Catalan Sessions at the 116th MLA Annual Convention
by
Josep Miquel Sobrer
Indiana University
Will the new millennium usher in a renaissance in Catalan studies? Those
of us who attended the two Catalan sessions at the MLA convention in
Washington D.C. this past December will very likely think so. I for one
have seldom seen a concentration of such distinction in Catalanista
sessions at the MLA, and the organizers must be thanked for their
efforts and congratulated for their success.
Roman numerals I and II
followed the title of the sessions: "Catalonia; or, The Vitality of
the Periphery." The first was organized by Professor Bradley S.
Epps, of Harvard, who presided over three papers. Thomas Harrington, of
Trinity College, spoke on a certain political ideal, Iberianism, in a
number of Catalan writers: "The Iberian and European projections of
Catalanism, 1914-23." Joan Ramon Resina, of Cornell, spoke on
foreign views of the city in his "The International Construction of
Barcelona's modernity." Geraldine Cleary Nichols, of the University
of Florida, spoke on "Reading Reproduction" analyzing a number
of fictions, mostly written in Catalan and by women, in the ways they
portray the conceiving and bearing of children, comparing such data with
actual sociological studies of reproduction in Catalonia during the
twentieth-century. All three papers provoked thoughtful and lively
response from a numerically strong audience which was left in no doubt
about the vitality of Catalonia -whether it is a periphery or not.
The
second session having been scheduled at 8:30 on the morning of Saturday,
December 30th, saw a smaller, though not less enthusiastic, number of
attendees. This session had been organized by Sharon Feldman, of the
University of Richmond, and was to be presided by Jaume Martí-Olivella,
of SUNY Albany. Family matters prevented Jaume from attending the MLA
and, in his absence, I did my best to serve in a presiding capacity.
Unfortunately, and also because of a family emergency, Geoffrey Ribbans,
of Brown, was also unable to attend and give his paper. Sharon Feldman
spoke on "The Transnationalization of the Catalan Stage"
pointing out the accomplishments and challenges of today's Catalan
theater, both textual and text-free, and both from the point of view of
literary production and political pressures. Josep-Anton Fernández, of
the University of London (UK), spoke on "The Living Dead of the
Periphery; or, The Catalans as Monsters" centering on Joan
Perucho's 1960 novel Les histňries naturals. Ensuing discussion in its
liveliness began to impinge on the session that was to follow.
The first
of the "Catalonia" encounters was followed by an informal
gathering of NACS members and friends chaired by Kathleen McNerney, our
president. Discussion about NACS role within MLA was discussed briefly
and it was felt that the issue merits serious attention at our
forthcoming Desč Col.loqui in Providence (which, by the way, shows all
the signs of becoming a memorable one). Those of us who participated in
that informal meeting were disheartened to see that some colleagues who
had criticized the organization of the MLA 2000 sessions did not attend
them, even though they had come to the convention, and did not join us
to plan ahead. Given the pressing constraints of MLA organization, and
encouraged by the success of the session we had just heard, the group
went ahead to organize another two sessions for the MLA 2001 which will
be held in New Orleans. Brad Epps and Tom Harrington graciously agreed
to put together a program. Announcements and calls for papers will be
published in the regular MLA channels.
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