The English Department and the Department of Foreign Languages and Comparative Literatures of the University of Extremadura will host an International Conference which will commemorate the life and work of poet, novelist, memoirist, playwright, etc., Tennessee Williams, to mark the centennial of his birth in 1911.

Among the keynote speakers (pending confirmation) who will participate in the conference are three leading Tennessee Williams scholars: Dr. John S. Bak (Professor of American Literature, University of Nancy II, France), Dr. Félix Martín Gutiérrez (Professor of American Literature, Complutense University, Spain); Annette Saddik (Professor of American Theatre, CUNY, USA) and David Savran (Distinguished Professor of American Theatre, CUNY, USA).

The Organizing Committee invites proposals for 20-minute presentations and/or round table sessions in one of the two official languages of the conference: English and Spanish. The paper and round table proposals can address but are not restricted to the topics suggested below. All proposals should be submitted before the 30th of October, 2011.

Proposals and round tables are invited in the following subject areas:

• Tennessee Williams’ “Seductive” Influence on his Contemporaries
• Tennessee Williams’ Reception Abroad: Influence, Reputation, Affinities and Translations into Other Languages
• Tennessee Williams’ Impact in World Literature
• Tennessee Williams in Spain/ the Hispanic Presence in Tennessee Williams
• Influence of European Theater on Williams’ Drama
• Psychoanalysis in Tennessee Williams
• Tennessee Williams as a Poet
• Tennessee Williams as a Novelist
• Tennessee Williams as a Playwright
• Tennessee Williams as a Social Critic
• Intertextuality in Tennessee Williams
• Tennessee Williams’ “Poetic” Dramatic Style
• Tennessee Williams in Revision: Text, Context and Genre
• Tennessee Williams: Gay, Lesbian and Queer Studies
• New Directions in the Teaching and Scholarship in Tennessee Williams Studies
• Politics and Ideology in Tennessee Williams
• Verbal/Physical Violence in Tennessee Williams’ Drama
• Tennessee Williams’ Works on Stage and Film
• The Intersections of Race, Class and Gender in Tennessee Williams’ Oeuvre
• Innovation and Originality in Tennessee Williams
• The Significance of Place in Tennessee Williams
• Music in Tennessee Williams

Proposals should be sent via e-mail including the following data:

1. Name, institutional affiliation, academic status, address, phone/fax and email of author.
2. Short bio-bibliography (c. 150 words)
3. Title of paper
4. Abstract: 150-250 words. It should be written in Times New Roman 12 pointfont, single spaced, and be submitted in Word, Word Perfect, or RTF format via attachment.
5. Audio-visual equipment needed.

Guidelines

1. Individual papers should be scheduled for a maximum of 20 minutes, allowing 10 for discussion.
2. The languages of the conference will be English and Spanish.
3. Acceptance notification will be sent by email by November 5th, 2011.
4. By submitting an abstract, authors give permission to publish it on the conference web site and/or in the printed conference booklet.
5. A selection of papers will be published (after revision where appropriate) in a collection of essays by an international publisher.