cfp Critical Insights: Civil Rights Literature, Past & Present

deadline for submissions:
February 1, 2017
full name / name of organization:
Christopher Allen Varlack, UMBC
contact email:
cvarlack@umbc.edu
From its flawed notion of "separate but equal" to the rampant violence against black bodies throughout the twentieth century, the United States faced a clear racial divide perpetuated by its Jim Crow culture and the disenfranchisement of blacks. In response, on August 28, 1963, noted American civil rights activist, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., delivered his iconic "I Have a Dream" speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, urging radical social and political change in a society marred by a rich history of segregation and discrimination. Since then, we have recognized this speech as a symbol of the enduring struggle for equal civil rights and the pursuit of the core values upon which the United States was based. The 2015 Cambridge Companion to American Civil Rights Literature offered an updated examination of works such as King's, bringing the discussion of the Civil Rights Movement and its seminal texts into the twenty-first century. However, this collection of scholarly essays has not gone far enough.

To recognize that struggle and the literature produced in response to the trials of the time, Critical Insights: Civil Rights Literature, Past & Present (forthcoming from Grey House Publishing in Spring 2017) seeks contributions from emerging and established scholars alike in order to expand the conversation of American civil rights literature into the present day. While the Civil Rights Movement covered the period from 1954 to 1968, this edited volume seeks to push beyond that limited period, encouraged by the current efforts as well, such as the Black Lives Matter Movement, and their recognition that the fight for increased civil rights did not end in the 1960s but is still ongoing in the social, political, judicial, and educational sectors even today. In particular, we need to fill an essay related to the LGBTQ experience in a seminal text (or texts) of American literature.

Accepted projects ultimately will consider a diverse range of works of the era, including speeches, essays, autobiographies, novels, poems, and plays to offer a more representative inquiry into the subject of American civil rights literature. All articles must engage primary and secondary source material, following MLA format. Accepted articles will be between 5000 and 6000 words total, including endnotes and the Works Cited page. Authors must also submit a biographical statement, and abstract along with their final draft. For this work, accepted authors will receive a copy of the published collection, a $250 stipend, and a discount toward additional copies of the volume.

Please submit completed or near-complete drafts to cvarlack@umbc.edu as a Word attachment no later than February 1, 2017. The volume editor, Christopher Allen Varlack, will confirm receipt via E-mail. Thank you for your time and consideration.

Best,
Christopher Allen Varlack
Department of English
University of Maryland, Baltimore County
1000 Hilltop Circle
Baltimore, Maryland 21250