Deadline: September 30, 2023
55th Annual Convention of the Northeast Modern Language Association (NeMLA)
March 7-10, 2024
Boston, MA
For many Americans, Belarus was put on the (literary) map in 2015, when Svetlana Alexievich won the Nobel Prize in Literature. Many more learned about Belarus in 2020, when a tenacious wave of country-wide post-election protests (unprecedented in the history of this arguably most Soviet of the post-Soviet states) brought Belarus into public discourse in the US. The initial American enthusiasm for Belarusians’ struggle for democracy has since ebbed away. Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, which the Belarusian regime supports, the country has receded from view as an independent actor.
Belarus remains on the margins of Slavic studies as well. Even more striking than the absence of Belarusian literature and culture from the curricula of Slavic departments in the US is the virtual absence of Belarus from scholarship, and from many discussions about the urgent need to decolonize our field.
This panel is envisioned as a space for scholars and teachers with an interest in Belarus to come together and reflect on the ways in which this lacuna in Slavic studies can begin to be filled. Making room for Belarusian voices in the field, an important goal in its own right, will also help us to diversify it.
Papers on all aspects of Belarusian culture, literature, and language are welcome. Particularly encouraged are presentations that focus on less commonly taught and researched Belarusian authors and texts (in the broadest sense), as well as those that address the practical considerations of making room for Belarusian voices in the curriculum specifically.
Please upload your abstract (200-300 words) by September 30, 2023 here https://www.cfplist.com/nemla/Home/S/20494. Presentations should be 15-20 minutes long.
NeMLA membership is NOT required to submit an abstract.
Note that the 2024 NeMLA convention is expected to be fully in-person. More information about the convention can be found here https://www.buffalo.edu/nemla.html.
With any questions, please contact Dr. Jenya Mironava, mironava@fas.harvard.edu.