Locations
EVENT Jan 08
ABSTRACT Mar 21
Abstract days left 4
Viewed 98 times

MLA 2026 Performing the Past: Historical Subjects on Stage (Modern Language Association Annual Convention)

Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Organization: Modern Language Association
Event: Modern Language Association Annual Convention
Categories: Postcolonial, Digital Humanities, American, Hispanic & Latino, Comparative, Interdisciplinary, French, British, German, Genre & Form, Popular Culture, Gender & Sexuality, Literary Theory, Women's Studies, World Literatures, African-American, Colonial, Revolution & Early National, Transcendentalists, 1865-1914, 20th & 21st Century, Medieval, Early Modern & Renaissance, Long 18th Century, Romantics, Victorian, 20th & 21st Century, Adventure & Travel Writing, Children's Literature, Comics & Graphic Novels, Drama, Narratology, Poetry, Aesthetics, Anthropology/Sociology, Classical Studies, Cultural Studies, Environmental Studies, Film, TV, & Media, Food Studies, History, Philosophy, African & African Diasporas, Asian & Asian Diasporas, Australian Literature, Canadian Literature, Caribbean & Caribbean Diasporas, Indian Subcontinent, Eastern European, Mediterranean, Middle East, Native American, Scandinavian, Pacific Literature, Miscellaneous
Event Date: 2026-01-08 to 2026-01-11 Abstract Due: 2025-03-21

In his Poetics, Aristotle famously distinguishes poetry from history, claiming that “the distinction between historian and poet is not in the one writing prose and the other verse…it consists really in this, that the one describes the thing that has been, and the other a kind of thing that might be.” Yet despite their different intentions, history has continued to remain a subject of drama from Aristotle’s time until the present day, often serving to enact the tension between truth and believability in order to highlight the often porous boundary between fact and fiction. This session will explore the depiction of historical subjects on the stage in theatrical works originating from any time period. Possible aspects to examine include but are not limited to:

 

·      The depiction of historical subjects and events onstage

·      The adaptation and revision of history in order to engage with new social, political, and cultural contexts

·      The interpolation of historical sources into drama

·      The interaction between imagination and reality

·      The impact of new and evolving performance practices

·      The role of history in society

·      The parallels between personages and events from different time periods

·      The questioning and critiquing of accepted narratives

·      The depiction of competing/contradictory histories, especially in light of globalization

·      The use of irony, parody, and satire

·      The examination of the creative process

·      The relationship between performance and history

·      The reimagination/reconstruction of time and space

Please submit a 300 word abstract and 100 word bio to Claire Sommers (claire.sommers@wustl.edu)

 

 

 

claire.sommers@wustl.edu

Claire Sommers