I have a problem: I apply to too many late-winter/spring conferences. The first one’s down, now. It was the Louisville Conference on Literature and Culture Since 1900, which was fun, but an exhausting conclusion to an already long week. I chaired a really impressive panel on “Blues and Literary Form,” met some great people, and presented a paper distilled shamelessly from a section of my MA thesis. I’ll be damned if I don’t keep milking the mileage out of that thing.
Next up is a smaller conference at Miami, which is mainly a chance to see some old friends. I’ll be presenting a silly little paper, “Kurt Vonnegut as Rhetorical Theorist,” that examines Vonnegut’s term granfalloon (from Cat’s Cradle) in relation to Burkean identification. Later is Cs (see my previous post), and then PCA/ACA, where I’ll be presenting a paper, “Avatar and the Topos of Disability.” Looking forward, especially, to that one. It’ll be cool to see Boston, finally.
But holy bejesus, I’ve made a lot of extra work for myself. Next year, I think I’ll limit myself to the Watson Conference and Cs (if I get in again, that is).
Another exciting thing: we’ve kicked off the Rhetoric Reading Group (and here’s the blog for that!) at Louisville, a little organization for those of us hankering for an extra dose of rhetorical theory. The first meeting had a modest turnout because of scheduling conflicts with the Louisville Conference, but conversation was great, and lot of people who couldn’t make it this time have expressed strong interest in future meetings. We have, in the future, plans for one more session of me leading discussion on Burke, Stephanie Weaver on selections by the Sophists, and Hem Paudel on Richard Rorty. I’m thoroughly geeked.
