Society for Novel Studies (Vancouver, BC; 13-16 May 2027)

The organizer seeks papers that apply Red Reading to twentieth- and twenty-first century novels. The literary canon has been expanded brilliantly in the last few decades, and literary critical approaches have shifted away from modes of corrosive critique. There remains however, a dearth of work grounded in Indigenous epistemologies and critical approaches. As an initial response to this gap, this panel seeks to test Red Reading’s utility for studies of the novel.

Red reading is one of the most exciting new literary critical methods to emerge in this century. First coined in 2010 Jill Carter the term “Red Reading” has been echoed in different frames by Daniel Heath Justice and James H. Cox, worked out in medieval contexts by Brenna Duperon, and consolidated in a 2018 issue of transmotion edited by Scott Andrews. Most simply, it entails bringing Indigenous approaches to bear on non-Indigenous texts, placing “native perspectives at the center of the discussion,” asking new questions of the canon, and drawing non-Indigenous texts into Indigenous epistemological, ethical, and historical frameworks (Andrews ii). It goes beyond just adding Indigenous texts to existing studies and courses to advance a new way of reading that shifts the entire frame of reference. Importantly, Red Reading’s early adopters have urged non-Indigenous scholars to use it, making it accessible to scholars of all identities.

Potential prompts:

•     How can Indigenous modes of thinking about story and narrative change the critical reception of modern novels?

•     What would it look like to apply Indigenous epistemologies to canonical texts?

•     What can we learn about modern novels by taking a Red Reading approach?

•     How can Red Reading help us both decolonize the curriculum and advance the goals of reconciliation?

•     What are the stakes of taking a non-Western, Indigenous approach to reading modern novels?

•     Are the lessons of postcolonialism and decolonial studies applicable here? Or does red reading constitute something different?

•     Is the modern novel itself amenable to a Red Reading approach, or is it an ideological form that remains alien to Indigenous epistemologies?

Queries and 250 word abstracts should be addressed to Stephen Ross at saross@uvic.ca. Deadline for receipt of abstracts is November 1, 2026.