The 7th Annual Louisiana Studies Conference will be held September 11-12, 2015 at Northwestern State University in Natchitoches, Louisiana. The Conference Committee is now accepting presentation proposals for the upcoming conference. The theme of this year’s conference is “Louisiana Cultural Crossroads.”
Although the organizers are especially interested in proposals that deal with the theme of Louisiana Cultural Crossroads, all papers, creative writing, and short performances (dance, music, or theatric) that address ANY aspect of Louisiana studies are welcome. Proposals are being solicited for fifteen minute presentations from scholars at all career stages as well as graduate students. Creative work (creative non-fiction, short fiction, and poetry) is welcome. Undergraduates are invited to submit, provided they are working with the guidance of a trained scholar. Registration for Conference participants will be $40.
Abstracts (300 words max.) for scholarly proposals, creative writing, films, and short performances (dance, music, or theatric) should be sent as e-mail attachments to Dr. Shane Rasmussen, rasmussens@nsula.edu. Presentations should run no longer than 15 minutes. Briefly detail the audio / visual tools (laptop, projection screen, data projector, DVD or VCR player, etc.) or space (the stage in the Magale Recital Hall will be provided for short performances) your presentation will require, if any.
Please include a separate cover page with your name, affiliation, mailing and e-mail address, and the title of your presentation. E-mails should be entitled: Louisiana Studies Conference Submission. The organizers will send an e-mail acknowledgement of having received each abstract within one week of having received it. If you do not receive an acknowledgment please resend your submission. The deadline for submissions is June 1. Accepted presenters will be notified via e-mail by June 15, 2015 if not before.
This interdisciplinary conference will be accepting proposals from the following disciplines: American studies, anthropology, architecture, archival studies, communications, craft, creative writing, criminal justice, cultural studies, cultural tourism, dance, design, education, English and literary studies, environmental studies, ethnic studies, fashion design, film studies, fine arts, folklore, gender studies, geography, heritage resources, history, interior design, journalism, linguistics, media studies, museum studies, musicology, music performance, philosophy, photography, political science, preservation studies, psychology, queer studies, religious studies, Romance languages, social work, sociology, theatre, and vernacular architecture.
Read broadly, consider the following possibilities for presentation topics relating to Louisiana Cultural Crossroads. (Note: The following list of suggestions is not meant to be comprehensive.)
- Appropriating Louisiana
- Authenticity
- Borders
- Contested Realities
- Cultural Borrowing
- Cultural Intersections/Tensions
- Diffusion
- Documentaries
- Educational Curriculums
- El Camino Real de los Tejas
- Emerging Cultures
- Folklife and Folklore
- Foodways
- Historical Revisionism
- Hybridity
- Interpretation
- Liminal Louisiana
- Los Adaes
- Mediated Landscapes
- The Mississippi as a Road
- Music
- Reality Television
- Syncretism
- Treaties
A selection of scholarly and creative work presented at the conference will be solicited for publication in the Louisiana Folklife Journal, a peer reviewed academic journal produced by the Louisiana Folklife Center, Northwestern State University, General Editor, Dr. Shane Rasmussen. Additional information is available on the website for the Louisiana Folklife Center at Northwestern State University: http://louisianafolklife.nsula.edu/.
Conference Co-chairs:
Dr. Lisa Abney, Provost, Vice President for Student and Academic Affairs, and Professor of English, Northwestern State University
Jason Church, Materials Conservator, National Center for Preservation Technology and Training
Dr. Charles Pellegrin, Associate Professor of History, Northwestern State University
Dr. Shane Rasmussen, Director of the Louisiana Folklife Center and Associate Professor of English, Northwestern State University
The Conference is co-sponsored by the Folklife Society of Louisiana, the Louisiana Folklife Center, the NSU College of Arts, Letters, Graduate Studies and Research, and the NSU Office of the Provost and Vice President for Academic and Student Affairs.