Meghan Hodges (Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College)
mber@****.com (Log-in to reveal)

Evolving out of cultural studies, island and archipelagic studies have spurred a conversation regarding the connection between geography and culture. This panel welcomes submissions in the field of archipelagic and island studies and is particularly interested in papers exploring methods of geographical thought, the relationship between geography and culture, in the US South. Comparative papers are especially welcomed.

Edouard Glissant and Michael Wiedorn call us to “think” with or like a geography. Evolving out of cultural studies, island and archipelagic studies have spurred a conversation regarding the connection between geography and culture. While Glissant and Wiedorn were particularly preoccupied with thinking (like) an archipelago, it is possible yet to conceive of other modes of geographical thought. Transatlantic, island, and even aquatic matrices of culture and geography have been well documented and studied. This panel welcomes submissions in the field of archipelagic and island studies and is particularly interested in papers exploring methods of geographical thought, the relationship between geography and culture, in the US South. This region, whose geography is varied and whose history is complex, remains to be critically considered. The most recent and perhaps a seminal text of contemporary geographical thought, Borderwaters (Roberts 2021) mentions only casually the value of applying the theories to this region, oftentimes consumed by its relationship to water, if not by water itself. Despite what may be considered a call to action by Roberts, the US South and its cultural products broadly remain to be examined through this lens.