Call For Papers: THE LESSONS OF INVISIBLE MAN FOR THE 21ST CENTURY - Deadline Extended
Call for Papers (Deadline Extended):
WHO KNOWS BUT THAT I SPEAK FOR YOU: THE LESSONS OF INVISIBLE MAN FOR THE 21ST CENTURY
In 1952, literary critic and short story writer Ralph Ellison released his first novel, Invisible Man. It was a magnum opus that went on to change the American literary landscape. As the 75th anniversary of Invisible Man approaches, this edited collection seeks to examine what lessons the novel has to offer in the current moment.
In the twenty-first century, a new generation of young adults are caught between protest, complacency, fame, and anonymity. Much like the 1950s, the 2020s are a moment of building unrest where many feel aggrieved and ignored. The international news syndicates of the 1940s have given way to a 24-hour cable news cycle and ever-present social media. The classed, racial, gendered, and ideological divisions of the nation have become gaping chasms in the first two decades of the twenty-first century even as a variety of collectives attempt to cross and heal them.
How, if at all, does the protagonist speak for and to the current moment? In what ways can the events of the novel inform audiences’ own understandings of twenty-first century movements and circumstances? This edited collection seeks to explore these questions and raise others. The following themes are welcome:
Black educational institutions
Black religious traditions
Blues traditions
Charismatic leadership
Gendered visibility
Historiography of Invisible Man
Housing opportunities/challenges
Immigration and Immigrants
Intergenerational conflict
Interracial organizing
Intraracial conflict
Labor organizing
Literary technique
Marginal identities
Mental health
Migration
Pedagogy (of the text itself)
Police violence
Public speaking traditions
Scientific experimentation
Social responsibility
Underground economies
Unsanctioned sports competition
Urban migrations
Veteran experience
This list is not exhaustive. We welcome comparative pieces, cross-disciplinary perspectives, interdisciplinary, and/or creative work. We seek contributions from scholars at every level of academia and non-academic scholars and creatives. We have interest from a university publisher who is focused on open-access work and intend for the collection to be available as both an interactive e-book and a traditional print book.
Please send a 300-500 word abstract and a short CV (no longer than 3 pages) to InvisibleManLegacy@gmail.com by May 31, June 20, 2023. Abstracts will be selected and authors will be notified by July 15, 2023. Full chapters should be between 6500 - 10,000 words inclusive of notes and references; creative works may be shorter. Full contributions for selected authors are due by January 15, 2024, should be in Chicago Style, and will undergo multiple rounds of peer review. Authors are responsible for securing permissions for any images, poetry, lyrics, or other copyright protected work they may use.
About the Editors:
Jason T. Hendrickson is Professor of English at CUNY - LaGuardia Community College. An Africana Studies scholar by training, his scholarship focuses on 20th century African-American literature, racial justice in higher education, and equity in classroom assessment. He has recently published on the legacy of Paule Marshall, linguistic justice, and contract grading as a tool for career readiness.
Lia T. Bascomb is Associate Professor of Africana Studies at Georgia State University. She is trained as an interdisciplinary Black studies scholar with emphases in diaspora theory, cultural theory, visual culture, performance studies, gender and sexuality, and literature. She has published in venues such as Meridians, Souls, Palimpsest, Anthurium, Antipode, The Black Scholar, and the Critical Caribbean Studies Series at Rutgers University Press.