CALL FOR PAPERS

[Marc Maufort]

CALL FOR PAPERS FOR A COLLECTION OF ESSAYS

SITING THE OTHER : 
MARGINAL IDENTITIES IN AUSTRALIAN AND CANADIAN DRAMA


As prominent examples of settler-invader colonies of the former British 
Empire, Australia and Canada have often been studied side by side, by 
literary critics and historians alike ( a fuller account of the convergences 
and divergences between the two countries can be found in Diana Brydon and 
Helen Tiffin’s Decolonising Fictions ). Both in English Canada and 
Australia, drama has registered an unprecedented growth in the last decades 
and has achieved international recognition. More particularly, English 
Canada and Australia have witnessed the emergence of new marginal voices in 
theatre and drama in the last two decades or so. In strikingly similar 
parallel developments, the drama of the two countries has become 
multicultural, thus mirroring the setup of the societies from which it 
emanates. This collection will therefore seek to assess the position 
occupied by the "other" in contemporary English Canadian and Australian 
drama. Needless to say, both the differences and the similarities between 
the multicultural drama of the two countries will be examined. In this 
context, the concept of "other" will comprise issues of race, gender and/or 
sexual identities, thus making room for various contemporary forms of 
marginal identities. As the provisional title makes clear, the guiding 
metaphor is a spatial one: it suggests the complex web of positionings 
occupied by ever-evolving marginal groups. The boundaries between the 
various forms of marginalities and the "mainstream" are in themselves 
unfixed and unstable, in constant need of re-assessment. Ideally, the 
collection will throw light on the process through which marginal identities 
generate (or fail to do so) innovative theatrical and dramatic forms, 
departing radically from traditional naturalistic models. 
Essays can deal with individual or groups of playwrights in Australia and/or 
English Canada. They can explore representations of ethnicity ( particularly 
in the works of Canadian First Nations playwrights, Asian Canadian 
dramatists, Hispanic Canadian playwrights ; works by ethnic minorities in 
Australian drama—both Asian and European in descent---and Australian 
aboriginal drama—this list is of course not exhaustive ) ; articles could 
also focus on gender issues (particularly in the works of women playwrights) 
and sexual identities (particularly in lesbian and/or gay drama). Essays on 
representations of these marginalized communities in mainstream English 
Canadian and/or Australian drama will also be considered. Articles on 
multiculturalism and theatrical practice are also sought, as are articles 
considering the above-mentioned issues from a theoretical vantage point. 
Essays need not focus simultaneously on Canadian and Australian drama : a 
comparative perspective will be provided in the introductory and concluding 
essays by the editor.
        Potential contributors are invited to send a detailed proposal ( around 400 
words ) to Marc Maufort by August 15, 1999 (Professor Marc Maufort, 
Université Libre de Bruxelles, English Department/Langues et littératures 
germaniques CP 175, 50, av. F.D. Roosevelt, 1050 BRUXELLES, BELGIUM ; FAX : 
32-2-650-24-50 ; E-Mail : mmaufort at ulb.ac.be). Selected papers will need to 
be submitted by May 1, 2000. Only unpublished material will be considered. 
The length of essays should be between 4,000 and 5,000 words. The manuscript 
of the collection will be submitted for review to the editors of the 
Cross/Cultures series (published by Rodopi, Amsterdam and Atlanta), who have 
already expressed a strong interest in the project.