for a PANEL ON AMERICAN INDIAN THEATER
to be presented as part of the
American Literature Association 23rd Annual Conference
Hyatt Regency, San Francisco, CA
May 24-27, 2012

Submission Deadlines: January 24, 2012 (Individual papers only; send to Courtney Elkin Mohler at carmel.elkin@gmail.com)

American Indian Drama, Theater and Performance:

The American Literature Association (ALA) and the Association for the Study of American Indian Literature (ASAIL) invite papers that explore historical and/or contemporary American Indian drama, theater and performance. This panel is broad in scope; its intention is to generate much needed discourse in the growing, but often overlooked area of American Indian drama and performance culture. Additionally, this panel seeks to cultivate productive dialogue between scholars of American Indian Literature and scholars of American Indian Drama, Theater and Performance.

Papers may investigate some of the following questions:
-What are the limits/boundaries of the genre, “American Indian Theater” in terms of themes, forms, and authorship?
-How do Native theater practitioners stage native identity, spirituality, and culture?
-How can performance stage and explore American Indian community concerns?
-How does American Indian performance stage the urban Indian experience in relationship to traditional culture?

Some of the themes that papers may explore include, but are not limited to:
-Contemporary dramas &/or productions
-Historical dramas &/or productions
-US Imperialism & continued occupation
-Traditional vs./and urban experience
-Issues of (self) representation
-Patriarchal colonization
-(Staged) ceremony and ritual (and possible problematics)
-Community empowerment and cultural survival

Please send 250 word abstract along with a brief biography to Courtney Elkin Mohler at carmel.elkin@gmail by January 24, 2012. Please include the author’s name, institutional affiliation, and postal address in the top left corner of the abstract. Please also include any technical/AV requirements for your presentation.)