Date: March 7-9, 2013 Location: Administration Building, University of Alaska Anchorage

The Conference and a Call for Papers:

Organized by Department of English graduate students at UAA, the 18th annual Pacific Rim Conference on Literature and Rhetoric welcomes proposals in literary studies, composition and rhetoric, linguistics, history, anthropology, and other related fields. The theme of this year’s Pacific Rim Conference is “The Evolution of Text: Navigating the Transformations in English, Literature, and Rhetoric.” This theme seeks to explore not only the historical developments of English but also the ways in we approach English today.

Evolving definitions of literacy and text continually transform the fields of literature and rhetoric. As text shifts from print to digital mediums and beyond, rhetorical and literary stakeholders have taken new shape. All of these stakeholders have witnessed this transition through the lens of their own unique experiences, and the line between expert and novice becomes blurred as we venture into the worlds of fan-fiction and online writing sites. Young adults have found renewal in written text in digital spaces, both as readers and writers. Meanwhile, technology continues to provide various affordances to a wide spectrum of users, making them capable of producing and consuming texts like never before.

Movements, philosophies, and technologies have created new ways of thinking about literature, while multimodality, digital literacies, and online identities have all reshaped the way we look at composition. Literature’s and rhetoric’s cultural work is always transforming, and this year’s conference will explore that evolution in many different ways.

Individual paper proposals: Please send a 500 word abstract for 20-minute papers, including the title of the paper; presenter's name and institutional affiliation; mailing address, phone and fax number, and email address.

Panel proposals: In addition to providing detailed contact information for each panel member, please send an abstract (700 words max.) summarizing the panel's rationale and describing each paper.

Roundtable proposals: In addition to providing detailed contact information for each participant, please send a title and abstract for the proposed roundtable discussion topic (500 words max.). Please submit to PacRim2013@gmail.com no later than January 25, 2013.