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Call for Submissions: INQUIRE

Inquire is a new peer-reviewed international journal of Comparative Literature to be published online by the graduate students of the Program of Comparative Literature at the University of Alberta beginning January 2011. Inquire aims to build upon the successes of Comparative Literature as a multifaceted discipline that emphasizes the study of minor literatures and languages, translation, and literary theory by providing the space for informed discussion and creative research by graduate students. Accordingly, the first issue is titled Bold Inquiry: New Directions in Comparative Literature.

We are looking for essays that clearly strive to reconsider traditional topics in new ways or to take up less canonical forms, genres, and methodologies. An investigation of poetry, drama, short stories, or novels might emphasize epic or performance poetry, tragedy or melodrama, fables or abridgments, the historical novel or speculative fiction. A study of non-fiction could include the almanac, biography, travelogue, textbook, criticism, etc. Emphasis might be on writers or readers, publishers or sellers and involve the book, chapbook, pamphlet, journal, magazine, newspaper, theater, film, website, etc. Methodologies of interest include, but are not restricted to: (1) rhizomatic research, the tracing of literary connections not restricted to traditional means or areas of investigation; (2) book history, the description of print artifacts as material, historical, social, and cultural objects; (3) digital humanities, the use of multimedia technologies to research, present, and compare languages and literatures. In short, we encourage submissions that take an interdisciplinary and innovative approach to describe and discuss the production, dissemination, and reception of literature in all forms across languages, cultures, and national borders.

All submissions: original work not submitted elsewhere, complete essays in English, 5-7,000 words (including bibliography and endnotes), MLA format, .doc (if possible), 12-pt font, double-spaced throughout, include a separate cover sheet with name, institutional affiliation, email, an abstract (200 words), and a short biography (100 words). Submissions will be received from graduate students only until September 10, 2010. All submissions accepted for review will be read anonymously. Further information about the journal is available at http://www.ualberta.ca/~inquire. Please send queries or submissions to inquire@ualberta.ca.

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