CFP: Identity and Language in Latin American and Caribbean Science Fiction and Speculative Fiction (NeMLA 2020)
Language has always played a key role in the shaping and sharing of identities. Not only does it have the power to create community among people coming from different geographical locations, but most importantly it influences the way we perceive and make sense of the world. For these reasons, the use of language in science fiction —a genre that offers a critical space for "registering tensions related to the defining of national identity and the modernization process" (Ferreira, 2011)— is important as it enables readers to explore alternative realities. This could also be said about speculative fiction. Thus, this panel addresses concerns over reinvented identities through science fiction and across historical periods. Specifically, how does Latin American and Caribbean literature discuss science fiction or speculative fiction to discuss identity? What do these aesthetic approaches tell us about identity conflicts? Such questions are the object of inquiry for this panel.
We are particularly interested in comparative studies about the impact of Latin American and Caribbean writers on the development of science fiction and speculative fiction. This session aims to shed new lights on these complex and undertheorized issues. This panel, therefore, invites contributions on Latin American and Caribbean science fiction and speculative fiction, in Spanish, Portuguese, and English. Please send an abstract of 250 words to Sahai Couso Díaz (sahai.couso@vanderbilt.edu) or Karen de Melo (karen.melo@vanderbilt.edu) by September 30, 2019.
NeMLA 51st Annual Convention will be held in Boston, Massachusetts, March 5-8, 2020.
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