CfP: Making art, breaking rules: Gender-Bending, “Genre-Bending,” by French and Francophone Women

Cathy Leung (Queensborough Community College, CUNY) is looking for a panelist for the 2020 SAMLA Conference, which will take place online November 13-15, 2020.

 Please see the call below. Send proposals to cleung34@gmail.com as soon as possible.

“Making art, breaking rules: Gender-Bending, “Genre-Bending,” by French and Francophone Women Writers”

In French and Francophone societies, where men have historically dominated the arts, a woman daring to assert her own voice is already in itself an act of rebellion. On the one hand, by entering the literary and artistic landscape, women writers and artists transgress society’s expectations of their roles in the domestic sphere as only mothers, wives, and obedient daughters.  On the other hand, by taking up the pen, women directly challenge artistic traditions dominated by men, or enter into forbidden territories. This panel will examine how French and Francophone women authors play with gender-bending and “genre-bending” in their works, in their lives, and in their critique of society and the artistic traditions they choose to write in or write back at. Among the questions one may ask are: How do women creators confront the “scandal” of their role as artists?  How do they negotiate scandal and censorship? How do they bend or break the rules of the genres they take on? How do politics inform and influence their works and their identities as women authors? Proposals on French and Francophone literatures, films, and other art forms are welcome. Papers may be in English or French.  Please send 250-word proposals in English or French to Cathy Leung

Conference website: https://samla.memberclicks.net/