Call for Panels
English: Shared Futures
Newcastle 5-7th July, 2017 www.englishsharedfutures.uk @EngSharedFuture

The conference…
The English Association, University English, the National Association of Writers in Education and the Institute of English Studies are joining together to host a major conference for the whole of the discipline of English. We believe that the study of English  – literary studies of every period, language studies and creative writing  – is an important, dynamic and collaborative enterprise. This conference will celebrate the discipline’s intellectual strength, diversity and creativity, and explore its shared futures in the nations of the UK and across the world.

The conference will host leading and agenda-setting intellectual research and creative practice, support work in pedagogy and in professional development, offer access to a range of publishers and agents, feature panels from a range of our subject associations, and, with sessions from colleagues both inside and outside the discipline, consider the place of English in the wider cultural and political world. The conference is especially keen to involve Early Career Academics and Post-Graduate Research Students and will have many dedicated sessions designed by and for these groups, as well as involving colleagues from all areas and career stages of the discipline.

English: Shared Futures fosters inclusivity and diversity. We are especially concerned to encourage and enhance representation and participation from minorities, and are proactively working to reduce physical, social, and economic barriers to participation and to develop an environment rooted in a belief of equal respect for all.

The invitation…
We invite panels on all areas and periods of English literary studies, language studies and creative writing; panels on pedagogy, or aspects of professionalization; and, in light of the conference’s title, panels which discuss:

·         emerging, new or challenging research horizons within the subject;
·         shared, inter-/cross-/extra-disciplinary research futures for English studies;
·         productive intersections between teaching and research;
·         the impact of technology on English studies;
·         the challenges of funding, government, or institutional agendas to the shape and scope of English in Higher Education.

In addition, as 2017 sees the conference’s host city, Newcastle, commemorate Martin Luther King’s visit and the award of an honorary degree in 1967, we also welcome panels which discuss issues around civil rights; anniversaries and centenaries; regionality, migrancy and borders.

We are also keen to explore other kinds of scholarly engagement: shared readings; workshops; live chat rooms; masterclasses; salons; roundtables; interviews; dialogues; ‘research in progress’ sessions and any other new and rigorous scholarly approaches you may want to propose. Please feel free to use the English: Shared Futures Facebook page and tweet @EngSharedFuture to find potential partners for sessions.

Each session will last 75 minutes.

Your application must include the name, status, and institution of each speaker, and a brief description of the panel/session’s focus and objectives. It must not exceed 600 words.

Submissions, by attached document or by pdf, by midnight Friday 7^th October, to be sent to:
EnglishSharedFutures@englishassociation.ac.uk