This post repeats the cfp issued on the Listserv by Jeffery Stoyanoff.
Dear colleagues,
We have decided to move forward with the theme of “A Public Privacy: Lovers in Romance” for the ICLS session at MLA 2016 in Austin, TX. Here is the link to the CFP on the MLA site: https://www.mla.org/cfp_detail_7644. I’ve also included the original description (below) with some food for thought in hopes that many of you will submit abstracts for consideration.
In many romances, the audience is privy to events that are actually quite private, but, so it seems, because these characters are so notorious, the public expects to hear/read the details of these private events. Clearly, there could be a lot done with expectations, motifs, etc here.
Some questions that I think our panel could address: How do courtly reading practices play into this dichotomy of public and private? What expectations do readers have of lovers in romance and/or what is the effect when these expectations are not met? In addition to the private acts of lovers being made public, are there other levels of the private made public in romances dealing with lovers?
Please send along 250-word abstracts to both Leslie (lmorgan@loyola.edu) and me (stoyanoffj@duq.edu) by 15 March. We look forward to your submissions!
Regards,
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Jeffery G. Stoyanoff