Wyndham Bayside in San Diego, California from Nov. 14-17, 2019(https://pamla.org/2019).
Please send proposed title, abstract (250-300 words), and contact information to: youna.kwak@pomona.edu(specifying which panel you are interested in) by the deadline of April 1, 2019.
If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact either me or the panel chair directly.
Women’s Infidelity
Chair: Francis Mathieu, Southwestern University (mathieuf@southwestern.edu)
This bilingual panel proposes to examine how French and francophone women authors have dealt with the somewhat taboo or understated topic of women’s infidelity in their writings, both in contemporary literature and in past centuries. Whereas infidelity was once regarded as a male problem or the purview of rich, powerful men, this cliché has never really matched reality. Yet, before the advent of contraception, cheating was much riskier for women, and the consequences could be severe, and can still be perilous in some societies. Birth control, women’s liberation, and push up against prescribed gender norms have been a recipe for change. How have French and francophone women authors addressed these situations and other related issues and elements in their works? Papers may be in English or in French.
Women’s Agency in Wartime
Chair: Anne Donadey, San Diego State University (adonadey@sdsu.edu)
Literary and film representations of women in wartime as combatants or peace agents; texts with a focus on women’s agency in wartime. Does genre or the gender of writers/filmmakers make a difference in representations of women?
Most war literature and film showcases male characters, their conflicts—external and inner—and their agency. A number of feminist scholars have demonstrated that men are generally seen as having a metonymic relation to the nation as its active protectors. In contrast, women are perceived as having a metaphoric relation to the nation as the passive group in need of protection. As a result of this ideological configuration, women are seen as less than full citizens and their rights within a nation must constantly be struggled for (Elleke Boemer 1991; Mrinalini Sinha 2004). This panel will focus on French and Francophone literature and film from any period that offers representations of women’s agency in wartime, as combatants, peacemakers, or in other important roles. What formal techniques are used to showcase women’s agency? What appear to be the political purposes of focusing on women’s agency? Does genre or the gender of writers/filmmakers play a part in representations of women with agency in wartime? Papers in English or French welcome.