Call for Papers    

Delta Blues Symposium XI: Imagining the Delta

Deadline: January 14, 2005

The Department of English and Philosophy at Arkansas State University (Jonesboro campus) announces its eleventh annual Delta Blues Symposium, to be held 7-9 April 2005. The theme for Delta Blues Symposium XI is "Imagining the Delta." Presentations are encouraged from scholars and students of the humanities and social sciences-especially anthropology, art history, economics, folklore studies, geography, history, literature, musicology, political science, and sociology. Topics which focus on the Symposium's theme may examine the ways in which the seven-state Mississippi River Delta has been imagined in mass media, history, and various forms of expressive culture; continues to be
presented and represented; and is defined by those who foresee the Delta's future. We especially encourage presentations on Delta writers who have previously appeared at symposia, including Lewis Nordan, Ellen Douglas, Ellen Gilchrist, Steve Yarbrough, Beverly Lowry, Yusef Komunyakaa, Arthur
Flowers, and Michael Harper. 

Although we especially encourage presentations that deal with "Imagining the Delta," we welcome proposals for papers and panels which deal with any aspect of the region or with the blues, perhaps the region's most famous export.

Delta Blues Symposium XI will be a particularly important installment in this series of conferences as we begin our second decade. Featured participants on the program include novelist John Dufresne,
folklorist Henry Glassie, and bluesman Little Milton.

Program proposals may be for individual presentations or for panels. These should be sent as 100-word abstracts. We also urge participation by creative writers and other artists. Please send samples
of previous work for our consideration. The submission deadline is 14 January 2005. The registration fee of $25.00, which covers Symposium expenses and brings a one-year subscription to Arkansas Review, will be collected after proposals have been accepted. Note that this fee is waived for currently enrolled students.

Proposals may be sent via post, e-mail, or fax to the following address:

                        Delta Symposium Committee
                        Department of English and Philosophy
                        PO Box 1890
                        Arkansas State University
                        State University, AR 72467
                        mailto:delta@astate.edu

                        Phone: 870-972-3043
                        Fax: 870-972-3045.

Further information can be had by contacting the Delta Symposium Committee
or by checking the Symposium website: http://www.clt.astate.edu/blues