Pacific Waves Conference
School of English, University of Sussex, 6-7 November 2015
Call for Papers – Deadline Wednesday 7th October 2015

Surrounded by the world’s largest ocean, Oceania is, nevertheless, among the least studied and represented regions in Postcolonial Studies in the UK. This conference aims at bringing to the fore the debates and discussions of the various trends of Oceanic thought, writing, and storytelling, especially Polynesian, Hawaiian and New Zealand Maori, looking at its motivations, aims, and features across genres and media, whether digital media, art, in print, or performance.

The organisers  invite papers on literature and/or its links with branches of the Humanities and Social Sciences in, within or between areas of Oceania and its spheres of influence; including but not limited to Australia and the USA, with special emphasis on Polynesia’s New Zealand and Hawai’i. The conference also focuses on interdisciplinary research and comparative approaches that investigate commonalities and continuities between the literatures and cultures of Oceania, whether within one country or between countries.

The questions the organisers seek to investigate include but are not limited to: What are the transformations that Maori, and/or Hawaiian, and/or Pacific Islander writers have introduced in New Zealand, and/or US, and/or global literary scenes? How has Maori and/or Pacific Islander literatures transformed and developed since their inception in the 1970s? How does a writers’ tribal affiliation/ relationship with place affect their writing? How do the flows of people within and out of Oceania affect and/ or reflect the region’s diverse literary and artistic productions?

The organisers welcome papers engaging with any relevant aspect including the following:
Please send an abstract of no more than 250 words to pacificwavesconference@gmail.com by Wednesday 7th October 2015.

Conference website: www.pacificwavesconference.moonfruit.com  
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Should you have any further queries, please contact Emma Scanlan and Réhab Abdelghany at pacificwavesconference@gmail.com