Weather will be Theme for 29th Annual Delta Symposium in 2024
JONESBORO – Organizers have issued a call for papers and presentations for the 29th annual Delta Symposium at Arkansas State University.
The Department of English, Philosophy and World Languages, the primary sponsor, has selected “Talking About the Weather” as the theme for the April 3-6, 2024, event. The Delta Symposium, which features a variety of scholarship and creative work that focuses on the Delta’s history and culture, has for many years been a spring semester tradition at A-State.
Individual and panel presentations on topics relevant to the history and culture of the Arkansas and Mississippi Deltas and surrounding regions are welcome. Although the sessions will be held at the university, options will be available for online presentations by those who cannot attend in person.
“Special consideration will be given to proposals that specifically address this year's theme of ‘Talking About the Weather,’ ” noted Dr. Gregory Hansen, chair of the Delta Symposium committee. “How do beliefs about the weather influence culture and history? How are those in a range of disciplines engaged with consequences of climate change? How is weather a presence in song lyrics and poetry?”
This year’s theme also is connected to the 2024 Great American Eclipse which will occur the following week. The symposium will include presentations on weather and climate by researchers from a range of disciplines and professions. Presentations will include consideration of how weather is relevant to fiction and non-fiction writing.
The theme will provide opportunities to connect with researchers, writers and artists from fields as diverse as meteorology, climatology and related disciplines in the humanities and social sciences.
“The coordinating committee is especially interested in proposals that explore how weather and climate are directly addressed in a range of fields that have contributed to past symposia,” Hansen added.
Although proposals that have direct connections to Arkansas and the Delta are especially welcome, more general proposals that address the theme within Southern history, culture and heritage will be considered. The 2024 event will conclude on Saturday, April 6, with the Arkansas Roots Music Festival through continued support from KASU 91.9 FM and A-State’s Heritage Sites.
The deadline for entries is Dec. 18, 2023. Each entry should consist of the following: presenter’s name and affiliation and a 150-word abstract of the presentation as well as a current vita (two pages maximum). Submissions should include the presenter’s address, phone number, email address and the technical needs for the presentation. Details are online at AState.edu/a/delta-symposium.
Entries should be mailed to Delta Symposium Committee, c/o Dr. Gregory Hansen, chair, Arkansas State University, Department of English, Philosophy and World Languages, P.O. Box 1890, State University, AR 72467. Questions may be addressed to Hansen, ghansen@AState.edu.
Delta Symposium XXIX will be April 3-6, 2024.
