Call for Papers – MCLLM

Midwestern Conference on Literature, Language, and Media
“The Power of Humanities”
April 1-2, 2011
Department of English, Northern Illinois University
Keynote Speaker: Emily Auerbach, professor of English at the University of Wisconsin-Madison

The Department of English at Northern Illinois University is proud to announce the 19th annual Midwestern Conference on Literature, Language, and Media (MCLLM) to be held April 1-2, 2011 on our campus in DeKalb, Illinois.

This year’s theme is The Power of the Humanities. We encourage research examining the influences of language and literature that have significantly altered the humanities and people’s lives. We invite proposals for fifteen-minute papers from scholars at all stages of their career. Individual or panel (three to four people) proposals are welcome.

Topics related to this year’s theme may include, but are not limited to:
– The construction of gender and ethnicity,
– Writing across the curriculum,
– The influence of individual authors or works on the discipline and/or canon,
– The power of literature to change lives,
– Using language and literature to exercise power,
– Literature and its influence on people from underprivileged areas,
– Efforts in the humanities to enact social and political change,
– The effects of college programs in any discipline designed to encourage the success of underprivileged students.

In previous years, MCLLM has hosted professors, graduate students, and independent scholars from all over the United States and around the globe. Last year, we had the honor of hosting George Lakoff, professor of Linguistics at UC Berkeley, as the keynote speaker.

Our keynote speaker this year is Emily Auerbach, professor of English at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, author of Maestros, Dilettantes, and Philistines (1989) and Searching for Jane Austen (2004); Director of the UW Odyssey Project; and Project Director of the “Courage to Write” radio series.

Proposals should be submitted electronically as attachments to mcllm@niu.edumcllm@niu.edu> by January 20, 2011. Abstracts should not exceed 500 words and should include a cover page with your name, affiliation, mailing address, and e-mail address.

For additional information, please e-mail us or visit our website:
 http://www.engl.niu.edu/mcllm/index.html.