N.B.: I am posting this message on behalf of Harry Wonham. Please see
contact information at end of this message for queries.--K.B.

~~~~~

Mark Twain and Money: Call for contributions to a volume of new scholarly
essays

Questions about Mark Twain’s fascination with wealth have played a major
role in Twain criticism from the very beginning.  It might be argued, in
fact, that the foundational disagreement in Twain studies hinges on whether
his commercial inclinations fostered his artistic achievement (Bernard
DeVoto) or bastardized his talent (Van Wyck Brooks).  Rather than prolong
the biographical debate, this volume of original essays will draw on recent
work at the intersection of economic theory and literary studies (sometimes
referred to as the New Economic Criticism) to reevaluate and deepen our
understanding of Mark Twain’s complicated relationship with money and issues
of economy, broadly understood.  Topics of interest might include Twain’s
engagement with:

the profession of authorship

the literary marketplace

concepts of ownership

concepts of intellectual property, real property, and personhood

copyright law and theory

the nature of money and its relationship to art, literature, and
representation

debates about the gold and silver standards

the meaning and significance of debt, credit, and usury

commodities and the commodity form

production and consumption

economic panic and bankruptcy

Webster & Co.

investment and speculation

gender and/or masculinity in relation to economic forces and events

capitalism and capitalists

progressive politics, socialism, and the rights of workers

gift theory

the advertising industry

branding and marketing

the role of fraud in economic transactions/the role of hoax in literary
transactions

work and leisure

play (or childhood) in relation to economic structures and practices

Please send paper abstracts of 500 words and a working title to Harry Wonham
[log in to unmask] by January 1, 2014. Final essays will be between
6,000-8,000 words in length and should conform to the MLA documentation
style. Final papers will be due by September 1, 2014.  Questions, comments,
and suggestions should be directed to Harry Wonham, Department of English,
University of Oregon, Eugene, OR 97403 ( [log in to unmask] ).