About the Conference
The imagination of Herman Melville continues to tantalize contemporary readers and to resonate with their anxieties and discontents. Melville strikes us as an incisive investigator of the dark recesses of the human psyche, our propensity to violence, our deepest obsessions, as well as an intuitive critic of the mechanisms of power, the pitfalls of democracy and hidden implications of colonialism. His insights are particularly relevant to what is currently identified as polycrises – the simultaneous occurrence and interaction of global tectonic shifts which undermine the very fundaments of our late capitalist worldview(s). Melville teaches us to articulate our despair, but also – points to direction where a glimmer of hope can be discerned.
We invite not only literary scholars, but also representatives of other disciplines to share their insights into the relevance of Melville today. We especially welcome discussions of Melville’s less acclaimed work – his poetry, less well-known short stories and novels, and diaries.
Call for Papers
The conference will be divided into 4 main sections:
- Tyrants, Conmen, Populists: Figures of Power and Manipulation in Melville
- Soundings of The Soul: Melville as a Scholar of Human Desires, Longings and Obsessions
- Melville’s Poetry: Its Significance as an Interpretive Key to His Prose
- The Devil in The Detail: Close Readings of Melville
Submission Requirements
We invite submissions in English, no longer than 300 words. Please indicate the section in which you would like to present.
Submissions open soon. Watch this space!
Organizers
Faculty of Humanities in Warsaw
Professor Mikołaj Wiśniewski: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.