Panel at 44th Annual Convention, Northeast Modern Language Association (NeMLA)
(Boston, MA, March 21-24, 2013)

At least since the Romantics, acoustic media have played a central role in defining "Germanness." In a discursive tradition that still persists today, Germany is seen both as a "land of poets and thinkers" whose cultural heritage is defined primarily by its relationship to literature and music -- medieval Meistersinger, the works of Bach and Beethoven, Schiller's ballads, Wagner's operas -- rather than visual media. This panel will address the relationship between literature and the acoustic dimension in general, and invites submissions that specifically explore questions of hearing and listening in works by German-speaking authors. How do German-language literary texts depict the constitution of self (and nation) through acts of listening and acoustic performances?

Topics of the panel may include, but are not limited to: representations of oral poetry in literature and aesthetics; 18th-century Gelegenheitsgedichte; Romantic musicality; Lieder; depictions of musical automata (E.T.A. Hoffmann) and other music machines; declamatory concerts and Autorenlesungen; music and decadence; singing mermaids and sirens (Kafka, Heine, Bachmann); literary depictions of Wagner's operas; experimental "Sprechkünste" in the 20th century; urban soundscapes in Weimar literature; transgressive or gender-bending vocal performances (Klaus Nomi, Nina Hagen); depictions of contemporary musical genres in pop literature.

Please submit a brief abstract to Mary Helen Dupree (mhd33@georgetown.edu) by September 30, 2011.

Please include with your abstract:
Name and Affiliation
Email address
Postal address
Telephone number
A/V requirements (if any; $10 handling fee with registration)

The 2013 NeMLA convention continues the Association's tradition of sharing innovative scholarship in an engaging and generative location. The 44th annual event will be held in historic Boston, Massachusetts, a city known for its national and maritime history, academic facilities and collections, vibrant art, theatre, and food scenes, and blend of architecture. The Convention, located centrally near Boston Commons and the Theatre District at the Hyatt Regency, will include keynote and guest speakers, literary readings, film screenings, tours and workshops.

Interested participants may submit abstracts to more than one NeMLA session; however, panelists can only present one paper (panel or seminar). Convention participants may present a paper at a panel and also present at a creative session or participate in a roundtable. http://www.nemla.org/convention/2013/cfp.html