Dear Colleagues,
Please note that the deadline to send an abstract for the 'Literary Journalism' conference (Warwick, 26 November 2016) is on
7 September.
With best wishes,
Sara Boezio and Giulia Brecciaroli
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A one-day interdisciplinary conference
Literary Journalism in Times of Crisis and Transition (1870-1970)
University of Warwick, 26th November 2016
Confirmed keynote speakers:
Susan Greenberg (University of Roehampton, London)
David Walker (University of Sheffield)
Call for papers
Literary journalism, also known as ‘narrative journalism’, is a form of creative nonfiction that draws on the research methods of journalism and the storytelling techniques and literary style of narrative. Throughout its history, it has been shaped as
a genre by transnational and cross-cultural influences, and it has assumed as many variations as the countries and printing traditions in which it has blossomed.
This interdisciplinary conference seeks to investigate the role played by literary journalism in capturing historical and social changes on a global scale over the time span of a century, from the 1870s to the 1970s.
The 1870s witnessed events that had a far-reaching impact on the course of history to follow and defined narrative journalism throughout the late 19th century in Europe and beyond. As readers and journalists alike seek to make sense of their individual role
and place in a continuously transforming historical reality, narrative nonfiction can be seen as an attempt to answer such concerns. The struggle assumes a character of urgency as the turn of the century nears, while the accompanying technological innovations
of the Second Industrial revolution reshape the perception of time and space. Having radically transformed the communication system, these developments pave the way for a variety of new formal and conceptual journalistic approaches: industrialised journalism;
New Journalism (1890s); photo-journalism; published interviews; the rise of the figures of news agency reporters and foreign correspondents.
The two World Wars, the post-war economic booms across Europe and beyond, the rise of mass consumerism, social reforms, and, last but not least, the radical cultural changes of the mid-20th century, all offer a fertile ground for the development of narrative
nonfiction. We choose to limit the time span of the analysis to the 1970s considering that the instatement of television as a primary player in the domain of media and communication arguably relayed print literary journalism as a reporting style with its long-standing
traditions, at least temporarily, into the background.
We invite papers that explore the creative relationship between literary journalism and social change over the focus time frame. We particularly appreciate a transnational and interdisciplinary perspective, including media studies, history, literature, and
cultural politics. On the other hand, we also welcome contributions that shed light on the peculiarity of narrative journalism as a genre and that investigate its formal evolution, adaptability, and permeability as a hybrid form.
Possible topics include, but are by no means limited to:
• historical and social changes in narrative nonfiction between the 1870s and the 1970s;
• chronicles from modern metropolises (e.g. world fairs, artistic and technological exhibitions, portrayals of metropolitan life);
• the emergence of the foreign correspondent and other new professional journalistic figures;
• literary approaches to war reportage (late-19th-century conflicts in European and non-European countries, the two World Wars, anti-colonial uprisings, terrorism);
• post-war reconstruction and counterculture movements of the 1960s and 1970s in creative nonfiction accounts;
• journals, newspapers, and magazines that work as forums and catalysts for literary journalists, by promoting creative nonfiction stories;
• cross-cultural contaminations of narrative journalism as a genre;
• journalism and photography: the interplay of the visual and textual in literary journalism;
• evolution of creative, literary and narrative nonfiction from a transnational perspective.
Please send a 300-word abstract for a 20-minute paper, accompanied by a brief academic CV to [log in to unmask]
by 7th September 2016.
For info and details: http://goo.gl/0RmV1v
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Organized by HRC Doctoral Fellows Sara Boezio ([log in to unmask]) and Giulia Brecciaroli ([log in to unmask]), School of Modern Languages and Cultures - University of Warwick.
- Sara Boezio -
PhD Student and Teaching Assistant
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