UA Hosts 28th Annual World Literature Conference

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The Southern Comparative Literature Association will hold its 28th annual conference on The University of Alabama campus Oct. 10-12, 2002.

The conference is entitled “What is Literature/Qu’est-ce que la littérature? The conference will open with a panel discussion of comparative literature and world literature as a preliminary investigation of French philosopher Sartre’s question: Qu’est-ce que la littérature?

Dr. Elaine Martin, associate professor of German and director of the World Literature Program at UA, will moderate the panel. The panel will be held Thursday, Oct. 10, at 7:30 p.m. at the Sheraton Four Points, Murphy/Gayle Room.

A second session features Dr. David Damrosch, Columbia University professor and president of the American Comparative Literature Association, speaking on “What is World Literature?” Friday, Oct. 11 at 4:30 p.m. in the Sheraton Four Points, Murphy/Gayle Room.

Of most interest to the general public will be the Inter-Arts performance on Friday at 8 p.m. in the small concert hall of the Moody Music Building. It will combine music and a variety of readings.

Conferees will be in Tuscaloosa from across the country and around the world. The aim of the SCLA is the support and strengthening of comparative literature studies in American colleges and universities throughout the South and elsewhere.

The College of Arts and Sciences is UA’s largest division and the largest public liberal arts college in the state, with approximately 5,000 undergraduate and 1,000 graduate students. The College has received national recognition for academic excellence, and A&S students have been selected for many of the nation’s top academic honors, including 15 Rhodes Scholarships, 13 Goldwater Scholarships, seven Truman Scholarships and 11 memberships on USA Today’s Academic All-American teams.