Topic: Frantz Fanon and/as Cultural Studies
The title of this session is meant to suggest its double nature: to provide an opportunity to examine the ways Frantz Fanon's work fits within the field of cultural studies, on the one hand, and the way particular approaches to his work might expand, supplement, or challenge this field, on the other.
Fanon has become an increasingly influential figure for cultural studies in recent years. But little has been done to think in a sustained way about Fanon's work _as_ cultural studies, or about the effect his work has had, and might continue to have, on the field.
For this session, I would welcome approaches which either use Fanon's work to challenge some of the established paradigms of cultural studies, or those that challenge Fanon's work itself by using these paradigms, questioning whether his work constitutes a useful addition to the field. Especially interesting would be papers that considered Fanon's work alongside post-colonial, multicultural, or African diaspora cultural studies; feminist or queer appropriations, critiques, or dismissals of Fanon; psychoanalytic approaches to or readings of Fanon; examinations of Fanon in translation; considerations of Fanon's work and/as cultural nationalism; and investigations of Fanon, Marxism, and cultural studies.
Prospective panelists do not need to be members of the Northeast Modern Language Association to submit a proposal; however, selected panelists need to become NEMLA members by November 1, 1996.
Please send 1-2 page abstracts by September 15, 1996 to:
Anthony Alessandrini
Department of Literatures in English
Murray Hall
Rutgers University
New Brunswick, NJ 08903
Please address any questions to me at aalessan@eden.rutgers.edu