CFP: Delta Symposium XXXII “Disasters — Remembering, Reclaiming, Rebuilding”

Arkansas State University’s Department of English, Philosophy, and World Languages has opened a call for papers and presentations for the 32nd annual Delta Symposium on April 7–10, 2027. The Delta Symposium features a wide variety of scholarship and creative work that focuses on the Delta’s history and culture. Individual and panel presentations on topics relevant to the history and culture of the Arkansas and Mississippi Deltas and surrounding regions are welcome. The symposium is an in-person event held at the university; however, online options are available for presenters who cannot attend in person.

Special consideration will be given to proposals that address this year’s theme of “Disasters — Remembering, Reclaiming, Rebuilding.” This theme was sparked by the hundred-year anniversary of the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927. The event is a defining element of 20th century history, and the symposium organizers invite contemporary research on the cataclysm.

Focusing on the event’s history can provide new insights into the region, but what of its legacy? In addition to the 1927 flood, the Delta has also endured other calamities, including earthquakes, infestations, tornadoes, and other human-made disasters. How is historical memory connected to contemporary ways we commemorate these events? How did the rebuilding of cities, towns, and landscape reclaim what was lost? What has irrevocably been lost?

The coordinating committee invites presenters to contribute perspectives from a wide range of interests. This year’s theme lends itself well to presentations from the region’s early history to contemporary times. The Delta Symposium features presentations from fields such as literary criticism, cultural studies, history, anthropology, folklore, ethnomusicology, sociology, speech communication, arts and art history, and heritage studies.

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 2027 event will conclude on Saturday 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 December 18, 2026. 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 (2 pages max). Please include your address, phone number, e-mail address, and the technical needs for your presentation. Proposals can be sent through regular mail or via e-mail.

Delta Symposium Committee
c/o Dr. Gregory Hansen, Dr. Kristen Ruccio, and Leslie Reed, Tri-Coordinators
ghansen@AState.edu
kruccio@AState.edu
lreed@astate.edu