Subject: CFP: Literary Representations of Cognitive Impairment (9/1/07; journal issue)

Literary scholars are invited to submit an article for the third special issue of the Journal of Literary Disability (JLD), which will be entitled The Representation of Cognitive Impairment.

Giorgio Agamben's concept of bare life, embodied in the figure of homo sacer, as the life that can be killed without the commission of a crime - is frequently cited in contemporary accounts of the politically excluded - the refugee, the interned at Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo Bay. Yet his argument is founded upon an analysis of the collusion of biomedical discourse with the biopolitical imperatives of the modern state, citing the euthanasia programmes of disabled people in pre-war Germany as an exemplary instance of the production of bare lives. Those deemed to be cognitively impaired (although this term is itself subject to debate) often fall outside received definitions of the human. Theoretical models that assume certain fundamental attributes, for instance, full participation in a language community, the capacity to engage in rational discourse, or particular forms of self-awareness, implicitly exclude people without those cognitive abilities. Equally, discourses of 'access' and 'visibility' with their emphasis upon physicality may be inadequate to the task of addressing forms of cognitive difference. This special issue of JLD asks scholars to consider the problems - political, ethical and aesthetic - at stake in literary representations of cognitive impairment. The issue will include articles that explore literary works, as well as those that consider and critique contemporary theoretical models.

The issue will be edited by Dr. Lucy Burke and Dr. David Bolt. The deadline for manuscripts is not until 1 September 2007, but you are urged to send your proposal to David as soon as possible: bolt at wellofthesaints dot freeserve dot co dot uk

To find out more about submitting an article to JLD, visit: http://www.journalofliterarydisability.com

CFP: Linguistic Approaches to Literature (3/12/2007; MLA 2007 panel)

Please find our call for papers for the 2007 MLA below. We are also currently soliciting names from our membership for nomination to the 2008-12 Executive Committee for the Division. If you are interested in running, please notify me by January 25th, 2007.

Julia Karolle-Berg
Assistant Professor of German
John Carroll University
Division on Linguistic Approaches to Literature, Executive Committee Chair (2007)

CFP: Linguistic Approaches to Literature. What is Literary Language? Three sessions exploring literature as linguistic discourse, style, register, speech act, or aspect of standardization. Type of submission: 300-500-word abstract by 12 March 2007. Send abstract as email attachment to Julia Karolle-Berg (jkarolle at jcu dot edu) and Claiborne Rice (crice at louisiana dot edu).

CFP: Language Theory (3/1/2007; MLA 2007 panels)

The members of the Language Theory Division executive committee have organized three panels for the 2007 MLA Convention. For Panels One and Two, we are looking for papers that evaluate and/or reevaluate core issues in Language Theory. Papers on all areas of Language Theory are welcome.
The third panel, titled "Language Theory, Literary Studies, and Cultural Studies," examines the role of language theory in literary and cultural studies, and also considers ways that literary studies and cultural studies already do and potentially could contribute to the theorization of language.
If you have a paper you would like to submit, please email a one-page abstract to Glenn Davis (gmdavis at stcloudstate dot edu) by March 1, 2007.

Glenn Davis (Chair)
David Herman (Secretary)
Hector Torres
David Golumbia
Jose Elias-Ulloa

PS. We would very much like to hear from linguists and others interested in linguistics who often attend the MLA Annual Convention and who would like to nominate others or themselves for election to the Division's Executive Committee. Please indicate too whether you might want to serve as a panelist at a future convention and what session topics you would like to see the Division address in upcoming years.