Call for Papers: The Mississippi: Soundings on America’s Arterial River (No. It is a CFP for an edited book)
Organization: Edited by A. Robert Lee and Chad Weidner
Event: No. It is a CFP for an edited book
Call for Papers: The Mississippi: Soundings on America’s Arterial River
Edited by A. Robert Lee and Chad Weidner
Introduction and Scope:
The Mississippi River, often regarded as America’s central artery, has been instrumental in
shaping the nation’s geography, culture, and history. This edited volume, The Mississippi:
Soundings on America’s Arterial River, aims to explore the river’s vast influence, tracing its
course from the headwaters at Lake Itasca in Minnesota to its expansive delta at the Gulf of
Mexico.
Through a multidisciplinary approach—encompassing geography, ecology, history, culture, and
literature—we invite contributors to examine the river’s profound impact on Indigenous
communities, the legacy of slavery, its strategic significance during the Civil War, and its
enduring role in American literature and mythology. This collection will document the
Mississippi’s rich past while offering comparative and global perspectives, including those of
other major rivers and deltas, underscoring its ongoing relevance as a cultural and environmental
cornerstone in the American experience.
Core Inquiries:
1. Location: How exactly do we locate the Mississippi inside the wider geography of
America—its route north to south, its position through the various states, its spatial
relationship to the land, its connection to climate and irrigation?
2. Myth and Identity: In what ways do the myths, legends, and popular representations of
the Mississippi River contribute to contemporary understandings of American identity?
How do these narratives compare and contrast with the historical experiences of
Indigenous peoples and Afro-American communities along the river?
3. Global River Comparisons: How can comparative studies of the Mississippi River with
other major world rivers and their deltas, such as the Nile, Amazon, and Yangtze, offer
fresh insights into the river’s role in global trade, cultural exchange, and environmental
stewardship? What lessons can be drawn from these comparisons to address
contemporary challenges facing the Mississippi?
4. Ecological Narratives: How have the diverse ecological zones along the Mississippi
River—from the Upper Mississippi headwaters to the expansive delta of the Lower
Mississippi—shaped distinct environmental narratives and influenced human
interactions, land use, and conservation efforts throughout its course?
Topics may include but are not limited to:
• Geography of the Mississippi: Upper, Middle, and Lower Mississippi; Lake Itasca to Gulf
of Mexico
• Ecological Mississippi: River ecosystems and environments
• Indigenous Mississippi: Anishinaabe naming, settlements, and Native histories
• Sold Down the River: Afro-American history, slavery’s legacy along the river
• Colonial and Explorer Mississippi: Spanish, English, French explorations
• Civil War Mississippi: Strategic importance during the war
• Trade Routes and Steamboats: Navigation, commerce, and steamboat development
• Mississippi River Bridges and Crossings: Engineering and cultural significance
• Crossing Through Ten States: Influence on towns, cities, and habitations
• Literary Mississippi River: From Melville and Twain to Faulkner. Contemporary
authorship.
• Mississippi as Myth: Cultural mythology, symbolism, and popular references
• Weather and the Mississippi River: Impact of floods, storms, heat, and freezing
conditions
• Environmental Justice: Ecological challenges and impacts on communities
• The Mississippi in Visual Art: Artistic depictions of the river
• Cinematic Mississippi: Film portrayals and public perceptions
• Delta Blues: Cultural and musical legacies of the Mississippi Delta
• The River as Refuge: Migration, escape, and refuge narratives
Submission Guidelines:
Submit a 250–300-word abstract summarizing your chapter’s main thesis, analytical framework,
and cultural or historical context. Include 3-5 keywords that capture the primary subjects or areas
of inquiry.
Submit abstracts to both:
• arobertlee24@gmail.com
• chadweidner@gmail.com
Abstract Submission Deadline: December 1, 2024
Full Chapter Submission Deadline: May 15, 2025
Feedback: July 1, 2025
Revised Chapter Submission Deadline: September 1, 2025
Editor Bios:
A. Robert Lee
A British scholar, formerly of the University of Kent, UK, and Nihon University, Tokyo. His
books include Designs of Blackness (1998, 25th Anniversary Edition, 2020), Multicultural
American Literature: Comparative Black, Native, Latino/a and Asian American Fictions (2003,
American Book Award), Modern American Counter Writing (2010), and Native North American
Authorship: Text, Breath, Modernity (2022).
Chad Weidner
An American/Belgian scholar specializing in ecocriticism and the Beat Generation. His books
include Greening Bohemia: The Environmental Arc of Beat Generation Literature (2024),
Fractured Ecologies (2020), and The Green Ghost (2016). He co-founded the European Beat
Studies Network and lectures on film, media, and rhetoric in the Netherlands
Chad Weidner