CFP NO. 4
Literary Cavell
In what sense is Cavell’s work indebted to literature, or literary precursors? While much is made of his writings on Shakespeare, Cavell has other literary interests manifested in writings on the Romantic poets (In Quest for the Ordinary, particularly his reading of Kant and Coleridge), 19th/20th century playwrights (Ibsen, Shaw, Beckett), and a sparse scattering of prose on a select cadre of novelists (Austen, Dickens, James, for example).
For the fourth issue of Conversations, we seek submissions that engage with Cavell’s literary influences and influence, and pose the question of whether Cavell is reading literature philosophically or whether he is reading philosophy like literature, or whether, indeed, it is profitable to pose such questions at all. Where do Emerson and Thoreau fit into this discussion? Possible topics include:
- Philosophical versus literary romanticism
- Cavell and Austen and Austin
- Ordinary language and the theatre
- Wittgenstein as literature
- Philosophy and close reading
- Freudian close reading
- Literary transcendentalism
- Style and literary expression
- Cavellian Shakespeare
We also welcome shorter essays and responses that directly address Cavell’s concluding question to The Claim of Reason.
Papers should be approximately 6000 words, including footnotes, and must follow the notes and bibliography citation system described in The Chicago Manual of Style. Shorter, more intimate pieces of around 1200 words are also acceptable. Please email complete articles to Amir Khan at akhan134@uottawa.ca. If submitting via the online user interface, please notify one of the managing editors in a separate email. All submissions due September 15th, 2015.
