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Lusophone Studies Association Inaugural Conference
Exploring the Crossroads and Perspectives of Lusophone Studies
October 30th and October 31st, 2013 - York University, Toronto, Canada

There are approximately 250 million speakers of Portuguese in the world today, in nations and territories such as Brazil, Portugal, Angola, Mozambique, Guiné-Bissau, Cape Verde, São Tomé and Príncipe, Macau, East Timor, Goa, Daman and Diu. Immigrants from these nations are also scattered in large communities throughout the world, with major concentrations in the United States, Canada, France and other European destinations. Lusophone Studies (the study of this Portuguese-speaking world) is a broad interdisciplinary area that includes the many crossroads, perspectives, and contexts, which have contributed to this diaspora and to the Portuguese language today being the 6th most spoken in the world and the 3rd most spoken in the western hemisphere. Both in terms of historical past and contemporary settings, Lusophone lives have been molded by many factors that range from historical, social, political and economic circumstances, to established and new migration patterns between Lusophone and non-Lusophone countries. The outcome is visible in both geographical and ethnocultural development of many lLsophone identities that intersect in many countries. Lusophone studies focuses on these perspectives and intersections in interdisciplinary ways, in order to create an inclusive study of current issues and viewpoints which relate to this historical legacy. Until recently, this body of scholarship had been largely ignored, in Canada. In order to address this omission, the newly created Lusophone Studies Association ? the first of its kind in this country - is holding its inaugural conference at York University in the fall of 2013.  The conference seeks to gather all those interested in Lusophone Studies by offering a forum to encourage current and new debates in this emerging area of scholarship.

The organizing committee is seeking individual papers, workshop panels and roundtable presentations on various aspects of Lusophone Studies. Five central areas will be examined:

1.       The present and future of Lusophone Studies: crossroads and perspectives.
2.       Historical evolution of the Lusophone world.
3.       Exploring Lusophone literatures, linguistics, and language.
4.       Studying the geopolitical Lusophone world.
5.       Contextualizing contemporary lusophone societies, migration, and identities.
6.       Lusophone survival within host-country.

Other themes related will also be considered.

A 300 word abstract, in MS Word or RTF format, should be submitted by Monday, February 4, 2013.  Please use plain text, Times New Roman font, size 12. Avoid using footnotes, special formatting, characters, or emphases, such as bold, italics or underline. E-mail subject-lines should be entitled: Exploring the Crossroads and Perspectives of Lusophone Studies.Please indicate if you are proposing an individual paper, workshop panel or a roundtable presentation. Individual papers are formal papers to be presented in workshop panels; workshop panels are thematic panels comprised of 3 to 4 workshop papers; rountable presentations are shorter reflection papers (maximum 10 minutes), designed to promote discussion on specific topics, in informal roundtables. Abstracts must contain the following information in the order below:

1.       author(s)
2.       affiliation
3.       email address
4.       title of abstract
5.       body of abstract
6.       if proposal is for individual paper, workshop panel, or for roundtable presentation

Please direct your submissions to The Lusophone Studies Association at lsa@yorku.ca. We will acknowledge receipt of all proposals. If you do not receive a reply within one week, please contact Professor Kenedy (rkenedy@yorku.ca) to confirm receipt of your submission.  We look forward to receiving your abstracts.

Robert A. Kenedy, PhD
Associate Professor
Department of Sociology, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies
York University

Fernando Nunes, PhD
Assistant Professor
Department of Child and Youth Study, Faculty of Professional Studies
Mount Saint Vincent University

Maria João Dodman, PhD
Assistant Professor
Department of Languages, Literatures and Linguistics, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies
York University