Call For Papers - The South Asian Short Story
Posted on: Sunday, June 20, 2010
The South Asian Short Story
Conference at the University of Kent, Canterbury, 10 September 2010
Deadline for proposals: 30 July
The short story has had an unusual importance and popularity in the cultural life of decolonising and contemporary postcolonial societies. In South Asia in particular it has flourished within national and mainstream publishing institutions as well as under their radar in innumerable local journals and presses and more recently in proliferating electronic media. Beyond the region contemporary diasporic writers have have helped bring a renewed urgency and vitality to the practice and reception of the genre. Placing equal emphasis on writing in English and other languages, this conference will take up issues of origins, boundaries and new directions in the South Asian short story. We will consider the many negotiations that take place between genres and literary traditions, and the contested borders of local, national, and diasporic affiliations. Alongside our exploration of common themes and preoccupations, we will begin to redress the surprising under-theorisation of this area of literary production: what is the appeal and reach of the form, what are the relations between its popular and marginal manifestations, how does it mediate its multiple vernacular and Euro-American origins, and how does it inform or disrupt our understanding of literary cultures within and beyond South Asia?
Confirmed keynote speaker: Vinay Dharwadker
Confirmed contributors include: Aamer Hussein
Neelam Srivastava
Francesca Orsini
Michael Hutt
Alex Tickell
We invite proposals for 20-minute papers. Themes may include (but are certainly not restricted to):
Translation and cross-regional influences
Theorising the South Asian short story: genres, affiliations and origins
Film and the short story
Displacement and travel
Sites of reception
Illness and sexual violence
Homes, nations, fragments
Send queries and abstracts (200-300 words) to Dr Alex Padamsee and Professor Abdulrazak Gurnah at SouthAsianStory@kent.ac.uk . The deadline for receipt of proposals is July 30th.
Other current event items
Bharat Britain: South Asians Making Britain, 1870-1950
Posted on: Wednesday, September 01, 2010
Words on Water: India and South Africa in Conversation, 20 - 25 September, Cape Town and Johannesburg
Posted on: Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Spoken Word at Kings Place Festival 2010
Posted on: Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Burn My Heart - Trestle Theatre/Blind Eye Tour
Posted on: Monday, August 16, 2010
Across the Street, Around the World
Posted on: Sunday, August 15, 2010
Creative Writing Workshops Inspired by South Asia
Posted on: Saturday, August 14, 2010
