UPDATED: EXTENDED DEADLINE: Call for Publication: Confronting and Combatting Othering in English Studies - Journal of South Texas English Studies

Diana Dominguez Announcement
Location
Texas, United States
Subject Fields
Composition & Rhetoric, Humanities, Linguistics, Literature, Public Policy

UPDATESubmission deadline extended to: June 10, 2018.

The Journal of South Texas English Studies is accepting submissions for its Summer 2018 issue, themed “Confronting and Combatting Othering in English Studies.” 

If 2017 has taught us anything, it is that “Othering” is still defiantly alive almost two decades into the 21st century; in fact, it seems to be on the increase. We see and hear it every time we turn on the television or access our social media: calls for immigration bans across the globe, for building walls and barriers to prevent infiltration by undesirables, the language of vile and divisive dissension in global politics, the rise of hate speech of all kinds – deplorables vs. snowflakes, libtards vs. right wingnuts, antifa vs. alt-right. Othering has even infiltrated movements and groups meant to foster inclusion, solidarity, intersectionality – the Women’s March, #MeToo, #Time’s Up, the Golden Globes, the Grammys. And we see it increasingly creeping into academia, which, since the middle of the 20th century, has been the bastion of providing places to expand minds, creating an atmosphere for meaningful debate about difficult topics and issues, introducing students to the art of civil discourse, diversity of thought, and diversity of voices, approaches, interpreation, and previously marginalized, erased, and forgotten stories and history. This has been the hallmark of the liberal arts, and, in particular, the central pledge of English Studies.

In this upcoming issue, we ask the loaded question: what is the responsibility of English Studies in confronting, combatting, and maybe even dismantling the Othering trajectory that the world seems to be on? How do we create a pedagogy of democracy in our classrooms, our writings, our research, and our extracurricular activities that foster true inclusion, solidarity, and intersectionality?

The editors of JOSTES are looking for scholarly articles between 5,000 and 8,000 words which address our theme: “Confronting and Combatting Othering in English Studies.”  We encourage contributors to reflect on English Studies (both undergraduate and graduate) and themes that reflect the idea of “the Other” and “Othering,” narrowly or broadly, literally or metaphorically, personally or professionally. We encourage submissions from literature (American, British, or other literature written in English), linguistics, rhetoric, composition, literary theory, pedagogy and the English classroom, and academia itself. We should also note that this year marks the 40th anniversary of Edward Said’s Orientalism, a landmark study in bringing attention to the concept of “Othering,” and we would welcome a Book Notes feature to mark the anniversary – see Book Notes guidelines below.

Because the theme of “Othering” transcends English Studies, the editors have decided to make this summer issue an interdisciplinary English Studies/Social Sciences issue: Therefore, we also encourage contributions that speak to the same theme of “the Other” or “Othering” in the Social Sciences, especially Public Administration, Political Science, Public Policy, and Public Management Studies. We would especially welcome articles that consider the intersection of English Studies and the Social Sciences.

Suggested topics include, but are not limited to, the following:

Academia

  • What is the responsibility of English Studies in confronting, combatting, and maybe even dismantling the Othering trajectory that the world seems to be on?

Literature

  • How have authors’ own experiences of being Othered or confronting/combatting Othering shaped certain literary texts?
  • How does literature discuss the concept and actions of Othering and the Other?
  • Fiction, poetry, memoirs, and drama that feature “the Other” or “Othering” as thematic, metaphoric, symbolic, or literal instances, plots, or characters
  • Othering themes and subject matter in children’s and adolescent literature
  • Close readings of published or archived memoirs, diaries, journals, autobiographies, and biographies with themes of Othering
  • Re-readings of classic texts through an “Othering” lens

Cultural Studies

  • We especially welcome discussions of the “Other” that move beyond the “West-rest” binary

Linguistics

  • Why do differences in language – for example, different social dialects, regional dialects, or usage patterns – play such a significant role in our identification of ‘Others’?
  • How has the representation of language variation in literature - especially regional dialects or age-related slang - been exploited to portray the ‘Otherness’ of characters, whether central or peripheral? Are linguistic portrayals in literature descriptive in at least some sense, or are they merely stereotypical?
  • Is there a vocabulary of ‘Othering’? Can we identify certain phrases which have been co-opted by writers to serve as signals of classifying people and ideas as ‘Other’ in the discourse of a particular text?

Rhetoric & Composition

  • How is the “Other” rhetorically constructed within the following (but not limited to) fields/platforms:
    • Mainstream Journalism/Media
    • Social Media
    • Legal Studies
    • Academia
  • What are the rhetorics of places and spaces associated with the “Other”?

Pedagogy in the English Classroom

  • In their effort to teach/ mentor marginalized students, what are the unique roles of English instructors in confronting and combatting “Othering” and encouraging their students to do so as well?
  • We welcome narratives, case-studies that demonstrate English service-learning courses and their impact in and work with marginalized or “Othered” communities and peoples.
  • In a globalizing world, what are the limits and usefulness of disciplinary discussions of the “Other” in the English Studies Classroom.

Public Administration/Political Science/Public Policy and Management Studies

  • Who is responsible for the increasing Othering: politicians, voters, the media?
  • Is Brexit a symbol of “Othering”?
  • How can public administration (civil service) counteract the effects of “Othering” by politicians?
  • Which public policies have historically lessened “Othering” in the United States, and what is their future?

Interdisciplinary English Studies/Social Sciences

  • In what way should/can/do English Studies collaborate with the Social Sciences to confront and combat “Othering” and create and foster a pedagogy of democracy?
  • We welcome narratives, case-studies, and discussions of initiatives that demonstrate English/Social Science interdisciplinary projects and service-learning or community engagement opportunities and their impact in and work with marginalized or “Othered” communities and peoples.

All submissions, including Book Notes essays, must be original work and not be under consideration elsewhere. We follow a blind peer review process, so please remove any identifying information with the article or essay.

Articles not following our submission guidelines will be returned unread.  Please consult our submission guidelines here:http://southtexasenglish.blogspot.com/p/guidelines.html

Please attach submissions as a single Microsoft Word or RTF document (no PDF documents) and e-mail it to southtexasenglishstudies@gmail.com with the subject line "article."

Book Notes: Instead of traditional book reviews, we solicit 1,500-2,000-word critical reviews of books that specifically relate to the issue's theme and that can provide some wider critical, bibliographical, pedagogical, or social context to the book being reviewed.  Please attach submissions as a single Microsoft Word or RTF document (no PDF documents) and e-mail it to southtexasenglishstudies@gmail.com with the subject line "book notes."

Deadline for submissions is extended to June 10, 2018. For additional information, including submission guidelines, please visit the journal’s website: http://www.southtexasenglish.blogspot.com/

Contact Information

Editors
Journal of South Texas English Studies
University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
One West University Boulevard
Brownsville, Texas 78520

Contact Email
southtexasenglishstudies@gmail.com