WHEN: Thursday and Friday, April 7-8
11am-5pm Eastern Time
The Association for the Study of American Indian Literatures Executive Officers want to publicly acknowledge the Native American Literature Symposium (NALS) founders and organizers whose labor, vision, and dedication convened so many of us and our peers and colleagues for over 20 years. We appreciate the community they established: a scholarly and creative space guided by Indigenous principles of knowledge sharing and mentorship. In short, there is no other conference like it.
In the spirit of community gathering, knowledge sharing, and support, we would like to extend an invitation for a small virtual conference April 7th and 8th. We hope this virtual, synchronous gathering helps to temporarily fill the gap that Covid and the absence of NALS has left us, and create an opportunity for those working in and producing Native American literatures to meet one another, network, and share work. We hope it also provides an opportunity for those of us who have continually looked forward to an annual gathering which focuses exclusively on Native American Literatures to mingle with and mentor all those who are called into this work.
Based on the survey that ASAIL members filled out, we are excited to announce that we are seeking 200-word proposals in the following formats:
- Roundtables (up to 6 participants)
- Fully formed panels (3-4 scholars)
- Individual papers
We will prioritize graduate students, contingent faculty, and early career faculty.
Proposals due by: Feb. 28th
Submit proposals here!
Registration Information: Registration for the ASAIL Virtual Conference is free and open to all ASAIL members who have renewed for 2022. We encourage members to consider making a donation to support the costs of this conference. Registration for non-members is $50. If you need financial support for registration, please contact Molly McGlennen (momcglennen@vassar.edu) and Laura Furlan (furlan@english.umass.edu).
Some of the highlights for our two-day event will include:
- Keynote Speaker Lisa Tatonetti, who will talk about her new book Written by the Body: Gender Expansiveness and Indigenous Non-Cis Masculinities, University of Minnesota Press, which examines the expansive nature of Indigenous gender representations in history, literature, and film
- Indigenous author readings, including a sampling of authors from the new Diné Reader: An Anthology of Navajo Literature
- Announcement of ASAIL Awards
- Virtual happy hour