Call For Papers:
“My name is Karim Amir, and I am an Englishman born and bred, almost.
I am often considered to be a funny kind of Englishman,
a new breed as it were,
having emerged from two old histories.”
(Hanif Kureishi: The Buddha of Suburbia)
The
process of human migration is as old as humanity, however, migration as
we know it in a contemporary context has strong ties with the colonial
past of the Western world, as colonisation, conquering, forming empires
were one of the most massive processes of European history. Even if
former Empires vanished in the 20th century, the
consequences, mindsets and socio-cultural heritage of the colonial past
are still present. One of these components of the colonial heritage is
migration, resulting from the displacement left and felt after the
disintegration of imperial structures.
Though migration is a
worldwide phenomenon, one of the countries and cultures most affected by
the loss of the Empire and the intensifying migration in the aftermath
of the imperial heritage is Great Britain. Their colonial enterprise and
imperial domination ended and resulted in an increasingly multicultural
and multiethnic society.
As a result of the decades that have
passed since the beginning of modern migration, various multicultural
and multi-ethnic environments have developed, and today we have the
chance to examine the experiences of multiple generations of migrants;
not only as a consequence of passing time, but also of post-colonial,
diaspora, multicultural arts practiced by various generations of
(im)migrants. The experience of migration, the challenges of settling
down, fitting in and assimilating into a culture or keeping to one’s
roots, cultures and languages– although often thought to be a
homogeneous phenomenon – show not only individual differences, but
elicit varying responses and strategies in different generations of
(im)migrants.
While reading, watching, experiencing such pieces of
art, a multitude of questions may arise. How many generations does it
take to blend into a culture as someone having outlandish origins? Is
there such an urge present in different generations at all? How do
different generations of immigrants approach their cultural heritage?
Are their examples of taking pride in being a(n) (descendant of) an
immigrant? For how long is the offspring of immigrants considered as an nth-generation
immigrant? How long does the “us vs. them” narrative haunt contemporary
societies? What are the attitudes (and do they show variations among
different groups) towards the colonial past of Britain? How can the
history of the Empire be revisited and possibly rewritten?
The 2018 Autumn issue of in esse: English Studies in Albania
is inviting contributions that approach the above questions from an
interdisciplinary point of view as represented in the fields of British
literature, film and popular culture.
Topics for contributions may include but are not limited to:
· migrant narratives
· diaspora experiences
· issues of cultural heritage(s)
· problems of identity and identification
· assimilation and/or embracing roots
· multiculturalism
· multi-ethnicity
· in-betweenness
· rewriting the colonial past/colonial texts
· commenting on colonial strategies of representation
Please send an abstract of 250 words with 4-5 keywords as an email attachment to the following email address: fannifeldmann@gmail.com.
Contributions
should not exceed 6000 words.Please follow the Chicago Manual of Style
(16th edition) for citation. Further queries should be addressed to the
General Editor at armelap@assenglish.org or to the guest editor of the issue at fannifeldmann@gmail.com.
Deadline for abstracts: 20 February 2018
Notification of acceptance: 15 March 2018
Deadline for papers: 20 June 2018
For further information please visit: http://www.assenglish.org/
Contact Info:
General Editor at armelap@assenglish.org or the guest editor of the issue at fannifeldmann@gmail.com
Contact Email: