CFP: Edith Wharton Panels at MLA 2008

The Edith Wharton Society will sponsor two sessions at the MLA conference in San Francisco on December 27-30, 2008.

1. WWWD? What Would Wharton Do? Edith Wharton and Politics

What do we know about Edith Wharton’s politics? Her political persuasions? Her views on personal and institutional political responsibility in the modern world? What political concerns did she have? Was her writing ever meant to put forth any political thought, position, or agenda that she might feel important? What were her views on war? On the social problems facing the American public in the 1920s and 1930s? How applicable are her views to the current American scene? Please send abstracts (about 500 words) and short CV's by March 15th to Linda Costanzo Cahir (lcahir@kean.edu or Kean University, 1000 Morris Ave. Willis 103B, Union, NJ 07083).

2. Edith Wharton and the ‘Other Half’

This panel seeks to explore all aspects of Edith Wharton’s relationship to urban poverty. All approaches are welcome, as are papers connecting Wharton to other figures. Please send abstracts of 250-300 words and 1 page cvs to Hildegard Hoeller at hilhllr@aol.com by March 10th. This panel is organized by the Edith Wharton Society.