Marginalized Voices: The Representation of Peripheral Life in Literature

The representation of lives on the outskirts of society has been a staple of twentieth and twenty-first century media. From the romantic antiheroes to oppressed communities, the representations of peripheral lives have become ingrained in literature, cinema and the art world. The seminar proposes to explore the different approaches with which peripheral lives are represented and the consequences of representation. Representation has the power of amplifying the voices of marginalized groups, challenging dominant narratives and offering alternative perspectives, but also have the power of reaffirming a central narrative against which to read the marginalized, or reinforcing stereotypes with the risk of swapping the center for the margins and vice versa. The underlying risk of such interpretations is the implicit confirmation of a center and margins as existing in a clearcut dichotomical opposition, in a tautological and self-serving repetition of othering processes. The seminar would like to explore the ways in which center and periphery narratives work, reify and relate to each other. Moreover, the seminar would like to inquire the ways in which representation influences the narratives of the marginalized lives that are its subject in a cycle of representation and perpetuation, and explore the intersections of identity, power, and representation.

We invite submissions that engage with peripheral experiences from all backgrounds and perspectives. Possible topics include but are not limited to:
• Representations of race, gender, sexuality, class, and disability in literature, music, cinema and other arts.
• The impact of marginalized representation on readers
• The relationship between literature and social change