ATDS at MLA 2022 – Multilinguilism in American Drama
ATDS and MLA Washington DC
6-9 January 2022
Title: “Multilingualism in American Drama”
How do multilingual American plays, live performances, masters, or movements in American drama and theatre from any period offer strategies for historicizing national cultures and/or identities? The papers on this panel may also help us to consider the diverse ways – linguistic, performative, and otherwise – that American plays function in support of past/present/future multilingual access. For example, papers may wish to consider questions about multilingual drama utilizing transnational or post-colonial ideas, such as those of Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o or other theoretical points of entry, regarding multilingual texts and contexts. Research here may also be mindful of how specific American plays, masters, or movements help us to: consider how theatre may support the preservation and revitalization of Indigenous languages, deconstruct linguistic master narratives about theatrical etymology, and/or ask difficult questions about the relationship between language and genre.
This panel will respond to questions at issue for the American Theatre and Drama Society’s discourse community as well as the Modern Language Association’s 2021 Presidential theme: “Barbara Fuchs, the 2021–22 president of the MLA, has chosen Multilingual US as the presidential theme for the 2022 MLA Annual Convention in Washington, DC.” Dr. Fuchs asserts: “Our theme for the year is thus contemporary and historical—an invitation to highlight the importance of contemporary multilingualism, while attending to the complex histories and erasures that have led to our present condition.” More information about the MLA can be found here: https://www.mla.org/. The 2022 convention will take place 6-9 January, in Washington DC.
Please send vita and 250 word abstract by March 8th to Nicole Tabor at tabor18018@gmail.com.
Authors of accepted abstracts must join or renew membership to both ATDS and MLA by April 2, 2021. The ATDS statement of purpose: “The American Theatre and Drama Society (ATDS) is an incorporated organization dedicated to the study of theatre and drama in and of the Americas, its varied histories, traditions, literatures, and performances within its cultural contexts. ATDS also encourages the evolving debate exploring national identities and experiences through research, pedagogy, and practice. ATDS recognizes that notions of America and the US encompass migrations of peoples and cultures that overlap and influence one another.