Mini MELOW in Dibrugarh - November 2025

DIBRUGARH – MINI-MELOW 2025

MELOW: The Society for the Study of the Multi-Ethnic Literatures of the World has been in existence since 1997 and organizes an international Conference every year. To date, it has held twenty-five such conferences. Alongside these conferences, MELOW also conducts other activities from time to time, including mini-conferences that bring together smaller groups of delegates to focus on specific thematic concerns.

The next Mini-MELOW is proposed to be held at Dibrugarh, Assam, in November 2025.

 Title: “The Colours of Pride: Queer Identities in Literature and Culture”

Proposed Dates: 22-23 November 2025

Proposed Venue: Dibrugarh University (Host institution)

Organized by: MELOW (The Society for the Study of the Multi-Ethnic Literatures of the World)

 Concept Note

Over the last few decades, we have noted a marked change in the way LGBTQ+ identities are portrayed and interpreted in literature, the media, and society. The presence of persons who differ from the mainstream in their gender and sexual identities increasingly tends to be out of the cupboard, moving from the background to the fore, from subtextual appearances and coded references to outspoken celebrations of resistance, love, and identity.

The mini-MELOW Conference in Dibrugarh seeks to explore and analyze the changing terrain of LGBTQ+ representation in literature and culture. It will look at how issues of nation, language, class, caste, tradition, and power interact with narratives that celebrate differences from heteronormativity and cisgender norms. The event aims to promote different and intersectional viewpoints, showcasing texts from many linguistic, regional, and cultural backgrounds.

We seek to foster an inclusive and diverse dialogue, inviting scholars from literature, philosophy, cultural studies, and related fields to participate. Examining literary texts from different historical periods, genres, and cultural contexts, participants will contribute to a nuanced understanding of humanity's evolving attitude towards gender and sexuality. Queer Ecocriticism is a potent perspective suggesting a thorough and discerning, original understanding of sexuality in nature and the human world by challenging the very idea of the natural/unnatural binary. There is no sexual orientation which is unnatural in the world of nature. It is not a matter of choice or luxury, but of basic need. 

Our aim is to create an inclusive academic space for discussion of this timely subject that remains underrepresented in academic discourse. The conference aligns with MELOW's dedication to diversity, inclusivity, and the critical analysis of global literature.

We will focus on areas that include (but are not restricted to) the following: Queer theory and literary criticism; Intersectionality: Queerness and caste, class, region, religion, race, disability; Shifting representations of queer identities in literature, film, theatre, and other cultural texts; Queer autobiographies, memoirs, and life-writing; Indigenous, regional, and non-Western perspectives on gender and sexuality; Censorship, silence, and the politics of queer visibility; Translations and the language of queerness; Queer spaces: urban/rural, digital/real, imagined/embodied; Teaching queer texts: pedagogy, resistance, and acceptance.

We welcome critical, interdisciplinary, as well as creative contributions. Participants from the North-Eastern states are particularly encouraged, although the conference will include select scholars from across India and abroad.

Tentative Session Titles

1. Pedagogies of the Queer: Teaching and Textual Strategies
2. From Closet to Celebration: Narrating Queer Histories
3. Performing Pride: Queer Aesthetics in Theatre, Film, and Art
4. Resisting Erasure: Memory, Trauma, and Identity
5. Translation and Transgression: The Language of the Other
6. Rainbow Texts: Queer Presences in Indian Languages
7. Love, Law, and Literature: From Section 377 to Queer Utopias
8. Queer Ecocriticism

 Submission Guidelines: Abstracts of 200–250 words, along with a short bio (100 words), may be sent on one of the above themes in the format given below to minimelow2025@gmail.com

The Subject of your email should read: ABSTRACT FOR DIBRUGARH MINI-MELOW

Panel under which the abstract may be considered (1 to 8):

Mode of presentation: online (only for foreign delegates) or in-person?

Do you need hotel accommodation? Yes or No: (If yes) Shared or Single: (If shared) State your gender, please. M/F:

Is ppt required? Yes or No:

Name of the participant: Designation and Affiliation: Email id:

Title of the abstract:

Abstract in 200-250 words

Keywords (4-5):

Brief Bio: (100 words)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Important dates

 

Last date for submission of abstract: 15 September 2025

Notification of acceptance: 1 October 2025

Full papers: to be submitted by 15 November 2025

 

Participation Details

·       The conference will be in-person for Indian Delegates.

·       It is a self-supporting event: participants will bear their travel and accommodation costs and also pay a Membership and Delegate Fee.  Subsidized arrangements for food and stay will be facilitated by the organizers.

·       Details regarding Registration fee/accommodation will be sent along with the acceptance letters.

·       Foreign participants may present online. They will not be charged any Membership or Delegate Fee.

·       Selected papers will be considered for publication in a peer-reviewed volume to be published by a reputed international press.

 

Organizers

·       MELOW: The Society for the Study of the Multi-Ethnic Literatures of the World

URLs: https://melow.in/, https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100003036474708, https://melusmelow.blogspot.com/ 

·       Dept of English, Dibrugarh University, Dibrugarh, Assam: https://dibru.ac.in/department-of-english

 

RSVP: minimelow2025@gmail.com