El Camino de Santiago: Pilgrimage in Contemporary Culture
Due Date: 02-01-2019
World religions have long held pilgrimage as an important journey of the faithful. Today, however, there is an increasing number of nonreligious, secular, or spiritual pilgrims undertaking these journeys. The nearly 800 km-long Camino de Santiago is a popular destination for secular pilgrims traveling through France and across Northern Spain. Established as one of three principal Christian pilgrimage routes over 1,200 years ago, the Camino is experiencing increasing visitor numbers, with over 300,000 people undertaking the journey each year.
The Camino’s increased popularity has led to the emergence of a variety of cultural texts, including film and narrative that reflect upon the pilgrimage. These works serve as an interpretive lens through which one can explore the internal and external journey of contemporary pilgrims. What desires motivate the secular pilgrim to undertake the Camino? How do contemporary pilgrims express their experiences of the journey? Has the route taken on a new meaning or function in the twenty-first century?
The editor of a proposed volume on the above topic requests original, unpublished manuscripts for a collection tentatively entitled El Camino de Santiago: Pilgrimage in Contemporary Culture. The proposed book will focus on contemporary cultural texts depicting the pilgrim’s journey along the Camino de Santiago that specifically reflect upon and help define the purpose of pilgrimage in the modern world. Manuscripts must be written in English; however, submissions based on non-English-language texts are welcome.
Please send a brief abstract (350–500 words) by 1 February 2019 to Tiffany Trotman (tiffany.trotman@otago.ac.nz). Successful submissions will be based on coherence with the overall volume and a novel perspective. Submitters will be notified of acceptance by 15 March 2019. Completed manuscripts must be submitted by 30 June 2019.