CFP: "Not Determined by Blood or the Past": The "Little Universe" Community (NeMLA's 58th Annual Convention)
Newport, Rhode Island
Organization: NeMLA
Event: NeMLA's 58th Annual Convention
The 1995 film Smoke, directed by Wayne Wang, features characters who band together by frequenting a corner cigar store in Brooklyn. Paul Auster, who wrote the screenplay, once described the community his characters created as a “little universe for themselves that is not determined by blood or the past.”
Members of traditional, fixed communities often belong because of generational roots and longtime residency. This panel session will explore smaller, and often more liminal, communities that are forged through other means. In such communities, membership is not dependent on family ties or connection to place. This community is one of commonality: members come together through common needs, interests, traumas, or goals. They may be temporary or long lasting, healthy or dysfunctional, organized or informal.
Questions to consider might include, but are not limited to, the following:
Under what circumstances do these “little universe” communities form, and what is their function? How do they fit (or not fit) into the larger community, and how do they reflect or perhaps indict the larger community? How do they transform the lives of their members? What unexpected effects do the groups have on their members? What happens when these communities disband?
Possible examples of these communities:
Support groups
Virtual communities
Groups that form in institutions (colleges, prisons)
Clubs and groups of people with similar interests (book clubs, game-playing clubs, hiking groups, knitting circles, etc.)
Communities formed of exclusion/communities of outsiders
This panel welcomes papers that examine prose fiction, poetry, film, documentary, nonfiction, and culture.
Paper proposals are accepted through September 30, 2026. Abstracts are 200-300 words in length, and titles should not exceed 100 characters. Please submit your abstract at the session’s portal: https://cfplist.com/nemla/Home/S/22409
Modality: This session is in hybrid format (in person, but will accept remote presentations).
For more information on the convention and to view NeMLA’s guidelines for abstracts, visit https://www.nemla.org
Questions regarding the panel may be addressed to Lori Cummings at LoNewco1@wsc.edu
https://cfplist.com/nemla/Home/S/22409
Lori Cummings