Tales of Transit International Conference
*Narrative Migrant Spaces in Transatlantic Perspective*
*1830-1954*
International conference
Felix Archive
Antwerp, Belgium
*new date: 9-12 June, 2010*
deadline: 15 December, 2009**
*Conference Theme*
Tales of Transit will bring together insights and methodologies from migration and maritime history, translation studies and literary studies, and confront these with the rich but largely underexplored archive of transatlantic migrant narratives. In view of the opening of the Red Star Line Museum in Antwerp, /Tales of Transit/ takes the city as its starting point to rethink transatlantic migration.
We encourage contributions offering comparative perspectives on migrants traveling through well-known as well as lesser known ports in Europe, Africa and the Americas. The focus may be broadened to include mainland cities functioning as nodal points for migration flows or border crossing points on the frontier between states or regions. Overall, the stress lies on how such liminal spaces are narrated or visualized in testimonies or fiction: How vital are these sites for the migrant's tale? Do such loci affirm or rather subvert the migrants' aspirations and hopes? Does the perspective shift in accordance with the linguistic medium or audience expectations and, if so, in what ways?
Contributions may address any of the above questions in relation to the Atlantic migration flows that came into force roughly from the 1830s onwards, as a consequence of unsettled conditions in Europe and elsewhere. The year 1954, when the Ellis Island Immigration Station closed, was selected as an appropriate /terminus ad quem/, indicating the transition from steamers to planes as the dominant mode of transatlantic transportation.
*Suggested Thematic Areas*
Language and translation
Migration as business
Iconography of migration
Archiving testimonies
A more detailed description of the theme can be found on the conference website: http://www.talesoftransit.eu/
*Keynote Speakers*
Matthew Frye Jacobson (Yale University)
Nancy K. Miller (City University of New York)
Adam Walaszek (Jagiellonian University Krakow)
Werner Sollors (Harvard University) TBC
*Organizing Institutions *
Ghent University Association Research Group on Literature in Translation
Faculty of Translation Studies, Ghent University College
Institute of Jewish Studies, University of Antwerp
Leuven Research Group on Literary Relations and Postnational Identities
Lessius University College Department of Applied Language Studies
Roosevelt Study Center, Middelburg
Red Star Line Museum, Antwerp
*Guidelines for Submission and Presentation*
Paper proposals in English of no more than 300 words can be submitted to michael.boyden@hogent.be or liselotte.vandenbussche@hogent.be by **December 15, 2009**. The academic committee will evaluate the abstracts and send out notifications of acceptance by the end of the calendar year.
Each participant will be given 20 minutes to present, followed by 10 minutes of discussion. A selection of papers will be published in the conference proceedings.
*Congress Fees*
Participants are expected to pay a conference fee of 60 EUR (88 USD), which covers the academic program, congress documentation, coffee breaks, a reception in the Antwerp city hall and an exclusive guided tour of the Red Star Line Museum (http://www.redstarline.be
*Accommodation and City*
The conference site (http://www.felixarchief.be
Special hotel rates for conference participants are being negotiated. Details will be posted on the conference website.
