*Women Write the New World
*For centuries German speaking women have interacted with the Americas 
and have transformed these interactions into literature. They have 
connected to the New World by reading about it, migrating to it, 
traveling to it, fantasizing about it, and re-creating connections in 
their writing which shape the New World. If one raises the question as 
to why these women have written the Americas, one detects that their 
writing is a reaction to events such as the French Revolution, and that 
they have often times constructed the Americas as an idyllic safe place 
from which to imagine their own country, thus as a kind of “open” space.

This panel seeks to investigate the ways in which German-speaking women 
have represented the Americas, that is the ways in which German-speaking 
women imagine/idealize/ lionize/project upon/fear/ridicule/reject the 
American phenomena that they encounter. This may include a discussion of 
the transnational, colonial, the post-colonial, de-colonial, or utopian 
elements found in these writings.

The questions and issues in which we are interested include, but are not 
limited to the following:

    * How does the theory or performance of gender influence these texts?
    * How does each woman connect with the new world? Is there an
      element of “Neuglanz” vs. “Irrglanz”?
    * Is her America an ideological vehicle, or does the author attempt
      to approach the landscape and culture on its own terms?
    * Is there a specific way female writers encounter and make sense of
      the New World? How does the choice of genre, such as erotic poetry
      or film comedy, limit or expand the text?
    * What are the tropes of the “new” as reflected in religion, race,
      class, or gender?
    * The “frontier” as a place of democratization and emancipation for
      women. Is it a „Land der unbegrenzten Möglichkeiten“ and/or a
      „Land ohne Gnade“?

Possible authors to consider (but not limited to) are: Maria Sybille 
Merian, Sophie von La Roche, Alice Schalek, Christine Holstein, Inge von 
Wiese, Irmgard Keun, Hanna Arendt, Judith Hermand, Anna Mitgutsch.

Please e-mail a 250-500 word abstract including to both panel organizers 
by March 15, 2009. Feel free to contact us with any questions.

Denise M. Della Rossa, University of Notre Dame ([log in to unmask] 
<mailto:[log in to unmask]>)
Ute Bettray, University of Connecticut, Storrs 
([log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>)

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