Call for Papers: Travel Writing and Pedagogy: Pratt’s “Effect of the Real.” The Society for American Travel Writing. American Literature Association Annual Conference, 27-30 May 2004, Hyatt Regency San Francisco, San Francisco, CA.

The Society for American Travel Writing, a member society of the American Literature Association, issues a call for papers at a session at the ALA 2004 conference in San Francisco, CA. Entitled Travel Writing and Pedagogy: The “Effect of the Real,” the ses-sion will engage the difficulties of teaching travel writing to American students. Papers are welcome on specific American authors or on theoretical issues whose discussion in-cludes American authors.

Papers should be 20 minutes in length, though it is possible that the session may be struc-tured as a panel discussion. Topics that might be helpfully explored include (but are not necessarily limited to):

• the tendency of even contemporary travel writing to confirm rather than challenge students’ expectations, stereotypes, and prejudices;
• the problematics of student reactions to travel writing and the question of differ-ence or diversity;
• the selection of texts and authors for a multi-cultural classroom.

Abstracts of no more than two pages may be submitted by mail or, preferably by email, to the address below, or via email by 15 January 2004.