American Name Society Panel at the Modern Languages Association Annual Meeting January 3-6, 2013 Boston, Massachusetts (USA)
In conjunction with the M.L.A., the American Name Society is pleased to announce its second call for critical papers on literary onomastics (the study of names and naming in literature). From character names, place names, author names, and literary pseudonyms, to the names of literary works themselves (e.g. novels, novellas, plays, poetry, autobiographies, etc.), paper proposals dealing with names of any and all types are warmly welcomed. Furthermore, as we are committed to representing the international diversity of modern literary onomastics, the call is open to all periods, genres, and literary works from around the world. Proposed papers may either focus on a single work or on a body of work by one or more authors.
Possible topics for submission include the following:

• comparative literature, names, and naming
• the importance of names and naming in children’s literature
• critical theory and the analysis of the literary form and/or function of names
• literary translation, names, and naming
• the etymology of names in literature
• name symbolism in literature
• pedagogical strategies for heightening students’ appreciation of literary names and naming
• the issue of (re)naming and the rewriting classics for modern audiences
• fact vs. fiction: the legal and moral issues involved of naming names within (auto)biographical works
• social, political, and historical importance of names and naming in literature
• the effect of names and naming in combating and//or reinforcing readers’ stereotypes

Interested authors are requested to submit their 250 word abstract and completed information sheet by February 15, 2012 to Dr. I. M. Laversuch at mavi.yaz@web.de. To download the official information sheet, please visit the official ANS website at the following address: http://www.wtsn.binghamton.edu/ans/

All submissions must be in English and conform to the MLA stylistic regulations. If you should have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me at the above web address. Please note that you do not need to be a member of the American Name Society to submit an abstract. However, if your paper is accepted for presentation, you must become a member in order to present in our panel.