Jorge Luis Borges (1899-1986) — or Borges, as hepreferred to be called — was undeniably the fatherof the revolution that took place in the 1950sand 1960s in Latin American fiction. As GeorgeMcMurray states, “his metaphysical themesand stylistic innovations inspired” a youngergeneration of writers to abandon local realism andmessages of social protest for topics with greaterphilosophical content and aesthetic worth. Asophisticated reader, he turned his mind into hislibrary. And in that library, he found the refuge heneeded. Confronted with the chaos of the world, hechose the orderliness of books and, confrontedwith reality, he renounced it because of itsimpenetrable nature. He — or his other — wrotestories about other stories, and fiction aboutother fiction. And he — or his other — restoredimagination as a major fictional ingredient in LatinAmerican literature.

The Hofstra Cultural Center is proud to celebratethe 110th anniversary of Borges’ birth with a two-dayconference of presentations and discussions on theessence and legacy of his canonical fictive prose.

Call for Papers

Hofstra Cultural Centerpresents

Borges and Us: Then and AlwaysFriday and SaturdayNovember 13 and 14, 2009

SUGGESTED TOPICS4Borges on Borges4Borges and Schopenhauer4Borges, Chesterton and the Detective Genre4Borges as Amanuensis4Borges’ Universe: Pantheism, Eternal Return, and Circular Time4Borges’ Idealism4Borges’ Rejection of Universal Values4Borges and the Role of Irony in His Fictive Prose4Borges: His Followers; His Critics4Paradox as a Fundamental Element in Borges’ Narratives4Cross-Pollination: On the Merging of Essay and Fiction in Borges’ Prose4The Double and the Mirror Image in Borges’ Stories4Borges’ Parodical Demystifications of Onetime Paradigms4Borges’ Views on the Gaucho’s Primal Code of Courage and Manliness4Allusions and Echoes in Borges’ Fiction4Books, Labyrinths and Tigers in Borges’ Narratives4Borges’ Views of Reality and the Writer's Inability to Grasp It4The Philosophy of the Absurd in Borges’ Fiction4Borges’ First-Person Narrator4The Quest’s Sundry Faces in Borges’ Short Stories

CONFERENCE COORDINATORS

Natalie DatlofExecutive DirectorHofstra Cultural Center

Conference Director:Dr. Nora de Marval-McNair, Professor of Spanish

Hofstra University

If accepted, final papers (limited to 12 typed pages, double-spaced,excluding notes, and in duplicate) are due by August 1, 2009. Previouslypresented papers or published materials may not be submitted.

Presentation time for papers is limited to 20 minutes. Notification of acceptance will be sent by March 16, 2009.

Conference on BorgesHofstra Cultural Center113 Hofstra UniversityHempstead, NY 11549-1130Tel: (516) 463-5669 Fax: (516) 463-4793hofstra.edu/cultureElectronic submissions should be sent to: hofculctr@hofstra.edu

4 PLEASE POST

A letter of intent, a two-page abstract (in English or Spanish) and acurriculum vitae must be received by January 5, 2009, and should be sent to:

Athelene A. CollinsSenior Associate DirectorHofstra Cultural Center

Non-Profit Org.U.S. Postage

PAIDHofstra University

12530/9:08

Hofstra University continues its commitment to extending equal opportunity to all qualified individuals without regard to race,color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, age, national or ethnic origin, physical or mental disability, marital or veteran status in theconduct and operation of its educational programs and activities, including admission and employment.

Hempstead, New York 11549

Borges and Us: Then and AlwaysFriday and SaturdayNovember 13 and 14, 2009

Hofstra Cultural Centerpresents

Borges and Us:Then and AlwaysFriday and SaturdayNovember 13 and 14, 2009

Cover image: Courtesy of Peter and Jackie Main

HOFSTRA CULTURAL CENTER113 Hofstra UniversityHempstead, New York 11549-1130

Call for Papers