CfP: Discourses of Madness
Literary artists and textualists have long been
fascinated by the alienated, the marginalized, the eccentric; intrigued, if not
befuddled, by their non-conformity, their recalcitrance, their obstinate
refusal to adhere; seized by their indifference to social norms and prescribed
dictates; lured, if not bemused, by their fundamental apartness or
uncompromising candor. In this optic, the non-clinical dimensions of madness
have been extensively explored in short stories, novels, poems, dramas,
comedies, treatises, exposés, essays, epistles, even in post-modern
counter-narratives masquerading as autobiographical memoirs. In consequence of
this critical and meta-critical abundance, it is not uncommon to discover
writings by scholars of the mind, specialists in applied psychiatric theory,
eager to proffer accounts of “textualized” insanity, its plethoric
configurations and manifestations.
In Michel Foucault’s seminal work, Madness and
Civilization: A History of Insanity in the Age of Reason (1961), and
throughout literary history, madness has been inextricably linked to myth and
religion, to societal practices and cultural biases. From Viking
berserkers to impassioned lovers in search of elusive soulmates, emotional
excess has often served to delineate norms and to assign diagnostic terms to
those who fall without prescribed, predisposed boundaries.
This Special Issue invites contributions that span
chronology, culture, and genre in an (individual and collective) attempt to
probe the depths of a heterogenous, yet ill-defined phenomenon that has
fascinated and perplexed writers and readers since the beginning of time.
Interdisciplinary and cross-cultural, the essays to inhabit this volume will
constitute a trans-temporal illumination—pathological and poetic—of discourse
and madness alike.
Notations
Contributions of 5000-12000 words are welcome
(although the merits of individual submissions will take precedence over essay
length).
While the publication deadline for submission to this
Special Issue is 30 June 2024, articles will be published online on a
contininuing basis - shortly after final acceptance. Thus, for example, a
paper accepted in April 2023, will be published online and in various formats
within ca. 10 days following final acceptance
*****
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in
to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form.
Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass
pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in
the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special
issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short
communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract
(about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this
website.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published
previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except
conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through
a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant
information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Humanities is
an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by
MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before
submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for
publication in this open access journal is 1400 CHF (Swiss
Francs).**** Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English.
Authors may use MDPI's EnglishCALL
****SPECIAL NOTE TO PROSPECTIVE CONTRIBUTORS:
ALL PROCESSING AND OTHER FEES FOR PAPERS ACCEPTED INTO THIS SPECIAL VOLUME WILL
BE WAIVED,. NO AUTHOR COSTS INCURRED.
Contact
Info:
Prof. Dr. Mary Jo Muratore Curators
Distinguished Professor, School of Languages, Literatures and Cultures,
University of Missouri, Columbia..