The Humanities Review
St. John’s University
Call for Papers:
Global Metamorphosis
Submission Deadline: December 18th, 2023
Deadline for Accepted Submissions: February 12, 2024
The Humanities Review Spring 2024 Issue, “Global Metamorphosis,” seeks to explore how the world
around us, socially, politically, academically, literarily, etc., has transformed or is transforming. We
look forward to scholarly papers, short sections of dissertation or thesis chapters, books reviews,
narratives, fiction, poetry, art, etc., that engage the issue’s broad theme of global metamorphosis.
Why “Global Metamorphosis”? After the recent torrential rains and flooding in New York, Governor
Kathy Hochul referred to this extreme weather and failure of infrastructure as the “new normal.”
While it may appear to be easy to normalize these changes which occur in our lives, we might first try
to grapple with those changes and the consequences, both negative and positive, of the
transformations that change our present and our future. The OED defines metamorphosis as “the
action or process of changing” or “a complete change” in appearance, circumstances, condition, or
state of affairs. Whether from tadpole to bullfrog or traveling salesman to giant cockroach,
metamorphosis is both a concept with a literary history and an opportunity to engage the structural
changes that we see around us. The COVID-19 pandemic, international warfare, economic
downturns, NYC migrant crisis, wildfires, and book censorship are just some of the metamorphoses
we are experiencing that are changing the humanities and how we approach humanities studies. What
new approaches do these transformations bring to our academic work? How do we see the concept of
metamorphosis in global literatures ? How do we grapple with these metamorphoses?
Our issue is open to proposals that explore all sides and outcomes of “Global Metamorphosis”
including but not limited to:
• Metamorphosis in literature, metamorphoses of the literary tradition
• Crisis as a driver of positive and negative transformation
• Theories and pedagogies of metamorphosis
• Apocalyptic scenarios and panics
• “New normals,” adaptations, and mutations
• Learning together and apart throughout COVID
• New occasions for feminist, anti-racist, queer, and disability rhetorics
• Anthropocene
How to Submit:
I. Submit a 200-300 word abstract by December 18th, 2023 to the below submission form
A. You will receive acceptance responses within one week of submission
B. Once your abstract has been accepted, submit the final by February 12, 2024
II. Creative works can include up to 3 short pieces or 1 longer piece up to 6000 words. You may
submit both creative and academic works. If you are submitting creative work, please submit
the work instead of an abstract for the CFP.
III. Book reviews and interviews should be no more than 2,000 words. Books should have been
published in the last 5 years, with preference given to most recent or under reviewed works.
We would love your suggestions to books you would like to review that relate to the theme of
“Global Metamorphosis.” Some recent works that we would gladly include are:
Carbon Democracy by Timothy Mitchell
Under Jerusalem by Andrew Lawler
Fear is Just a Word by Azam Ahmed
An Introduction to the Blue Humanities by Steve Mentz
Young Queens by Leah Redmond Chang
River Sing Me Home by Eleanor Shearer
The Skin and Its Girl by Sarah Cypher
Grand Tours: Poems by Elisa Gonzalez
Ordinary Notes by Christina Sharpe
The Age of Phillis by Honorée Fanonne Jeffers
IV. Send up to 3 artwork/photography as JPEGs.
Please submit your abstracts or creative work using the following form:
Please send all inquiries to: sjuhr23@gmail.com
Mosammat Sultana
Seán Griffin
Dan Falco
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