LIST REVIEW: Calls for Papers in English & American
Literature (CFP)
Reviewed by James A. Inman
jinman@grits.valdosta.peachnet.edu
Unless otherwise indicated, all quotations are taken from the CFP
Information Guide.
Intended Audience
Discussion
should be "relevant to students of English and American Literature." CFP, though, does not
restrict calls for papers only to literature-based conferences and publications, instead including
related disciplines such as "cultural studies, queer theory, bibliography, humanities computing, and
comparative literature (even when not concerned specifically with English or American
literature)."
List Membership
Currently, the subscriber
population numbers more than 1700. With the intent of the list being to distribute calls for
papers, it may be said that all of the subscribers are lurkers. Activity lessens during academic
holidays, especially mid to late summer and Christmas break.
As indicated by the
"edu" notation in most e-mail addresses, almost all of the subscribers are affiliated with an
academic institution or, at the very least, affiliated with academia. As indicated by the calls for
papers, the members represent a number of largely humanities-based disciplines, including
literature, composition, professional writing, and journalism, and a number of humanities-related
areas, like cultural studies and computing.
A variety of academic institutions are
represented, from Ivy League institutions, such as Harvard, Yale, and Princeton, to state
universities, like the University of Kentucky, the University of California, the University of
Michigan, and the University of Iowa. Naturally, as the home of the list, the University of
Pennsylvania is well-represented, with more than 20 subscribers.
A number of
non-U.S., but few non-American, scholars and students subscribe, as indicated by their e-mail
addresses. This fact may most easily be explained by the fact that most of the conferences
announced through CFP are in America, making proposals less feasible for non-American
interested parties. McGill Universityand the University of Toronto, both of Canada, are two
notable institutions with members.
Tone
As the purpose of the
list is to distribute conference information, rather than facilitate discussion about issues, it may be
easy to assume that tone is not an issue; however, such an assumption would be erroneous. The
listowners create a courteous environment which enables subscribers to handle the frequency of
posts.
In advocating courtesy, the listowners do several important things. The first is
creating a standard form for subject lines of calls for papers. Submitters must use the following:
"CFP: Topic of Conference (deadline; conference date)," helping subscribers to locate quickly any
calls of interest. A second action of the listowners is an explicit emphasis on courtesy. In April
1996, when a couple of advertisements were bounced to subscribers, Jack Lynch immediately
took over as moderator to be sure that all messages from CFP were calls for papers, not anything
extraneous. Consider that there is even a section in the CFP guide which is titled
"Etiquette."
A Week in the Life
For the week of July 13-July 20,
1996, nine calls for papers were sent. Of these, three were for the annual conference of NEMLA,
the North East Modern Language Association. Topics ranged from literature-based, like Early
American literature, Hemingway, the Brontes and Letitia Landon, to bibliographical, like the
Dictionary of Literary Biography and the Annual Bibliography of English Language and
Literature. Perhaps the most non-traditional, fun call for papers was one which requested articles
for an upcoming collection focusing on the "Dennis Rodman Phenomenon."
During
the academic year, messages are more frequent at times, but never overbearing. During February
1996, one of the most active months of the year, for example, approximately 110 calls for papers
were bounced to subscribers, amounting to an average of three or four per day. In April 1996, 57
messages were sent to subscribers, and in June 1996, 49 calls were submitted for
review.
Recommendation
If you are interested in scholarly
activities, from conference presentations to publishing, CFP may very well be for you. Certainly,
those interested in literature will find value in the many, frequent literature-related calls which
appear. Similarly, in the calls for papers posted, a number of non-literary, humanities-related
disciplines, everything from popular culture studies to computing, are routinely
presented.
Perhaps the most attractive aspect of CFP is its ease of use. Subscribers
need look no further than the strictly-formulated message subject lines to determine whether or
not the calls will be of interest. Even during the busiest times of the year, CFP is manageable
because of its narrow purpose, meaning that In boxes will not be cluttered with endless, senseless
messages and will instead be filled with informative, relevant calls.
CFP is a sound
option for locating calls for papers for a number of English-related venues, from small, local
conferences to national and international symposia. Highly informative and well-maintained, it is
an invaluable resource for the academic writer.
Membership
Information
- To subscribe to CFP: Send a message in the form "Subscribe
CFP" tolistserv@english.upenn.edu
- To access archives, use one of the following:
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