St. John’s University English Graduate Conference Call for Papers
Discourses of Power: Subjugation, Struggle and Sacrifice in Literary and Political Cultures
Saturday, April 21, 2012
St. John’s University
8000 Utopia Parkway
Jamaica, NY 11439
“The oppressors do not perceive their monopoly on having more as a privilege which dehumanizes others and themselves.” – Paulo Freire
What motivates humanity’s desire to gain and retain power? Competition for control has permeated society through struggles of class, race, gender, sexuality and ability, in both the public and domestic spheres. Subjugated classes fight for empowerment, while dominant classes struggle to maintain the status quo. Literary, cultural, and political studies have attempted to challenge dominant discourse and shatter hegemony. During the St. John’s University Graduate Conference we will explore issues of power in the private and public spheres. We are seeking submissions considering the discourses of power.
Individual papers may be submitted, but panel submissions are encouraged. Multimedia will be available for Power Point presentations, music, or video. Abstracts (150 words or less) are due by March 15 to stjgradconference@gmail.com. Include abstracts in email as a PDF or MS Word attachment. If submitting as a panel, please include an abstract for each individual paper. The names and contact information for each panelist should be included in the email submission but NOT on the abstract attachments.
You may direct any questions to stjgradconference@gmail.com. Serving on the St. John’s English Graduate Conference Committee are Dr. Steve Mentz, Tara Bradway, Regina Duthely, and Elizabeth Walsh. Please feel free to forward this to any other possibly interested parties.
Paper topics might include, but are certainly not limited to:
- Class relations in literature
- Writing Pedagogy and Compositional Theory
- Power relationships in drama
- Political discourse
- African-American rhetoric
- Trauma Studies
- Disability Studies
- New Media and the Digital Culture
- Queer Studies
- Post-colonialism
- Feminism
- Law and Literature
- Topics related to history or social sciences
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