Women’s and Gender Studies, Board-Sponsored Panel

“Classic and Contemporary American Girl Lit” Over the past century, American fiction for girls has evolved in parallel with its youth culture. In life and literature, girls have been transfigured from elegant-mannered doyennes to chippy problem-solvers. This panel examines how classic and contemporary texts offer a continuum of expanded roles for girls, from wives-in-training to adventurers, detectives and heroines. Abstracts should examine specific text(s) that demonstrate the historical progression of female empowerment through reading. 500 word Abstract and CV by 9/30 to Sophie Lavin, NeMLA Women’s Caucus Rep, SUNY Stony Brook: blavin@optonline.net.