Literature and History: Middle Eastern Perspectives

[KURDISTANICA]

Call for Papers: Literature & History: Middle Eastern Perspectives-
International Workshop

Call for Papers

The 15th Annual International Workshop of the Department of Middle
East Studies at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev

Literature and History: Middle Eastern Perspectives

May 31 – June 2, 2010

Coordinators: Dr. Yair Huri & Dr. Ariel M. Sheetrit

Scholarly discussions about the intricate relationship between
belletristic literature and history have long haunted literary
criticism, historiography, cultural studies and literary practice. In
recent decades numerous studies have addressed the question of belles
lettres as a possible source for social, cultural and political
history, while shifting the focus away from the study of aesthetics
towards the study of literature as a narrative space that often
represents forgotten, silenced or repressed histories.

By focusing on fiction, poetry and plays written by Arab, Turkish,
Iranian, and Israeli writers (as well as by writers of other Middle
Eastern ethnicities), our annual international workshop will provide a
broad forum for practitioners coming from the distinctive vantage
points of both disciplines – literary criticism and history writing –
to explore issues of common concern in Middle Eastern scholarship:
nationality, post-colonial narratives, religion and secularism, gender
and sexuality, class, social discourse, changing sensibilities and
language.

Papers should address the complex, multifaceted relationship between
literature and history, and can include some of the following issues:
• Autobiographies and history writing
• Writing and remembering lives
• Reclaiming lost and repressed lived experiences in literature
· The use of historical events in literary creativity
• Temporality – literary and historical time
• Ficto-historical writing / historical fiction
• Political and social resistance through fiction
• Manifestations of oppression and censorship
• Portrayal of the Other
• The interaction between a text and its historical and political
contexts
• Political, ethical and cultural implications of historical fiction
• Revisiting the literary significance of ‘history from below’
• Literary history and its mediations (gender, sexuality, class,
ethnicity, etc.)
• Aestheticism and anti-historicism in literature

The workshop will be held at Ben Gurion University of the Negev from
May 31 through June 2, 2010. All participants will be expected to
submit in advance a working paper to be distributed among the other
participants. This will enable us to dedicate the meetings to
discussions on original papers rather than to lengthy presentations.

Those interested in participating in the workshop are asked to send a
one-page proposal in English, along with their C.V. by January 1,
2010. The proposal should briefly state the topic, and outline how the
paper contributes to the aims of the workshop. Authors will be
notified by February 1, 2010 whether their proposal was accepted for
presentation at the workshop. Authors whose proposal is accepted will
be expected to submit a full-length version of the paper by April 1,
2010.

Participants from abroad will be offered round trip airfare and
lodging.

Proposals should be addressed by e-mail to:
Dr. Yair Huri: yair...@bgu.ac.il
Dr. Ariel M. Sheetrit: ari...@bgu.ac.il

For further details regarding our annual departmental workshop, please
see the workshop website at: http://web2.bgu.ac.il/mideast/workshop/main.asp?page=about