Call for Papers: Reading the Magazine in the 19th Century
A panel discussion at Sight Lines: An American Studies Conference on the
Science and Culture of Vision, New England American Studies Association,
Annual Conference, September 23-24, 2005
In _American Flâneur_ (2004), James Werner argues for affinities between
the 19th century reader of magazines and the flâneur who strolls the
streets of the city. He writes: "The density and variety of the magazine's
topography mimics the crowding and intensity of experience in a major
metropolis." Moreover, in both the magazine and the city, the lines between
"politics and commerce . information and exhortation, judgment and
promotion" are blurred, demanding of the reader-spectator a certain kind of
discrimination and judgment. Thus the magazine not only mirrors the
topography of the city, but serves to indoctrinate the reader into a
certain way of looking.
This panel welcomes submissions on American periodical culture that explore
how American magazines of the 19th century seek to discipline and construct
the gaze of the urban spectator. In particular, we welcome papers that
explore this question by reading generically disparate texts appearing
within the covers of the same magazine: fiction and fashion plates, travel
pieces and advertisements, book reviews and "comicalities." As these
features - in Werner's words -- "jostle each other, clamoring for the
reader's attention," what kind of reader -- of texts, of urban spaces -- is
being constructed?
Prospective panelists are invited to send an abstract (500 words or less)
for a 15-20 minute presentation to [log in to unmask] by March 1,
2005.
For the general call for papers and more information about NEASA 2005,
please visit the conference web site: http://www.neasa.org.
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