Call for Papers

C. S. Lewis, his Friends and Associates: Questions of Identity

2 & 3 June 2011, Lille Catholic University, France.

Although certain aspects of C. S. Lewis's work have been studied in great detail, others have been comparatively neglected. In this international conference, the first of its kind to be held in France, we hope to look at Lewis's life and work, and those of his friends and associates, from many different angles.

Questions of identity are essential to the understanding of any writer. The ways authors perceive themselves and who they are, the communities they belong to by birth or choice, inevitably influence their work. The way they present other people, real or fictional, may also be rooted in their own conception of identity. We are therefore seeking for papers which examine gender and family roles, national, regional, racial or professional identities, membership of a particular church, movement or club, ideological or political attachments, descriptions of oneself (eg. dinosaur, Old Western Man) either with regard to Lewis and those who knew him or in a study of their writings. Among Lewis's friends and associates we would include his brother Warnie, his wife Joy, J.R.R. Tolkien, Charles Williams, Dorothy L. Sayers, T.S. Eliot, Ruth Pitter, Austin Farrar and Owen Barfield, but would also consider studies of anyone who worked with Lewis or who influenced him. Comparative studies of Lewis and another writer are also possible.

Please send propositions for papers (200 to 300 words) to Suzanne Bray ( Cette adresse e-mail est protégée contre les robots des spammeurs, vous devez activer Javascript pour la voir. ) by June 15, 2010. Papers may be given in French or English.

Academic Panel: David Downing (Elizabethtown College, Pennsylvania), William Gray (University of Chichester), Suzanne Bray (Lille Catholic University).

If you wish to attend the conference, use this form on line or please download the application form.

Useful informations : please download this PDF file.