We have our panels set for this year’s American Literature Association Conference in Boston, May 23-26, 2019. Come join us and other great societies and scholars, get a sneak peek at The Journal of David Foster Wallace Studies, and maybe even walk away with some DFW Society swag.
This year, we were deluged with a record number of really stellar proposals for our ALA panels, so we were able to put together three panels. Some of our panelists even have work published in the journal’s first issue. We will update with dates and times once we get that information from the ALA.
Dates & times are TBA
Cognitive and Philosophical Approaches to David Foster Wallace
1. “The Progression (or Regression) of Mental Health in David Foster Wallace’s Short Stories,” Ashlie M. Kontos, University of Houston
2. “Kinaesthetic Reading and Infinite Jest,” Christopher White, Governors State University
3. “On the Spectrum: Empathy and Neurodiversity in David Foster Wallace,” Martin Brick, Ohio Dominican University
4. “The Ethics of the Nothing in Wallace’s Infinite Jest,” Vernon Cisney, Gettysburg College
Intertextual Approaches to David Foster Wallace
1. “Metaphors of Vision: Film Theory and American Avant-Garde Film in Infinite Jest,” Cynthia Zhang, University of Southern California
2. “Alternative Lifestyles: Fyodor Dostoevsky, David Foster Wallace, and the Reimagining of National Life,” Colbert Root, East Stroudsberg University
3. “David Foster Wallace in a Contemporary Art Context,” Corrie Baldauf, Eastern Michigan University
4. “Consider the Soul: Wallace’s Intertextual Engagement with Joyce’s Portrait,” Michael O’Connell, Siena Heights University
Situating David Foster Wallace in Canon and Culture
1. “Anti-Rebels: Infinite Jest and the New Literary Middlebrow,” Christopher Bartlett, Boston University
2. “David Foster Wallace’s ThePale King: The Struggle to Find Novelistic Form in the Information Age,” Jaime Harrison, Queen’s University Belfast
3. “Author Where?: Authority, Commodity, and the Literary Afterlife of David Foster Wallace,” Joseph B. Nash, University of Delaware
4. “‘Everything Is Thrown into My Writing’: The Difficulty of Teaching David Foster Wallace (Or, Teaching the Difficulty of David Foster Wallace,” Patricia Malone, University of Sheffield
In addition, we will also have a Society Business Meeting, and all are welcome to attend, whether you are an official member or not. If you are at ALA, please stop by and say hi. Even if you cannot make our panels or meeting, feel free to let us know if we can meet for a bite or a drink or even just a chat. Board members Ándrea Laurencell Sheridan (VP), Corrie Baldauf (Secretary), and Ashlie Kontos (Diversity Team Co-Chair) as well as Diversity Team member Cynthia Zhang will be around throughout the week. Catch us on the Society Twitter or Instagram pages to schedule a meet up, or contact us directly!
For more information on the ALA including location and lodging, visit the American Literature Association website.
