Jil Jadid Conference, University of Texas-Austing, February 18-20

The University of Texas’ Department of and Center for Middle Eastern Studies, is pleased to announce that they will host the Jīl Jadīd Conference, a graduate student conference in Arabic Literature and Linguistics, to be held at the University of Texas – Austin, February 18-20, 2011.

This current generation of graduate students represents one of the largest groups of scholars all working together on Arabic in over a century. The purpose of this conference is to bring together students scattered across areas studies, linguistics, comparative literature and other departments in order to facilitate an open and productive exchange of new ideas, and to build collaborative networks that will last well after we finish our graduate education. By coming together to compare our approaches and methods, as well as our innovative research, we can help set the tone for Arabic studies as we move further into the twenty-first century.

In order to foster productive and fruitful dialogue, this conference will take an innovative approach to presentations. Papers will be grouped into panels of three to four presenters which will combine short presentations with in-depth discussions. Each panel will be led by a moderator tasked with facilitating and directing discussion.

Submitters who are accepted will be asked to provide a 2-3 page summary of their papers at least two weeks prior to the conference, so that attendees may read these summaries and more time can be devoted to discussion than presentation.  Presenters will be given fifteen (15) minutes of presentation time, followed by another fifteen (15) minutes of time for discussion. Presenters will be encouraged to use the presentation time to expand on their summaries and then to suggest topics or questions for discussion.

We are pleased to announce that Professors Devin Stewart and Wail Hassan have agreed to give keynote speeches in the area of linguistics and literature respectively, and UT faculty have agreed to offer career development workshops during the conference as well.

Topics:

All papers on Arabic literature and linguistics will gladly be considered, but we especially encourage submissions on the following topics:

*        Beyond diglossia: New approaches to variation in Arabic

*        Bringing data to bear: Empirical approaches to Arabic pedagogy and SLA

*        Socio-cultural approaches to the acquisition of Arabic

*        Asking new questions about old literature

*        Literature across Arabic Registers

*        Arabic literature in new diasporas

*        Arabic Literature, Linguistics and Pedagogy in the Internet Age

Papers which will be also presented at other conferences such as ALS and ACLA are welcome, as we hope to provide a forum for students to further develop and refine their research.

Abstracts: 

Applicants may submit abstracts of no more than 400 words, not including references, in PDF format. Abstracts can be submitted via the following website:

http://linguistlist.org/confcustom/JilJadidUT/

The deadline for abstracts is November  1, 2010. Abstracts should not include identifying information, *however you must indicate the highest degree you have obtained and your current position (e.g. "M.A, Graduate Student" "Ph.D., Assistant Professor", etc.)* Travel Funding:

We are well aware of the financial restrictions facing graduate students, and therefore a large part of the conference budget will be devoted to providing financial assistance for travel expenses for those who are unable to obtain sufficient funding from their departments.

Priority will be given to attendees with accepted papers, but others are encouraged to apply. Details of the application procedure will be made available following the application deadline. Applicants who will be outside of the US at the time of the conference are encouraged to submit, and will be able to present their papers and participate in discussions in person or via internet video-chat.

Conference fees:

A fee of $30US will be required of all attendees. Checks can be submitted to the following address, and should be made out to the University of Texas, with “Jil Jadid” in the memo section:

Center for Middle Eastern Studies

1 University Station, F9400

Austin, TX 78712

For further information, please contact : jiljadidconf@gmail.com