CONFERENCE CALL
MELOW 2021
THE 21st INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE
OF
MELOW (THE SOCIETY FOR THE STUDY OF THE
MULTI-ETHNIC LITERATURES OF THE WORLD)
to be organized by
SHOOLINI UNIVERSITY, SOLAN, HP, INDIA (https://shooliniuniversity.com/)
https://shooliniuniversity.com/)
FROM 12 TO 14 NOVEMBER 2021
CONFERENCE THEME: ILLNESS, HEALING, AND THE
LITERARY IMAGINATION
We
are going through a traumatic period that has been unprecedented in human
history, with the COVID 19 pandemic raging uncontrollably across the globe. In
such circumstances, what does one do? Do we sit and lament, bewailing our fate?
Or do we find ways of coping with the catastrophe? Since March 2020 the world
has moved into cyber-space and much of our activities are conducted in the
virtual world. Seminars and conferences, too, have been transformed into
virtual events. Our organization MELOW, too, has moved into the virtual world,
at least for the time being. The 2021 Conference, hosted by Shoolini
University, Solan, HP, will be a virtual one. However, if the pandemic
situation improves, we may have a blended format.
The 2021 MELOW International
Conference on “Illness, Healing, and the Literary Imagination” aims to bring
together scholars from different disciplines to debate on the literary culture
of sickness and recovery from Giovanni Boccaccio and T. S. Eliot to the Bible
and the Lotus Sutra. Outbreaks of
diseases, epidemics and pandemics generate emotions of fear, melancholy and
sadness, encapsulating a social experience through a language that often proves
inadequate for the given task. The fear of contamination further destroys the
moral fibre and corrupts the imagination, giving rise to melancholy and sadness,
and at times resignation and scepticism. The journey to recovery and healing
can be long and slow but the resilient human spirit will work towards that goal
without losing hope. Suffering and its aftermath together give a new life force
to language and society.
The 21st International Conference of MELOW will explore themes of dis-ease, isolation, loneliness, and vulnerability together with a resurgence of hope and regeneration. An exploration of collective experience through language, literature, memoir, cinema, and other forms of narration across disciplines can create human solidarity in an incomprehensible universe.
We propose to divide the conference papers into
panels A to F. Interested delegates may send their abstracts (200 words) to the
given email id with a copy to melusmelow@gmail.com
:
A. Illnesses and the Political Allegory: Sick/Ailing bodies as political sites. This involves the use of
sickness to exemplify different kinds of political arrangements. Abstracts to be sent to roshanlal.sharma@gmail.com
with a copy to melusmelow@gmail.com
B. Individual Narrative and Frame Narrative: Generic conventions and disease. How
representations of disease are determined by the choice of a genre, eg, in drama,
poetry, fiction, non-fiction, film, etc. Abstracts
to be sent to manpreetkang.ipu@gmail.com
with a copy to melusmelow@gmail.com
C. Illness, Pandemic Thriller and the Plague: Socio-cultural construction of disease in literature. How diseases are
understood and explained in terms of the cultural and belief systems of a
society. Abstracts to be sent to jkbhangu@gmail.com with a copy to melusmelow@gmail.com
D. Representation of disease as a microcosm or macrocosm: Tracing the effect of disease on individuals or societies. History, Rhetoric and Memory of illnesses and their
cure. Abstracts to be sent to vandanacuj2017@gmail.com with a copy to melusmelow@gmail.com
E.
Epidemics,
Pandemics and/in Science Fiction: Disease as a basis for pure
speculation. Use of epidemics and pandemics for creating alternative societies
or systems. Abstracts to be sent to debaratiband@gmail.com
with a copy to melusmelow@gmail.com
F. Creativity in Crisis: Understanding the impact of the Pandemic on humanity worldwide. The impact of the pandemic on the fields of Science, Sociology, Literature, Music and other arts. The Mantra of Healing from Religious and Scientific Texts. Abstracts to be sent to dipankar151@gmail.com with a copy to melusmelow@gmail.com
MODE
OF ABSTRACT SUBMISSION:
Abstracts may be sent in the TEXT BOX of your email (not as attachment)
The subject
line of your message should read thus: ABSTRACT 2021: [YOUR NAME]
If
you’re competing for the ISM Award*: state clearly “Indian citizen below 40
competing for the ISM Award”
The
format given below is to be followed for the submission of abstract:
|
PANEL
HEAD under which abstract may be considered (A, B, C, D, E, or F, as given
above): Note: Please send only ONE abstract to
only ONE of the given panels. Double submissions will not be considered. |
|
MELUS/MELOW conferences attended earlier (in
which year and where) |
|
Are you currently a member of MELOW? Or do you need a fresh / renewed membership? Please specify. |
|
Competing for ISM Award*: YES or NO |
|
Name of Delegate Official designation (Designation/Dept/College/University) Email id Title of Abstract |
|
ABSTRACT [Text] 200 words approx. |
Deadline for receipt of abstracts is 20 June 2021.
All abstracts will be peer-reviewed
before they are accepted. Once acceptance letters are sent, full papers
(2500-3000 words) will be invited from all participants. Only those who
submit their papers by the deadline will be invited to participate in the
conference.
Presenters need to be at least
postgraduate: research students, teachers, or independent scholars.
There will be no Registration fee for online presentations. However, all delegates need to be members of MELOW. In case you are not a member, you may apply for membership once your abstract is accepted. Details of membership fee will be sent to you along with your acceptance letter.
* ISAAC SEQUEIRA MEMORIAL AWARD
In the memory of the late Prof Isaac Sequeira, MELOW annually awards a
prize for the best paper presented by a young scholar at its conference. The
award comprises a certificate and a cash prize of Rs. 5,000.
The competition is open to Indian citizens who are members of MELOW. The
competing participant/delegate should be below forty years at the time of the
conference. The abstract and paper should be submitted by the stipulated
deadline in the required format.
For further inquiries please email: melusmelow@gmail.com
Our website: www.melow.in
Host institution: https://shooliniuniversity.com/
IMPORTANT
DATES:
