African American Literature (MMLA (Midwest MLA))
Chicago, IL
Organization: Midwest MLA (MMLA)
Event: MMLA (Midwest MLA)
Michel-Rolph Trouillot argues that “archives…are neither neutral or natural” but “they are created” (48).
In alignment with this year’s theme After the Archive, the African American Literature Permanent Section of the MMLA seeks proposals which interrogate and engage the archive as not only a physical repository but also as sites of memory and resistance.
We are particularly interested in papers that demonstrate how the African American literary project:
· Investigates archival silences and losses
· Participates in Black Archival Practice as well as archival refusal
· Performs memory work as a form of communal and cultural care work
· Functions culturally as a shadow archive
· Challenges institutional authority
· Emerges as its own system of power
Submission Guidelines: Proposals of 250-300 words should include the author’s name, email address, and institutional affiliation.
Proposals should be sent to jlamar@muskingum.edu by Friday, April 24, 2026.
Judah-Micah Lamar