48th Annual NeMLA (Northeast Modern Language Association) Convention, March 23-26, 2017, Baltimore, MD (United States)
48th Annual NeMLA Convention – Baltimore, Maryland | March 23 – 26th, 2017
Resolved: In Francophone literature of the last three centuries, Humor has constructed identity while Satire was used to deconstruct it.
Participants are invited to argue either side of this normative statement.
The French word “Humour” is not French at all. It was imported from the English in the 18th century; until that time, in France one spoke of Wit (“l’Esprit”) not Humor. The first written mention of humor in its modern definition in a French text is in Abbé LeBlanc’s 1745 Lettres d’un François: “De notre mot d’humeur, les Anglais ont fait celui d’humour” (114). From the age of Enlightenment on, two literary traditions evolve in French and Francophone literatures: the Anglo-influenced Humor and the Gallic-influenced caustic wit which becomes Satire.
This session proposes to debate whether Humor is a component, a constructor, of identity while Satire is its deconstructor. If true, what role does Humor play in the literary construction of characters’ identities? Conversely, Satire must represent an “othering” which seeks to deny or negate identity.
Using examples from French or Francophone Literatures from the 18th to the 21st centuries, in any number of critical lenses, participants are invited to present arguments for or against the above premises. Areas of particular interest include, but are not limited to, presentations dealing with the relationship between humor and/or satire and Socialization, Postcolonial identities, Race and Ethnicity, National and Regional identities, Gender, LGBT, etc.
NeMLA formatting standards: Paper Title: 100 characters (including spaces) Paper Abstract: 300 words
Starting June 15th, please submit abstracts for this panel here.
Deadline for submissions: September 30, 2016
Decision e-mails will be sent by October 15th.
NEMLA asks that accepted and confirmed panelists pay their membership/registration fees no later than December 1, 2016 in order to present at the 2017 convention.
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