Published on Thursday, February 01, 2024
Abstract
The journal of general and comparative literature “TRANS-” invites its contributors to enrich the ongoing reflection on hybridity following these lines of investigation. Derived from the field of biology, where it refers to “the crossing of two different species or genera to give rise to specimens that combine, to a greater or lesser degree, specific characteristics of both parents” (Encyclopaedia Universalis), the notion of hybridisation, when applied to literature, elicits questions of a poetic, stylistic, linguistic, and philosophical nature. It plays a key role in the discussions that have been held over the past few years on the dynamics of literary genres, and has come to be used in particular to describe a recent literary production, mainly narrative, of a documentary or fictional nature, whose heterogeneity is recognised by the public and may even contribute to a certain “seduction” of this mode.
Announcement
Argument
Derived from the field of biology, where it refers to “the crossing of two different species or genera to give rise to specimens that combine, to a greater or lesser degree, specific characteristics of both parents” (Encyclopaedia Universalis), the notion of hybridisation, when applied to literature, elicits questions of a poetic, stylistic, linguistic, and philosophical nature. It plays a key role in the discussions that have been held over the past few years on the dynamics of literary genres, and has come to be used in particular to describe a recent literary production, mainly narrative, of a documentary or fictional nature, whose heterogeneity is recognised by the public and may even contribute to a certain “seduction” of this mode (Louis 2020). Nevertheless, the wide-ranging contemporary use of this notion, based on a metaphor, contrasts with a certain vagueness in its theoretical conceptualisation (Moiroux and Wolf 2004, 111). The operativity of the term, which has gained great popularity, has therefore not prevented the elusive nature of the notion from being emphasised in the field of literary studies (Gallerani 2016).
In the wake of the doctoral seminar organised by Agnès Edel-Roy, Juliette Stioui and Vincent Ferré for the EA 4395 “Lettres, Idées, Savoirs” (LIS, Université Paris Est Créteil), the proceedings of which we are publishing, we invite our contributors to enrich the ongoing reflection on hybridity following these lines of investigation.
First, we need to examine the extension of the notion of hybridity, distinguishing it from other notions that, with their own nuances, can be used to think about blending or mixing practices in literature, such as mestizo, heterogeneous, grotesque, uncanny, contamination or the normative ideas of “purity” or “impurity” (cf. Guy Scarpetta 1985). This call therefore invites us to explore in greater depth the theoretical aspects of the notion of hybridity, considering both what differentiates it from other conceptualisations of heterogeneity (cf. Bakhtin or Serge Gruzinski's mestizo mind) and the similarities it maintains with them.
The discussion may focus on the intersections between literary genres, or arise from a microtextual analysis, attentive to the various forms of textual heterogeneity (polylingualism, polyphony, intertextuality, etc.). It may also address other phenomena such as intermediality, or current experiments in digital literature. The aim is not only to clarify the extension of the notion of hybridity, but also to ask to what extent this notion can be used to understand processes of integration and representation of other textual and semiotic systems.
Mainly used to analyse modern and contemporary corpora, particularly novels, the notion of hybridity also lends itself to an evaluation of its relevance in time, through the analysis of “the temporal boundaries of hybridity in literary discourse” (Krysinski 2004). This will enable us to study what is involved in the “constitutive generic heterogeneity” of texts belonging to other aesthetic currents and to other literary genres such as poetry, which lends itself to interdiscursive and intermedial dynamics. Proposals may involve studies of the essay, whose heterogeneity is already the subject of a rich theoretical literature. We might also reconsider the analogical application of the biological paradigm (to which the notion of hybridity refers) to the field of literature, by looking, for example, at the links between the development of the notion of literary hybridity and that of knowledge in biology and genetics and scientific taxonomies. More broadly, we may be led to consider the circulation of the notion between biology and literary studies.
This call also invites us to situate the hybridisation process within the three “regimes of genericity” identified by Adam and Heidmann (2009): that of the author, that of the reader and the editorial one. In other words, is hybridity a characteristic desired by the author? Does it derive from editorial classifications? Or does awareness of the hybrid nature of a text depend on how it is received by readers? The complexity of the criteria governing the identification of a text as “hybrid” leads us to consider the interdiscursive dynamic that enables literature to dialogue with other discourses of knowledge and to reflect on its heuristic value. In this way, we will be led to reconsider the cognitive value of literature, but also the “hybrid” nature of the knowledge it constitutes. In addition to the reception of this hybrid literature, what about its teaching? Are there any teaching practices that take account of the formal and thematic hybridity of literature? Proposals may reflect on the effects of reality, or the effects of authority, engendered by a hybrid mode. This complexity invites us, in turn, to study the 'hybridity' of critical discourse, and to consider the effects of blurring or combining knowledge in approaches that are themselves transgeneric (research-creation, rewritings, critical fictions) and transdisciplinary.
This is an open subject with no constraints period or genre. However, a comparative approach is required.
Submission guidelines
Proposals for articles (3000 characters), together with a brief bibliography, must be sent as a .DOC or .RTF file to lgcrevue@gmail.com
by March 1, 2024 at the latest.
The contributor should send his/her personal presentation in a separate file. Selected articles must be sent by June 1, 2024.
We remind you that “TRANS-” Journal of general and comparative literature accepts articles written in French, English, Spanish and Italian. The Committee evaluates proposals according to their relevance to the call, the originality of their corpus, their comparative approach, or their quality of theoretical reflection on the proposed theme. Papers that have already been published (article, book, book chapter), including in another language, will not be considered.
Convenors
- Maéva BORIS (Sorbonne Nouvelle)
- Carola BORYS (Université de Sienne)
- My-Linh DANG (Sorbonne Nouvelle)
- Antoine DUCOUX (Sorbonne Nouvelle)
- Matilde MANARA (Université de Strasbourg)
- Davide MAGONI (Université de Sienne-Université de Lisbonne)
- Sana M’SELMI (Sorbonne Nouvelle-Université de Jendouba)
- Luca PENGE (Sorbonne Nouvelle-Université de Rome La Sapienza)
- Cécile ROUSSELET (Université Sorbonne-Nouvelle-Sorbonne-Université)
Subjects
- Language (Main category)
- Mind and language > Representation > Cultural history
Date(s)
- Friday, March 01, 2024
Keywords
- hybridité, hétérogénéité, métissage
Reference Urls
Information source
- Revue de littérature générale et comparée TRANS-
courriel : lgcrevue [at] proton [dot] me
License
This announcement is licensed under the terms of Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal.
To cite this announcement
« Hybridity », Call for papers, Calenda, Published on Thursday, February 01, 2024, https://doi.org/10.58079/vq9x