Journal of Literary Multilingualism Studies: The Future of the Field
Due Date: 10-31-2021
Literary multilingualism studies is a relatively new but burgeoning area of research. With the impact of translation studies, the “transnational turn” within literary studies, and the growing relevance of the “postmonolingual condition” in the contemporary world, multilingual and translingual writing practices—considered in the past to be exceptional and unusual—are now at the forefront of literary studies.
Scholars from a diverse range of linguistic, cultural, political, disciplinary and theoretical positions are contributing to the field, engaging with literature of all periods and all parts of the world. This rich diversity, however, means that there is currently little consensus on established terminology and on how literary multilingualism might be defined. In addition to this, scholarship is fragmented in the sense that scholars engaging in one field of the discipline are often unaware of work being done in others. There is thus a strong need for more dialogue.
For this inaugural issue of the Journal for Literary Multilingualism, we invite scholars to engage in a dynamic assessment of the field and its future. What are the key questions and debates at stake within literary multilingualism studies? What terminology is essential to the study of literary multilingualism, and how do we define those terms? What future directions does the field need to take? We also invite provocations and critiques of literary multilingualism studies thus far: what are its absences and blind spots? Which aspects of literary multilingualism have been neglected?
We welcome informal queries, and potential contributors may submit an abstract by 31 October 2021 if they wish to receive initial feedback on their topic. Please direct queries to Juliette Taylor-Batty (j.taylor-batty@leedstrinity.ac.uk) and Till Dembeck (till.dembeck@uni.lu). The final deadline for the submission of articles of 6,000–10,000 words is 15 April 2022. Acceptance of the final articles is subject to double-blind peer review. Please send articles as e-mail attachments to Dembeck (till.dembeck@uni.lu). For more information, visit brill.com/view/journals/jlm/jlm-overview.xml?language=en&contents=About.