DEADLINE EXTENDED / LIT Special Issue CFP: Intersectional Feminism and Barriers to Representation at the Turn of the Century
LIT Special Issue CFP: Intersectional Feminism and Barriers to Representation at the Turn of the Century
Deadline extended for submissions: August 31, 2022
Full name / name of organization: LIT: Literature Interpretation Theory
Contact email: litjourn@yahoo.com
“That man over there says that women need to be helped into carriages, and lifted over ditches, and to have the best place everywhere. Nobody ever helps me into carriages, or over mud-puddles, or gives me any best place! And ain't I a woman? Look at me! Look at my arm! I have ploughed and planted, and gathered into barns, and no man could head me! And ain't I a woman? I could work as much and eat as much as a man - when I could get it - and bear the lash as well! And ain't I a woman? I have borne thirteen children, and seen most all sold off to slavery, and when I cried out with my mother's grief, none but Jesus heard me! And ain't I a woman?”
– Sojourner Truth, “Ain’t I a Woman” (1851)
Sojourner Truth’s speech delivered at the 1851 Women's Convention, in Akron, Ohio posed a question about inclusion that remains unresolved today. The recent resurgence of feminist and feminist-inspired activism from marches to social media campaigns has also resurrected intrinsic issues of intersectionality that pervaded first-wave feminism at the turn of the century. What was sacrificed to achieve the singular goal of suffrage? What perspectives continue to be excluded in current iterations of feminist expression?
This special issue of LIT: Literature Interpretation Theory seeks essays that examine nineteenth- and early twentieth-century feminist contributions to literature and popular culture. We welcome essays that explore how women used creative means to debate questions of representation, inclusion, and intersectionality. We are especially interested in essays that address marginalized activists/authors, issues of representation, barriers to inclusivity, and the roots of ongoing concerns about intersectionality in feminist writing.
Essays may explore the following genres and topics, although this list is not exhaustive:
- Literature from a variety of genres, including
- Fiction
- Poetry
- Satire
- Periodicals
- Essays
- Drama
- Visual culture (i.e. caricatures, cartoons, illustrations)
- The “New Woman,” gender, sexual autonomy, and/or queering identities
- The women’s club movement
- Settlement houses
- Birth control
- Pacifism and the Women’s Peace Party
- Abolition
- Anti-lynching campaigns
- Dress reform
- Temperance
- Native Rights movements
- Speeches and debates
- Conventions, meetings, and conversations
- Communal experiments
- Connections to contemporary movements and debates including:
- BLM
- #metoo
- women’s marches
- the transgender rights movement and “anti-trans” feminists
- the Indigenous Movement
LIT: Literature Interpretation Theory publishes critical essays that employ engaging, coherent theoretical perspectives and provide original, close readings of texts. Submissions must use MLA citation style and should range in length from 5,000-9,000 words. Please direct any questions relating to this CFP to the guest co-editors Katie Kornacki (kkornaci@caldwell.edu) and Amanda Smith (amanda.smith@swosu.edu).
Full essay submissions should be emailed to litjourn@yahoo.com. Please also include your contact information and a 100- to 200-word abstract in the body of your email. LIT: Literature Interpretation Theory also welcomes submissions for general issues.
Guest Co-editors: Katie Kornacki, Caldwell University and Amanda Smith, Southwestern Oklahoma State University