1st IASA EMERGING SCHOLARS’ CONFERENCE

The history of literature is also the history of the evolution of the technologies used to produce, distribute, and consume it. The appearance of new technologies and media affecting traditional understandings of reading and of the object “book” is welcomed by some as the sign of literature’s inherent vitality and innovation, and perceived by others as a threat. Kathleen Fitzpatrick argues that the anxieties generated by the emergence of new digital technologies since the postwar era are rooted in the conception of the book as a symbol of a vestigial order of which literary critics and scholars consider themselves masters and protectors. From this perspective, the loss of the print book becomes a metonym for the institutions that underpin it and, consequently, bears an intimate connection with the loss of the (writing, reading, and interpreting) self, of the whole of culture that the printed book has historically represented (2002: 556).

Despite the admonishments of the detractors of digital technologies, nothing has so far managed to annihilate either the print book or literature as we know it. Rather, works of literature have further cemented their function as mirrors and/or constructors of reality by engaging with the digitalization process. Today, a proliferation of websites and applications allows amateur writers to divulge their texts and receive feedback from an equally transforming class of readers. Conventional publishers and professional writers also explore these new literary forms and venues, as demonstrated by the increasing cases of bestsellers that originated as works of fanfiction or canonical authors’ experimentations with digital technologies.

Furthermore, a whole range of literary forms and frameworks are arising and developing exclusively online. The Horror and Mystery genres are exemplary in this context, with the development of Alternate Reality Games (ARGs), SCP Foundation Stories, The Backrooms Narrative Universe, and Analog Horror (see the works by Patrick Jagoda and Valentina Tanni), all of which blend transmedia storytelling with interactive participation, further blurring the boundaries between reality and fiction. These forms, inextricably linked to their cyber-media of origin, prompt critical inquiry within the field of fiction studies (Fançoise Lavocat, Marie-Laure Ryan, Jesper Juul, Hilary Dannenberg) and intersect with the development of forms of Ergodic Literature (Espen J. Aarseth). The literary forms emerging in these circles respond to their media environment evolving in unforeseen ways for which the category of hypertext, prominent in the 1990s and early 2000s, fails to fully account. Their palimpsest shifts, and with it their semiotic reach, touching on forms such as documentality, minimalism and their opposites, all within a cultural context that is often highly participatory and takes full advantage of the medium’s technical and material capacities.

Finally, digital and information technologies can be transformative tools not only in the literary field, but also for scholarly work in history and sociology, where they amplify the possibilities of recovering the stories of marginalized communities and bring them to the attention of wider audiences, for example through projects of public engagement or in educational contexts. At the same time, the full scope of representation in these narrative environments in relation to race, gender, ability, age and sexuality is still (and for obvious reasons of magnitude) largely unexplored, as is the entire social makeup and structuring in which each of these forms develops its technical means. This constitutes a challenge to finding new multidisciplinary ways to assess data across the humanities spectrum.

As “online narrations” and literature “outside the page” evolve largely beyond academic channels, they have begun to construct their canons (or anti-canons) and develop autonomously. They forge and undo their own discourses, constructing and deconstructing their own criticism and institutions. This evolution is taking place across dedicated platforms such as Subreddits, Unfiction and Wattpad, which dramatically expand the circulation, reach, and modes of participation available within their respective communities. Within the context of American Studies, many questions arise. Can a narration that develops online be considered as from the Americas? If so, to what extent? Are these forms utilized equally and in the same way by all the identities that make up American cultures? If not, why? What are our means of assessing whether they are? What can academic perspectives from outside the Americas contribute to the readings and interpretations of these narratives?

In light of these questions, we invite scholars representing disciplines including, but not limited to, literary studies, (new) media, communication and game studies, cultural studies, international politics, ethnology, anthropology, sociology, religious studies, history, and cultural geography to contribute papers that explore the multifaceted nature of digital and/or online literature, both in the context of the US and of hemispheric and transoceanic relations of the Americas.

-Digital Humanities and American Studies: Exploring online/digital narratives of American politics

-Digital literature in the context of environmental crises

-The impact of social media (e.g., BookTok, Reddit, Wattpad) on the publication industry)

-Emerging genres primarily developing online: This includes phenomena like ARGs, Two-Sentence Horror, and fanfiction.

-The impact of AI and digital literature on the book market and scholarship across disciplines

-The position of digital narratives in reinforcing or challenging forms of marginalization, particularly in relation to issues of representation, identity, access, digital literacy, and inclusion (across axes such as gender, race, class, ability, and sexuality)

-Digital narratives of war and the Americas, including representations in video games and their cultural implications

-Autonomous online literary spaces: the emergence of canons, anti-canons, and participative culture in the digital realm

-Approaches to teaching and analyzing digital/online literature

-Digital Literature Theory

We welcome proposals for 20-minute presentations. Submissions are open to graduate and post-graduate students as well as to early-career researchers (within 5 years post-Ph.D.). Please send submissions as an attached Word document to: iasa.emerging.scholars@gmail.com

Submissions MUST include the Author’s:

1) First and last names

2) Institutional affiliation

4) Email address

5) Academic disciplines

6) Presentation title

7) 250-300 word abstract

8) 100-150 word biographical note

9) Keywords

Abstract Submission Deadline: July 15, 2025

Acceptance Intimations: August 15, 2025

Registration and Conference Fee Payment Deadline: September 15, 2025

Final Program: October 10, 2025

Conference Dates: October 24-25, 2025

Dr. Olga Akroyd, PhD (University of Kent, England)

Dr. Duygu Beste Başer, Hacettepe University, Türkiye

Dr. Avani Bhatnagar, University of Delhi, India

Mariya Dogan, Hacettepe University, Türkiye

Dr. Emilio Gianotti, PhD (University of Urbino, Italy)

Dr. Yesmina Khedhir, PhD (University of Debrecen, Hungary)

Abdülsamet Köseoğlu, Hacettepe University, Türkiye

Aylin Pekanık, Hacettepe University, Türkiye

Dr. Elisa Pesce, PhD (University of Glasgow, Scotland)

Dr. Sara Ricetti, PhD (University of Sapienza, Italy & University of Silesia, Poland)

Ahmad Ishtiaque Tapadar, Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, India

Şevval Tufan, Hacettepe University, Türkiye