Our Voices, Our Stories, Our Ocean
Our Voices, Our Stories, Our Ocean
Pacific Literature Conference
May 13-14
University of Guam, Mangilao, Guam
Pacific Literature Conference
May 13-14
University of Guam, Mangilao, Guam
Call for Papers and Presentations
Description of conference and its purpose
Pacific voices and
stories have been marginalized in educational spaces throughout the Pacific for
too long. However, with the emergence of contemporary Pacific literature since
the 1970s, stories and perspectives on Pacific lives have been included in
school curricula throughout most of the region (with less prominence in
Micronesia). Thus, Our Voices, Our Stories, Our Ocean Pacific Literature
Conference aims to provide a venue for Pacific writers and voices to increase
awareness about Pacific literature for Pacific educators, students, and writers
on Guam and throughout the region.
Moreover, because this conference will take place just two
weeks before the 12th Festival of Pacific Arts (FESTPAC) on Guam, the
conference’s steering committee encourages participation in this conference so
that those in attendance can gain more knowledge about the literature,
cultures, and histories of the Pacific Islands that will be celebrated at
FESTPAC.
Papers and Presentations should address one of the following
six themes:
Exploring Pacific Literature: What is Pacific Literature?
Who are prominent Pacific writers? What different genres of Pacific literature
exist and how are they used to represent Pacific voices and stories?
Teaching Pacific Literature: Why teach Pacific Literature?
How can Pacific Literature be used in the classroom (may include how it has
already been used in the classroom)? How is Pacific Literature cross-discipline
(able to be used in different subjects)?
Writing Pacific Literature: How can the creation of Pacific
Literature be fostered in the classroom and in the broader community? How can
Pacific writers publish their work? What is the power and relevance of
encouraging Pacific research and writing?
Accessing Pacific Literature: Where can Pacific Literature
resources be found? How can Pacific Literature be made more easily accessible
and available to educators, students, and the broader community?
Communicating Pacific Literature: What role does the oral
tradition play in Pacific Literature, including non-written genres (e.g., film,
podcasts, songs)? What is the importance of native languages, dialects, and
other modes of communication (orality, literacy, silence, and communicative
competence) in different Pacific cultures and their literatures?
Identifying Common Themes in Pacific Literature: What themes
emerge in Pacific Literature? How do Pacific writers explore topic areas
including: socio-cultural (culture, heritage, history, identity, and family and
other relationships); socio- political (colonization, militarization,
Westernization, decolonization/self-determination, independence, and
post-colonization); and environmental (sustainability, climate change, and
rising tides)?
Please email presentation abstracts (of no more than 150
words) to ouroceanvoices@gmail.com by December 30, 2015 (Chamorro Standard
Time).
Note: Registration for the conference will occur at a later
date.
Please direct all questions to the Our Voices, Our Stories, Our Ocean
Pacific Literature Conference Project Director, Kisha Borja- Quichocho at
kquichocho@triton.uog.edu.
Other Project Scholars and Steering Committee
Members include: Victoria-Lola Leon Guerrero (University of Guam), Dr. Unaisi
Nabobo-Baba (University of Guam), Dr. Craig Santos Perez (University of
Hawai`i-Mānoa), Kenneth Gofigan Kuper (PhD candidate, University of Hawai`i-Mānoa),
and Vito Calvo, Jr. (Guam Community College).
This project is supported by the Guam Humanities Council and
the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Comments