Mester XXXVII

2008

Writing and Rewriting:
The Dynamics of Competing Voices

The relation between or among the pluralistic discourses that represent the complex as well as broad Spanish, Spanish American, Portuguese, and Brazilian social spectrum, has often been presented as polar, binary, top-down (center vs. periphery and dominant vs. marginal). However, this power paradigm has been increasingly challenged and revised as critics have begun to appreciate and emphasize negotiations as a crucial component in the dynamics of competing voices. But are negotiations always viable? If not, why not? If so, to what extent? What are the negotiations that take place? Or, are there alternative models with which to discuss the dynamics of competing voices? What are they?

 In this Special Issue, Mester, the graduate student academic journal of the Department of Spanish and Portuguese, invites scholars in the fields of Spanish, Spanish American, Luso-Brazilian, and Latino/a literatures and linguistics to submit articles exploring and reflecting on this topic, preferably but not exclusively, in relation to the questions posited above.

 Possible areas of interest include, but are by no means limited to, the following: Gender and Sexuality, Ethnicity, Religion, (Visual) Art, Geopolitics, Social History and Economics. 

 Articles may be written in Spanish, Portuguese, or English. Publication decisions are based solely on the quality of manuscripts, which undergo triple-blind review.    

 To be considered for publication, manuscripts should follow closely these guidelines:

• Have no fewer than 15 (3750 words) and no more than 25 double-spaced pages (8000 words), including endnotes and Works Cited (the bibliography should start on a new page).
• Use Times New Roman font, size 12 point, and number all pages, including the bibliography.
• Follow the conventions of the most current edition of the MLA Style Manual.
• Please do not write your name on the manuscripts but include it in your cover letter along with the title of your article, your institutional affiliation, e-mail, work and/or home address.
• Reviews for works published within the past year are accepted for the following categories: academic books, linguistics, film and fiction. Reviews should be between 500 and 1,200 words in length. Publishers and authors are welcome to submit books for possible selection.
• Please send complete submissions electronically (via e-mail) and use Microsoft Word 95 or higher.
• -Submissions that are being considered by another journal or any other publisher are not accepted.

 

The deadline is 5 March 2008, but early submissions are encouraged.

Please forward all materials or questions to:

Mester
Attn: Laura Lee, Editor-in-Chief
llee@humnet.ucla.edu
Department of Spanish and Portuguese, UCLA