CFP-Amateur Production: Interdisciplinary Approaches to Nonprofessional Practices

[Robin C. Whittaker]

Dear Colleagues,

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.

Robin.

-- 
Dr. Robin C. Whittaker
Assistant Professor, Drama
Department of English
St. Thomas University
Fredericton, NB  E3B 5G3
stureviews.wordpress.com
rwhit at stu.ca


--->

Apologies for cross-posting, and please circulate widely.

Seminar co-chairs: Mary Isbell (University of Connecticut) and Robin C. 
Whittaker (St. Thomas University)

45th Annual Convention, Northeast Modern Language Association (NeMLA)
April 3-6, 2014
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Host: Susquehanna University

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.

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.

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.

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 
(mary.isbell at gmail.com <mailto:mary.isbell at gmail.com>) and Robin C. 
Whittaker (rwhit at stu.ca <mailto:rwhit at stu.ca>)

Please include with your abstract:
Name and Affiliation
Email address
Postal address
Telephone number
A/V requirements (if any; $10 handling fee with registration)

…

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.

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.

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.


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