9th Annual SALA (South Asian Literary Association) Conference
San Francisco, December 26-27, 2008
Conference Theme: “Gender and Sexuality in South Asian Literature and Culture”
Discussions of gender and sexuality in South Asia can be examined in relation to colonial reform measures that targeted women as a special constituency and postcolonial models of development that emphasize women’s role in nation-building and national development. The colonial and postcolonial state’s focus on gender is reinforced by strong trajectories of women’s movements in this region. More recently, an activism that combines the struggles of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transsexual (LGBT) people, under the term ‘queer’, has emerged in South Asia. Now South Asian women’s and queer movements also assert their similarities to and differences from similar forms of activism in the West. However, as with activism, representations of gender and sexuality in South Asian literary and cultural fields reveal Western as well as local influences. In some cases, these representations contribute to, and further, feminist and queer politics in South Asia.
We invite papers on literature, criticism, film, cultural, and social activism that explore any aspect of gender and sexuality as constitutive of the South Asian experience in national and diasporic contexts. Papers may explore, but are not restricted to, the following areas:
- The literary and social constructions of masculinity and/or femininity in colonial times and in anti-colonial resistance movements
- Literary, critical, and filmic representations of gender as a category of ‘reform’ in colonial times and of ‘development’ in postcolonial times
- Non-canonical social and literary texts (women’s magazines, newspaper reports, oral histories, life-narratives) that constitute the history of women’s writing in South Asia
- Writings about women’s experiences in significant moments of South Asian history (anti-colonial resistance, Partition, Naxalite movement, Civil War in Sri Lanka etc.)
- The emergence of new directions in South Asian women’s literature: diasporic women’s fiction, dalit women’s autobiography, feminist poetry etc.
- Critical accounts of the legacy of colonial legislation in postcolonial times, such as Article 377 of the Indian Penal Code, and Article 365 of the Sri Lankan Penal Code, criminalizing “sodomy” and other “unnatural sexual acts”
- Recent publications addressing same-sex relations in South Asian history, culture, and literature including anthologies of critical and creative writing, fiction, poetry, and drama
- Books, pamphlets, posters, documentaries on debates about the relevance of sexuality-based activism in South Asia.
- The impact of popular cinema and iconic figures in shaping constructions of gender and sexuality
- Intersection of concerns of class, gender, and sexuality in literary, cultural, and social spaces
- The influence of South Asian diasporic writings, including feminist and gender theory in the Western and South Asian academy
Please send a 300-word abstract of your paper and a 5-6 line bio-note listing your institutional affiliation and current email address to the conference co-chairs at the email addresses given below. The subject line of your email should contain the words “SALA 2008.”
Deadline for submission of abstracts: July 15, 2008
Email addresses:
kanika.batra@ttu.edu and RobinField@kings.edu
Postal addresses:
Dr. Kanika Batra, Department of English, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Box 43091, TX 79409-3091 Fax Number: 806-742-0989
Dr. Robin Field, Department of English, King's College, 133 N. River Street, Wilkes-Barre, PA 18711. Fax Number: 570-208-5988
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South Asian Review (Volume 29, Number 3)
2008 Special Issue on the Short Story
Submissions are invited for the 2008 special issue of the South Asian Review (SAR), Volume 29, Number 3. This issue is meant to showcase the variety and vitality of the South Asian short story. Writers from any background are welcome to submit their stories provided these are on South Asian subjects. Good English translations of short stories from Indian languages are also solicited.
- Submissions must be received by Friday, August 1, 2008.
- A story may not exceed 5000 words in length.
- Each submission must be accompanied with a statement that the work or translation has not appeared in print, online, or in any other format.
- Translators must have in hand the copyright permission from the original authors or their estates.
- Submissions can be sent electronically as Word document attachments.
- Surface mail submissions should include three printed copies and a floppy disc in Word format.
- Manuscripts should be prepared in Word format and double spaced.
- Manuscripts will not be returned.
South Asian Review, the refereed journal of the South Asian Literary Association, is a representative international forum for the scholarly examination of South Asian Languages and Literatures in a contemporary cultural context. The Review is published four times a year: the Special Topic issue (June/July); the Regular issue (October); the Creative Writing issue (November); and the Conference issue (December).
Inquiries and Manuscripts should be sent to:
Dr. Vijay Lakshmi
Guest Editor, The Short Story Issue of SAR
Associate Professor
Department of English
Community College of Philadelphia
240 Berkeley Road
Glenside PA 19038
Phone 215-572-5725
vchauhan@ccp.edu
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Regular Issue of SAR 2008
SOUTH ASIAN REVIEW, the refereed journal of the South Asian Literary Association, invites submissions for 2008 issue, volume 29, number 2, the Miscellany (Oct./Nov.). SAR is a representative scholarly forum for the examination of South Asian languages and literatures in a broad cultural context. The journal invites healthy and constructive dialog on issues pertaining to South Asia but the thrust of the dialog must be literature and the sister arts. The journal welcomes critical and analytical essays on any aspect or period of South Asian literature (ancient, pre-colonial, colonial and post-colonial). SAR is open to all ideas, positions, critical, and theoretical approaches. Recognizing the linguistic and cultural diversity of the subcontinent, the journal particularly welcomes essays in intercultural, comparative and interdisciplinary studies in the humanities. The journal is also interested in essays on music, painting, sculpture, architecture and other related fields. The following areas are of special interest to the journal:
South Asian Literatures Cultural Studies
South Asian Languages Colonial Studies
South Asian Studies Postcolonial Studies
South Asian Culture Comparative Literature
South Asian Diaspora Women’s Studies
Comparative Aesthetic Film Studies
Literary Theory Transcultural Studies
Critical articles of 15-25 pages, prepared in accordance with the MLA style and accompanied by an abstract of 8-10 lines and a biographical note, must be received by June 30, 2008. Articles can be sent by mail or transmitted electronically. All correspondence pertaining to the 2008 issue should be addressed to:
K. D. Verma
Editor, South Asian Review
Department of English
University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown
Johnstown, PA 15904
Phone: 814-269-7143
Fax: 814-269-7196
kverma@pitt.edu
Inquiries regarding book reviews should be addressed directly to:
Professor P. S. Chauhan
Department of English
Arcadia University
450 South Easton Road
Glenside, PA 19038-3295
Phone: 215-572-2106
chauhanp@arcadia.edu
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The Special Topic Issue of SAR 2008
"Perspectives on South Asian Women's Writing"
The South Asian Review, the refereed journal of the South Asian Literary Association, is soliciting essays for the 2008 Special Topic issue, volume 29, number 1, devoted to "Perspectives on South Asian Women's Writing." It will include both articles and interviews that focus on women writers from India, Nepal, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, other South Asian countries, as well as women writers of the South Asian Diaspora (South Asian American writers, South Asian British writers, South Asian Canadian writers, South Asian South African writers, South Asian Australian writers, etc.). This volume will feature criticism on authors who write novels, short stories, poetry, memoirs, autobiographies, travel writing, and so forth, and who have not been written about extensively. Articles of all critical orientations are welcome, but we are particularly looking for new and innovative approaches. Some themes of interest include diaspora, fragmentation, indigeneity, race, hybridity, language, identity, and oppression.
SUGGESTED TOPICS: Some suggested topics (by no means exhaustive) that could be explored include the following: Does this emerging generation of writers from South Asia offer a unique lens through which to view themes such as diaspora, race, identity, or oppression? in what manner do these writers use language, and/or any other means, to invoke indigeneity, hybridity, and/or fragmentation?
SUBMISSIONS AND INQUIRIES: Critical articles and interviews featuring perspectives on South Asian women's writing must be received by January 30, 2008. They should be 15-25 pages, prepared in accordance with MLA style, and accompanied by an abstract of 8-10 lines as well as a biographical note of 50 words. Early inquiries are encouraged. All correspondence pertaining to the Special Topic issue should be addressed to the Guest Co-editors:
Feroza Jussawalla
Department of English
MSC03 2170
University of New Mexico
Albuquerque, NM 87131-0001
fjussawa@unm.edu
Deborah Weagel
Department of English
MSC03 2170
University of New Mexico
Albuquerque, NM 87131-0001
dweagel@unm.edu
Inquiries regarding book reviews should be addressed to:
Professor P. S. Chauhan
Department of English
Arcadia University
450 South Easton Road
Glenside, PA 19038-3295
Phone: 215-572-2106
chauhanp@arcadia.edu
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For further information, please refer to the SAR website at: http://www.upj.pitt.edu/SouthAsianReview.