CFP: Paper, Please: Theorizing Border Discourses

"Papers Please"

Theorizing Border Discourses after Arizona House Bill 2281 & Senate Bill 1070

Call for Papers

September 13, 2013

The University of Arizona in Tucson

Keynote speaker: Victor Villanueva

Submit proposal to Jose Cortéz at papers.please.cfp@gmail.com by May 30, 2013

"There is a borderland in which the exact delimitation of the obscene is a very complex matter, and the excessive zeal sometimes displayed by semi-official censorship in the suppression of 'borderland' literature has been often ludicrous, generally annoying and sometimes positively unjust." Publishers Weekly, 1916

In Arizona, recent immigration and education legislation has sparked national controversy. In the previous two years, the legislation of Arizona SB1070 and HB2281 have taken effect, and that leaders have acted upon them offer an especially kairotic moment for theorizing border rhetorics, identities, and discourses (the small section of SB1070 that was held, called the 'papers please' clause). While theorists from various disciplines have successfully begun to address the complexities and outlets of border theory, broader scholarly interest has yet to synthesize the discourses of Arizona SB1070 and HB2281 as an interdisciplinary enterprise.

We see this historical moment as a site rich with potential for explorations of border theories related to identity politics, pedagogy, educational policies, writing instruction and interdisciplinary cultural studies. In the wake of these controversies, which may or may not be mutually exclusive, scholars and educators are given an occasion to explore how the rhetoric of the borderland invites a sophisticated interrogation of difference. We wonder then, how can theorizing border discourse establish a foundation for sociopolitical and/or community activism? To that end we seek submissions that provoke perspectives better equipped to explore contemporary problems such as globalization, economic exploitation, contact zones, border issues, mestizaje consciousness, multiculturalism, heternormativity, anglonormativity, imperialism, and educational hegemony.

Some possible topic areas include:

• Legal approaches to either SB1070 and/or HB2281
• Rhetoric and democratic participation
• Critical Approaches to educational policies
• Literary Analyses of banned books
• Rhetorical Analyses of SB1070 and/or HB2281, banned books, or the discourse of Tom Horne, Huppenthal or, Janet Brewer
• Cultural Studies of popular representations of SB1070 and/or HB2281
• Historiographies of SB1070 and/or HB2281
• Pedagogical approaches to SB1070 and/or HB2281
• Historical or theoretical examinations of activist movements, strategies, and tactics
• Racial (in)equality, particularly in light of recent attempts to legislate racial bodies and discourses in the United States, as well as its instantiations in different local contexts abroad.
• Critical Pedagogy and its discontents
• Multimedia & Multimodal Composition
• Visual Rhetoric/Visual Communication

Our extended goal for this conference is to develop interest and direction for an edited collection.  Given the broad audience, we see several major purposes for a collection on Arizona SB1070 and HB2281

• To offer a view of Arizona that demonstrates the contested nature of rhetoric and history as an alternative to the Western trajectory of rhetorical studies
• To introduce researchers and educators to this historical moment.
• To enrich the historical and theoretical understanding of border rhetorics

Submit any questions and proposal to Jose Cortéz at papers.please.cfp@gmail.com

We are accepting proposals for individual 15-20 minute presentations or for 1-hour group panels. We prefer interactive presentations that encourage discussion.

Proposal due by May 30

http://paperspleasesymposium.wordpress.com