CALL FOR PAPERS: SAMLA, ATLANTA, NOVEMBER 15-17, 2019

https://samla.memberclicks.net/samla-91-2019

ABOUT WOMEN AND THE WORKPLACE, FROM ANNIE EMAUX TO ALICE ZENITER
Nora Cottille-Foley - WOMEN IN FRENCH 

In the last 25 years, the workplace has become increasingly important in literary narratives.
The role of women in the professional world is well represented in works of fiction by Annie
Ernaux, Marie Ndiaye, and Maylis de Kerangal. Women workers also appear prominently in
novels authored by Lydie Salvayre (1993, 2010), Marie Darrieussecq (1996, 2016), Amélie
Nothomb (1999), Delphine de Vigan (2009, 2018), Nathalie Kuperman (2010), Florence
Aubenas (2010), Véronique Ovaldé (2013), Alice Zeniter (2015, 2017) Leila Slimani (2016),
Emilie Guillaumin (2016), Catherine Poulain (2016, 2018), and Camille Laurens (2017), to
name but a few.

These novels and narratives address various topics including poverty, gender inequalities
as well as psychological and sexual violence. Contemporary works of fiction by women
often attempt to reclaim the workplace as one belonging equally to all, regardless of
assumptions about gender. Narratives describe the work place as a disputed site replete
with various forms of political engagement. The struggle for better wages and work
conditions as well as the acquisition of new work skills can herald new forms of heroism.
Here we will seek to understand what is at stake in literary representations of women in the
world of business.
 
Please send a 200-word abstract in English or French to Nora Cottille-Foley, Georgia
Institute of Technology, drncf@gatech.edu by May 15, 2019 along with presenter’s
academic affiliation, contact information, as well as a short biography and A/V
requirements.