximity to major media outlets. It also has facilities in Los Angeles and the Netherlands. The College enrolls approximately 3,000 full-time undergraduates and nearly 1,000 full and part-time graduate students in its School of the Arts and School of Communication.

Information about all faculty position searches can be found by visiting Emerson College’s faculty employment page at:

http://www.emerson.edu/academic%5Faffairs/index.cfm?doc_id=1608

The Department of Writing, Literature and Publishing (WLP) offers undergraduate and graduate programs in disciplines ranging from poetry to screenwriting to magazine and book publishing. Its faculty includes distinguished scholars as well as internationally-acclaimed authors, and its graduate program is ranked by US News & World Report as one of the best in the country.

The Department of Writing, Literature and Publishing (WLP) seeks to fill the following faculty positions. All positions commence September 2006. Review of applications will continue until appointments are made. Send application materials to the contacts listed for each position to Emerson College, 120 Boylston Street, Boston, MA 02116.

BRITISH LITERATURE

A full-time, tenure-track faculty position at the Assistant Professor level in the area of British Literature with interests in post-colonial studies and British and Anglophone poetries. The successful candidate should have a completed Ph.D. with proven excellence in scholarship and teaching. The position requires teaching introductory and advanced undergraduate classes in British and World literature, with some classes in literature at the graduate level suitable for M.F.A. students in Creative Writing and M.A. students in Publishing. The teaching load is three courses per semester, with opportunities for course equivalencies for professional development. Additional faculty responsibilities will include maintaining professional development and scholarship activities, academic advising and involvement on faculty and College committees.

Send a letter of application, curriculum vitae, writing sample, and three letters of recommendation to Search Chair-British and World Literature, The Department of Writing, Literature and Publishing. Consideration of applications will begin November 15, 2005 and continue until the position is filled. Members of the search committee will be available to interview candidates at the MLA conference in Washington. D.C., December 27-30, 2005.

Director of Freshman Writing

A full-time, tenure-track faculty position for the Director of Freshman Writing at the Assistant or Associate Professor. A Ph.D. in Rhetoric and Composition or the equivalent is required. The successful candidate will have experience administering a broad-based writing program; demonstrated teaching excellence; and possess evidence of scholarship and strong interdisciplinary interests. Faculty responsibilities include teaching two courses per semester, maintaining professional development and scholarship activities, academic advising and involvement on faculty and College committees. The successful candidate will be able to coordinate staff instructors of expository writing and research writing; teach graduate courses in the Teaching of Writing; design a portfolio review, teaching materials, and workshops for the M.F.A. and M.A. students who teach composition; offer faculty workshops on the teaching of writing across the curriculum; and provide training in the teaching of writing for tutors in the Learning Assistance Center.

Send a letter of application, curriculum vitae, writing sample, and three letters of recommendation to Search Chair-Director of Freshman Writing, Department of Writing, Literature and Publishing. Consideration of applications will begin November 15, 2005 and continue until the position is filled.

Information about all faculty position searches can be found by visiting Emerson College’s faculty employment page at:

http://www.emerson.edu/academic%5Faffairs/index.cfm?doc_id=1608

Expository Writing

A one-year, renewable Term (non-tenure track) position in Expository Writing. A terminal degree (Ph.D. or M.F.A.) is required. The department seeks a candidate with proven experience teaching composition to join the faculty of Emerson’s Freshman Expository Writing Seminars. The successful candidate will have an excellent teaching record, a willingness to collaborate with the Director of Composition, and will help advise graduate student teachers from the department’s M.F.A. program in Creative Writing and M.A. program in Publishing. The teaching load is three courses per semester.

Send a letter of application, curriculum vitae, writing sample, and three letters of recommendation to Search Chair-Expository Writing, Department of Writing, Literature, and Publishing. Applications will be reviewed until the position is filled.

Literature and Writing

A one-year, renewable Term (non-tenure track) appointment in Literature and Writing. The successful candidate will have a completed Ph.D. with a strong record of scholarly publication and/or an M.F.A. in fiction with book publication preferred. The department seeks a generalist who is qualified to teach introductory and advanced courses in American literature, American multi-cultural literature, and undergraduate workshops in fiction. Proven excellence in teaching is required. The teaching load is three courses per semester.

Send a letter of application, curriculum vitae, writing sample, and three letters of recommendation to Search Chair-Literature and Writing, Department of Writing, Literature and Publishing. Consideration of applications will begin November 15, 2005 and continue until the position is filled.

Magazine Writing and Editing

A one-year, renewable Term (non-tenure track) appointment in Magazine Writing and Editing. A master’s degree is preferred, but substantial professional experience and bachelor’s degree will be considered. The department seeks an experienced magazine writer and editor who can teach both graduate and undergraduate courses in magazine writing and editing and occasional overview courses in magazine publishing. The successful candidate will have significant professional experience. A substantial body of work as both an editor and writer are required. The teaching load is three courses per semester.

Send a letter of application, curriculum vitae, writing sample, and three letters of recommendation to Chair—Magazine Search, Department of Writing, Literature and Publishing. Consideration of applications will begin December 1, 2005 and will continue until the position is filled.

Applications for employment are considered without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, age, marital status, veteran status, or the presence of a non-job related medical condition or handicap. Emerson College is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer focused on workforce diversity.

UNIVERSITY OF CONNECTICUT

Director

Institute of Puerto Rican and Latino Studies

The University of Connecticut in Storrs is searching for a permanent director to assume a leadership role in the administration and continued growth of the Institute of Puerto Rican and Latino Studies. The Institute of Puerto Rican and Latino Studies is in the Office of Multicultural and International Affairs. It is one of four Institutes/Programs on gender and ethnic studies. The Institute has a Director and four active joint faculty appointments and is in the process of searching for the fifth. Faculty in the Institute focuses on the experiences of Puerto Rican, Mexican and other Latino populations in the continental United States.

The Director who fills this position will be expected to take a leadership role in enhancing the understanding of the Puerto Rican and Latino populations in the continental United States. Applicants for this position must be qualified for appointment as an associate or full professor, hold a doctorate in the social sciences, humanities or related field, and have a demonstrated commitment to and a strong record of scholarship and teaching experience in Latino Studies, and be culturally grounded in the U.S. Latino community. The tenure home of the candidate will be the academic department to which his or her doctorate corresponds. The appointment is for ten months per year.

The director will be responsible for the management and development of all phases of the Institute’s research, teaching, fund-raising, publications and outreach programs. Like a department chair, the director will lead the Institute by mentoring and supervising faculty, overseeing resources, representing the Institute at university functions, collaborating with other units on campus and working with faculty to enhance the national reputation of the Institute. The director will serve for a minimum of five years and hold one of the Institute’s several joint academic appointments. Administrative experience is preferred.

Salary is competitive and commensurate with qualifications and experience. The effective hiring date is August 15, 2006.

Interested candidates should send a letter of application, a curriculum vitae, a statement of background and interest, and three letters of recommendation to: Chair, Search Committee, Institute of Puerto Rican and Latino Studies, University of Connecticut, 354 Mansfield Road Unit 2137, Storrs, CT 06269-2137.

For best consideration, applications should arrive by December 1, 2005, but applications will continue to be considered until the position is filled.

The University of Connecticut is an equal opportunity employer and actively encourages applications from under-represented groups including minorities, women and people with disabilities.

MELUS Women of Color Caucus

The MELUS (Society for the Study of Multi-Ethnic Literatures of the United States) WOCC (Women of Color Caucus) invites proposals for two sessions at the MELUS 20th Annual Conference, from April 27-30, 2006, hosted by Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, FL. Both sessions engage with the conference theme of “Crosscurrents: Navigating the Mainland and the Margins in U.S. Ethnic Literatures.”

The Tenth Annual MELUS WOCC Roundtable: “At Ten Years: Where have we come from, where are we going?”—This discussion will focus on academic survival and highlight strategies employed by women of color as they have struggled to create safe spaces over the past ten years. Participants are asked to pre-submit questions and topics for discussion so that issues can be grouped thematically. This session will feature an “open mic” to encourage diverse ideas and perspectives.

“Women of Color (Re)Inscribing the Disciplines”—How have the writings of women of color impacted our readings of American ethnic literatures and forced us to reconsider disciplinary approaches? Interdisciplinary trends including women of color feminisms, sexuality studies and diaspora studies—among others—may be considered.

All proposed topics and abstracts (250 words) should be submitted to Trina Philips at phillips.564@osu.edu by November 21^st. Questions about the sessions or the WOCC should be directed to Georgina Dodge at dodge.20@osu.edu.

All presenters must be members of MELUS. For information about membership and renewal visit the MELUS website http://www.boisestate.edu/english/melus/annual.html.

Call for Papers: MELUS Special Issue

Multi-Ethnic American Graphic Narrative

Using McCloud’s arguments as a springboard, MELUS plans on publishing a special issue devoted to multi-ethnic American graphic narrative. The scope of this issue could include the theoretical, literary, and historical sweep of graphic narrative and its links to multi-ethnic discourse. Possible topics could include, but are certainly not limited to, ethnic representation in contemporary comics, the links between multi-ethnic expression and the graphic novel, the growth of graphic novels as a vehicle of American ethnic expression in the wake of Art Spiegleman’s groundbreaking Maus, the ethnic other in recent film adaptation of comics, the impact of Japanese Magna on American comics and culture, the problems of ethnic representation in underground comix of the 1960s, the reading of classic superheroes as ethnic outsider, comic journalism as a medium for reporting ethnoracial conflict, the tropes of the monster/mutant/zombie as figurations of “the alien,” graphic narratives of the U.S. border (with both Mexico and Canada), and the cross-fertilization between comics and traditional narrative. Projected publication date is 2007.

For all inquiries, abstracts, and submissions, please contact Derek Parker Royal at <Derek_Royal@tamu-commerce.edu>.

Deadline for submission of final papers is June 15, 2006.

http://faculty.tamu-commerce.edu/droyal/melus.htm

Updated September 2005
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Welcome to the Fall 2005 edition of NewsNotes

Announcements

Book Announcements

Call for Papers

Call for Papers for a Special Issue on Iranian American Literature