âThe Persistence of the Short Story: Traditions and Futuresâ
International Symposium Co-Hosted by the Obama Institute for Transnational American Studies, the Society for the Study of the American Short Story, and the American Literature Association, and the European Network for Short Fiction Research.
Mainz, Germany, July 10â12, 2024
Johannes Gutenberg-UniversitÀt (JGU), Mainz, Germany Conference Venue:
Helmholtz Institute Mainz Staudingerweg 18, 55128 Mainz
You can view or download the conference booklet here.
Wednesday, July 10, 2024
3:00 pm Registration
4:00 pm Conference Opening (FakultĂ€tssaal, Philosophicum I) Jakob-Welder-Weg 18, Room 01 – 185, 55128 Mainz
Director, Obama Institute for Transnational American Studies: Prof. Dr. Alfred Hornung
Conference Organizers: Prof. Dr. Oliver Scheiding, Prof. Dr. Jochen Achilles
4:30 pm Roundtable: Short Fiction Research in a Transnational Context
Chair: Michael Basseler (Justus-Liebig-UniversitÀt Giessen): Project Manager Short Forms Beyond Borders-EU Strategic Partnerships
American Literature Association (ALA): Olivia Carr Edenfield, Director (Georgia Southern University), Alfred Bendixen, Executive Director (Princeton University)
Society for the Study of the American Short Story (SSASS): James Nagel, President (University of Georgia; online)
European Network for Short Fiction Research (ENSFR): Michelle Ryan, Director (UniversitĂ© dâAngers), Ailsa Cox, Associate Director (Edge Hill University), Elke Dâhoker, Communications Coordinator (Katholieke Universiteit Leuven)
Studies in the American Short Story: James Nagel, Editor (University of Georgia), Kirk Curnutt, Associate Editor (Troy University)
Journal of the Short Story in English: GĂ©rald PrĂ©her, Editor (UniversitĂ© dâArtois)
Short Fiction in Theory and Practice: Ailsa Cox, Principal Editor (Edge Hill University)
6.00 pm Welcome Reception
Thursday, July 11, 2024
Conference Venue: Helmholtz Institute
9:00â10:20 am Session 1: Aesthetic Dimensions
Chair: Jochen Achilles (Julius-Maximilians-UniversitĂ€t WĂŒrzburg)
Ailsa Cox (Edge Hill University), âBeyond the Collectionâ
Elke Dâhoker (Katholieke Universiteit Leuven), âSerializing the Short Storyâ
Michelle Ryan (UniversitĂ© dâAngers), âThe Ethics of Short Forms in Rikki Ducornetâs Late Career Writingâ
10:20â10:40 am Coffee Break
10:40â12.00 am Session 2: Historical Dimensions
Chair: Oliver Scheiding (Johannes Gutenberg-UniversitÀt Mainz)
Alfred Bendixen (Princeton University), âNew Voices Confronting the Silence: The Emergence of Feminist Traditions in the American Short Storyâ
Monika Elbert (Montclair State University), âWealth, Handicaps, and Poverty: Womenâs Gothic Tales of Dis-Possessionâ
Philipp Reisner (Johannes Gutenberg-UniversitĂ€t, Mainz). “American Short Fiction in Light of the Chinese Exclusion Act”
12:00-1:00 pm Lunch
1:00â2:20 pm Session 3: Current Trends
Chair: Laura Dietz (University College London)
Michael Basseler (Justus-Liebig-UniversitĂ€t Giessen), âIs there a Postsocialist North American Short Story?â
Gudrun M. Grabher (Leopold-Franzens-UniversitĂ€t Innsbruck), âEvery Patient has Their Unique Story: The Significance of the Short Story for Medical Humanitiesâ
Patricia MacCormack (Anglia Ruskin University), âWeird Madness: Brief Encounters Against the Anthropoceneâ
2:30â3:50 pm Session 4: Region
Chair: Caroline Jesussek (Johannes Gutenberg-UniversitÀt Mainz)
Alessandra Boller (UniversitĂ€t Siegen), âThe Politics of Encounter: B/Order Crossings in Transnational (Irish) Short Fictionâ
Olivia Carr Edenfield (Georgia Southern University), âThe Poetic Landscape of Breece DâJ Pancakeâ
GĂ©rald PrĂ©her (UniversitĂ© dâArtois), âThe Past in the Present, or the Enduring South in Elizabeth Spencerâs Starting Over (2014)â
3.50-4:10 pm Coffee Break
4:10â5.30 pm Postgraduate Roundtable on Short Fiction Research
Chair: Alessandra Boller (UniversitÀt Siegen)
Maegan Bishop (Georgia Southern University), âRe-imagining the American Landscape: Visual Rhetoric and the Influence of Image on the 21st-Century American Short-Story Cycleâ
VerĂłnica Frejo (Universidad AutĂłnoma de Madrid), âShort Stories as Videogames: A Transmedia Analysisâ
Carolin Jesussek (Johannes Gutenberg-UniversitĂ€t Mainz), âDisability Gothic in William Alexanderâs Short Story âThe House on the Moonââ
6:30 pm University Lecture Hall (P5)
University Hall-Lecture:
James Nagel (University of Georgia), âThe American Short Story in Academia: A Personal Report” (online)
Friday, July 12, 2024
Conference Venue: Helmholtz Institute Mainz
9:00â10:00 am Session 5: Diversity
Chair: Michelle Ryan (UniversitĂ© dâAngers)
Erik Redling (Martin-Luther-UniversitĂ€t Halle-Wittenberg), âModernist Politics of Race: Allegorical Readings of Zora Neale Hurstonâs Early Short Fictionâ
Hertha Dawn Sweet Wong (University of California, Berkeley), âThe Future of the Indigenous Short Story; or Indigenous Short Story and Futurityâ
10:10-11:10 am Session 6: Horror and Crime
Chair: Olivia Carr Edenfield (Georgia Southern University)
Will Norman (University of Kent), âPaul Linebarger, Cordwainer Smith and the Affordances of Mid-Century Science Fiction Talesâ
Whit Frazier Peterson (UniversitĂ€t Stuttgart), âThe Sunken and the Ascending: Black Horror Short Fictionâ
11:10â11:30 am Coffee Break
11:30 am â12:50 pm Session 7: Media and New Approaches
Chair: Oliver Scheiding (Johannes Gutenberg-UniversitÀt Mainz)
Kirk Curnutt (Troy University), âProphecies of Extinction, Prospects for Evolution: Whither the Future of the Short Story?â
Bernardo Manzoni Palmeirim (Universidade de Lisboa), âPaying Attention in Lydia Davis and Short Formsâ
Ines Maria Gstrein (Leopold-Franzens-UniversitĂ€t Innsbruck), âThe Affordances of the Short Story Collection: Ali Smith’s Free Love and Other Stories as a Case Studyâ
1:00 â2:00 pm Lunch
2:00â3:20 pm Session 8: Digitization
Chair: VerĂłnica Frejo (Universidad AutĂłnoma de Madrid)
Laura Dietz (University College London), âDigitization and Short Story Authorship: Authorial Careers on Emerging Platformsâ
Jana Keck (UniversitĂ€t Stuttgart), âFact or Fiction? Computational Analysis of Short Stories in Nineteenth-Century German-American Newspapersâ
Damien B. Schlarb (Johannes Gutenberg-UniversitĂ€t Mainz), âShort Stories, Longplay: Formal Influences of the Short Story on Digital Games and the Integration of Narrative and Playâ
3:20â3:40 pm Coffee Break
3:40â5:30 pm Session 9: Science Fiction
Chair: Sabina Fazli (Johannes Gutenberg-UniversitÀt Mainz)
Anna McFarlane (University of Leeds), âScience Fiction and the Fix-Upâ
Andrew M. Butler (Canterbury Christchurch University), ââThe Flimsiest of Tissuesâ: Pamela Zolineâs âThe Holland of the Mindââ
Sarah Lohmann (Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule ZĂŒrich), ââLike Children Dying in a Forestâ: The Science Fiction Short Story and the Morality of Machine Cognition in E.M. Forsterâs âThe Machine Stopsâ and Ray Bradburyâs âAugust 2026: There Will Come Soft Rainsââ
Gary Westfahl (University of La Verne), âConfronting the Alien in the Science Fiction Short Storyâ (online)
7.00 pm Conference Dinner Weingut Peter Dhom
Jakob Braunwart Weg 3
55129 Mainz-Hechtsheim
http://winzerfamilie-peter-dhom.de/kontakt/
Maps (Hotels, Campus, and Venues)
Frankfurt Airport to Mainz (S-Bahn)
Take the train from Frankfurt Airport to Mainz Central Station (tram line: S8). Tickets can be purchased at the airport vending machines (approximately 9,90âŹ). Both hotels are a short walk from the main entrance of the train station.
Mainz Station to University (Tram lines 51, 53, and 59)
There are a variety of buses and trams from Mainz Central Station to the JGU campus. We recommend you take the trams (lines 51, 53, or 59) to travel to campus, since they all stop at the university (cf. (2)) and the Friedrich-von-Pfeiffer Weg (cf. (3)). It will take about 5 minutes from Mainz Central Station to the JGU campus and a ticket will cost 2,50âŹ.
Follow the directions on the map below to find your way to the conference venues. Please keep in mind that there are different venues (Wednesday: FakultĂ€tssaal (Faculty room, 01 – 185); Thursday-Friday: Helmholtz Institute (cf. (A)).
Mainz Station to City Hall (Tram lines 51, 52, and 53)
Thursday evening, we invite participants to join us for a reception at Mainz City Hall, as well as a City Hall-Lecture held by James Nagel (cf. program above). Similar to the route from Mainz Central Station to the JGU campus, there are a variety of buses and trams from Mainz Central Station to Mainz MĂŒnsterplatz (cf. (2)). We again recommend you take the tram (lines 51, 52, or 53) and then walk to City Hall (walking distance roughly 500m).
This conference is made possible by the funding of the DFG.