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Dear Colleagues,<br>
<br>
A number of you approached Mary Isbell and me in Victoria expressing
interest in amateur/nonprofessionalizing performance practices.
Indeed, several of you are presently researching in the field.
Please consider submitting to our NeMLA session in Harrisburg, PA in
April (deadline Sept. 30). It will be the third iteration of our
successful series of sessions on the topic. This year, NeMLA has a
"special emphasis on drama and creative writing." The CFP is below.
Please let us know if you have any questions.<br>
<br>
Robin.<br>
<br>
<pre class="moz-signature" cols="72">--
Dr. Robin C. Whittaker
Assistant Professor, Drama
Department of English
St. Thomas University
Fredericton, NB E3B 5G3
stureviews.wordpress.com
<a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:rwhit@stu.ca">rwhit@stu.ca</a>
</pre>
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Apologies for cross-posting, and please circulate widely. <br>
<br>
<div dir="ltr"><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif">Seminar
co-chairs: Mary Isbell (University of Connecticut) and Robin
C. Whittaker (St. Thomas University)<br>
<br>
45th Annual Convention, Northeast Modern Language Association
(NeMLA)<br>
April 3-6, 2014<br>
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania<br>
Host: Susquehanna University<br>
<br>
Clay Shirky argues in _Cognitive Surplus_ (2010) that, “As
long as the assumed purpose of media is to allow ordinary
people to consume professionally created material, the
proliferation of amateur-created stuff will seem
incomprehensible” (19). Shirky’s assessment offers one way of
theorizing the longstanding dismissal of amateur production as
inferior and even damaging to the work of professionals. This
seminar will explore various ways of theorizing this
dismissal, consider how amateur production has contributed to
cultural history, and imagine how it will continue to shape
culture in the digital age.<br>
<br>
Encouraged by productive seminars on amateur performance at
NeMLA 2011 (Amateur Performance in the Long Nineteenth
Century) and 2012 (Methodologies of Amateur Theatre Studies),
we are proposing a third seminar session, this time seeking
papers that respond to and/or theorize amateur production
across fields of art and science. Scholarly conversations on
amateur literature, journalism, film, fashion, design,
science, and sport have for the most part been confined to
their respective disciplines. This interdisciplinary session
will expand and complicate these conversations to consider the
concept of the “amateur” on a larger scale, even in periods
before a person doing something “for the love of it” was
referred to as an amateur.<br>
<br>
We encourage explorations across periods: from
nineteenth-century amateur scientists to authors of fan
fiction today, and from medieval folk ludi and craft-guild
theatre to the current trend in dad bands. Because the term
“amateur” has fluctuated in meaning and value in English from
its emergence as a synonym for nonprofessional in the late
eighteenth century, proposals should address how “amateur”
will be defined in the paper and detail what constitutes
“amateur production” and/or an “amateur product” for the
particular field and period addressed. We also encourage
papers addressing how professionally produced media (novels,
films, reviews, etc.) depict amateur productions.<br>
<br>
This session will be run as a seminar (papers circulated in
advance with emphasis on discussion during the session).
Please send proposals of 250-500 words electronically (.doc)
by September 30, 2013 to Mary Isbell (<a
moz-do-not-send="true" href="mailto:mary.isbell@gmail.com">mary.isbell@gmail.com</a>)
and Robin C. Whittaker (<a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="mailto:rwhit@stu.ca">rwhit@stu.ca</a>)<br>
<br>
Please include with your abstract:<br>
Name and Affiliation<br>
Email address<br>
Postal address<br>
Telephone number<br>
A/V requirements (if any; $10 handling fee with registration)<br>
<br>
…<br>
<br>
The 2014 NeMLA convention continues the Association's
tradition of sharing innovative scholarship in an engaging and
generative location. This capitol city set on the Susquehanna
River is known for its vibrant restaurant scene, historical
sites, the National Civil War museum, and nearby Amish
Country, antique shops and Hershey Park. NeMLA has arranged
low hotel rates of $104-$124. <br>
<br>
The 2014 event will include guest speakers, literary readings,
professional events, and workshops. A reading by George
Saunders will open the Convention. His 2013 collection of
short fiction, The Tenth of December, has been acclaimed by
the New York Times as: “the best book you’ll read this year.”
NeMLA’s Keynote Speaker will be David Staller, Producer and
Director of Project Shaw. Mr. Staller presents monthly
script-in-hand performances of Bernard Shaw’s plays at the
Players Club in New York City.<br>
<br>
Interested participants may submit abstracts to more than one
NeMLA session; however, panelists can only present one paper
(panel or seminar). Convention participants may present a
paper at a panel and also present at a creative session or
participate in a roundtable.</font></div>
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