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CfP: French-Canadian Literatures Outside Quebec

Annual Convention, Northeast Modern Language Association (NeMLA)
April 7-11, 2010
Hilton Bonaventure – Montreal, Quebec

In her introduction to a recent special issue of Canadian Literature titled “Beyond Quebec: Canada’s Other Francophone Literatures,” Jane Moss observes that French-Canadian literatures outside of Quebec have “entered the postnational and postmodern age” (2005, np). In a recent special issue of the Quebecois journal Voix et images, Jean Morency makes a similar observation about contemporary Acadian writing, which breaks with traditional concerns about patrilineage and rural society in order to capture the perspectives of an increasingly urban, postindustrial French-Canadian populace whose traditional associations with nationality and territoriality have been radically revised.

Yet despite this emergence of a new generation of French-Canadian writers, French-Canadian literature outside of Quebec continues to struggle to find publishers, readers, and critics. This is so despite the international recognition achieved by such authors as Antonine Maillet, France Daigle, Gabrielle Roy, Daniel Poliquin, and Nancy Huston, among many others. In an attempt to correct this imbalance, a number of journals have recently devoted special issues to pan-Canadian Francophone literatures (Canadian Literature, 2005; Liaison 129, 2005) as well as to individual authors (Voix et images, Spring 2004; la Revue de l’Universite de Moncton, Winter 2007). At the same time, a growing number of essay collections have been devoted to examining French-Canadian fiction, theatre, and poetry outside of Quebec.

Given the increasing scholarly interest in French-Canadian literatures outside of Quebec, this panel invites abstracts that explore new directions in Acadian, Franco-Ontarian, Franco-Manitoban, Fransaskois, and Franco-Albertan literatures. Papers may be delivered in either English or French. Send 250 word abstracts to Andrea Cabajsky, Universite de Moncton, andrea.cabajsky@umoncton.ca

Please include with your abstracts:

Name and Affiliation
Email address

Postal address
Telephone number
A/V requirements (if any; $10 handling fee)

Deadline:  September 30, 2009

The complete Call for Papers for the NeMLA 2010 Convention is posted at: www.nemla.org

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