Conferences
Southern Writers/Southern Writing Graduate Conference
University of Mississippi
2019 Call for Papers
The 24th Annual Southern Writers/Southern Writing Conference (SWSW) is a graduate
student event hosted by the University of Mississippi from 18-20 July 2019.
We welcome abstracts for paper and panel proposals that explore Southern literature, writers, culture, and key figures. The conference seeks to foster a multi-disciplinary environment, featuring graduate students with an interest in the U.S South. Potential topics for discussion include:
Intersections of Southern material culture, cultural identity, and literature
Re-defining the boundaries of the “South,” and considering the region in a global
context
Topics in race, gender, class, and identity
The U.S. South in global contexts
Southern space and place
Ecocriticism, travel narratives, nature writing, and the Southern landscape
Religion, gothic, and “the grotesque”
Interdisciplinary studies
Folklore, material culture, and community
Film and media studies
Letters, diaries, and periodicals
Oral culture, music, and food representation in Southern culture and literature
We also invite creative submissions, including poetry, short stories, or novel excerpts
that deal with Southern themes or settings. Both critical and creative submissions
are eligible for the Faulkner Paper Prize and the Colby H. Kullman Award.
Our plenary speaker for the conference this year will be David A. Davis, Associate Professor of English at Mercer University, and author of the recently published World War I and Southern Modernism (UPress of Mississippi, 2017).
Please send a 200–300-word abstract of a critical work or an entire creative work
to swswgradconference@gmail.com. The conference reading limit for critical works is
15 minutes. Panel proposals that include three or four participants are also welcome.
Please send your submissions as Word attachments and include your university affiliation
and short bio.
The deadline for submissions is Sunday, 14 April 2019.
Successful applicants will be notified by mid-May.
For more information, please contact Michelle Ayers at swswgradconference@gmail.com
Graduate Student Symposium
The graduate student symposium will provide an opportunity for graduate students to
practice presentation skills on topics or work related to their time spent as a graduate
student.
This event will take place April 25th 2019 from 5 pm to 8 pm in room 119 and 121 of Tomlinson Hall.
4:45 pm - 5:00 pm Poster Set up
5:00 pm – 5:15 pm Opening speaker
5:15 pm – 6:00 pm Poster Session and refreshments
6:00 pm – 8:00 pm Oral Presentations
For general questions about the event you can contact Stephanie Nefas at snefas@atu.edu
Poster Sessions
To participate in the poster session graduate students will need to prepare a poster
presentation on a topic that is part of your studies, work that is being conducted,
or proposals for a future project to be conducted. This includes but is not limited
to research conducted, research proposals, creative projects, events organized, or
classwork completed. You may refer to your discipline’s expectations for presenting
such material. If you are unable to attend in person you may still submit a poster
to be displayed and judged.
If you have additional questions about poster content, structure, or submissions contact Donald McCormick at dmccormick@atu.edu
Oral Presentations
To participate in the oral presentation segment graduate students will need to prepare
a 15 minute oral presentation on a topic that is part of your studies, work that is
being conducted, or proposals for a future project to be conducted. This includes
but is not limited to research conducted, research proposals, creative projects, events
organized, or classwork completed. A computer and projection system will be provided
for PowerPoints or visual aids. If you would like time to take questions as part of
your 15 min presentation we suggest to prepare 12 min of presentation material and
leaving 3 for questions. Additionally if you are unable to attend in person we can
accommodate with a live video chat for you to present.
If you have additional questions about oral presentation content, structure, or submissions contact Cristina Blanco at cblanco@atu.edu
Applications can be found here.