The Weaver: Historical and Literary Interpretations

The production and use of woven fabrics over time has entailed significant changes in the work of weavers and the process of weaving; however, these changes were neither linear nor uniform. Comparable discontinuities between specific circumstances and overarching generalities exist with respect to the status and identity of weavers, the social matrices of manufacture, and the economics of trade as well as cultural representations of practices and practitioners. Both empirical and theoretical approaches to craft persistence and its extinction or transmutation into occupation(s) can reveal dimensions of this multi-faceted experience.
Proposals for scholarly papers concerning weavers are solicited for an edited volume that aims to explore the weaver from a historical and literary perspective. Toward that end, we issue this call for book chapters and materials for an edited collection, to be submitted for consideration to a university press. We welcome submissions focusing on any geographical location or time period including pre- and post-industrial weavers from scholars of any rank, provided that the research is based on original research and has not previously been published elsewhere in English. Scholarship that is interdisciplinary in nature and/or which reflects on a wide series of discourses and practices is encouraged.

PROPOSALS: 250-500 word abstract (and full essay if already written), select bibliography, and brief biographical statement, including present institutional affiliation, by email to: Helene J. Sinnreich at hjsinnreich@ysu.edu

DEADLINE FOR PROPOSALS: September 15, 2008. Completed essays will be due September 2009, and will be expected to be 25-35 double-spaced pages in length.