International Association for the Fantastic in the Arts

Call For Papers: International Vampire Film and Arts Festival – 25-28 May 2017

The second annual International Vampire Film and Arts Festival will take place in Sighisoara in Transylvania, Romania, on May 25th – 28th, 2017.

Conference Theme: CHILDREN OF THE NIGHT: The Vampire Across Popular Culture
Sponsor: Seton Hill University

This call for papers is for scholars interested in presenting their work in the academic symposium that runs alongside the Festival (in association with Seton Hill University).
From horrific monsters to romantic heroes, on cereal boxes and in video games, the vampire is a figure that appears everywhere in popular culture today. What makes the vampire so appealing across so many media, and so many genres? How are creative writers and filmmakers employing the figure within popular genres, and how does it effect our conception of those genres? What accounts for this Gothic character’s undying popular appeal, even in today’s postmodern, digital, commercialized world? How does vampirism circulate within and comment upon mass culture?

This session invites papers in genre theory, transmedia, adaptation, folklore, the transformative arts and other areas of film, literary and cultural studies in order to explore the various appearances of vampires in pop culture, and to unfold the significance of this eternally vibrant character in diverse texts worldwide. Papers would be selected to broadly represent different examples, emphasizing the cultural significance of the vampire.
Proposals for single 20-minute papers or pre-constituted panels (of 3 x 20-minute papers) on the conference theme are now welcomed from scholars. Possible topics may include (but are not limited to) the following:

+ Remakes and Remixes of Stoker’s Dracula or other conventional vampire texts
+ The Impact of Popular Culture or Non-Gothic Genres on Dracula, Varney, Carmilla and Other Classic Vampire Texts
+ Vampire Fiction as Subgenre
+ The Vampire Outside of Gothic/Horror Film and Literature
Vampire Comedies
Vampire Romances
Urban Fantasy or other Genre Hybrids
The Vampire in Young Adult literature
+ The Vampire’s Role in Genre Evolution
+ The Vampire as Metaphor in Journalism and New Media
+ The Lessons of Failed Vampire Films/Books
+ Unconventional Vampires as Signs of Cultural Change
+ The Popular Vampire in the Literary Mainstream
+ The Evolution of Sex and Religion in Vampire Literature
+ The Influence of Cinema on Literary Vampires (and vice-versa)
+ Vampiric Tropes in Social Networking, Internet Memes and New Media Culture
+ Popular Vampire Fiction/Film in the Non-Western World
+ Pedagogical Applications of Popular Vampire Texts
+ Vampire Literature and Film for Young Readers vs. Adults
+ Gender and the vampire and/or the vampire hunter
+ Vampires and the depiction of alternative sexualities
+ Women and the Vamp
+ Other Cultural Studies Applications of the Vampire Icon

This conference theme is curated by Dr. Michael Arnzen and Dr. Nicole Peeler, sponsored by the MFA in Writing Popular Fiction at Seton Hill University. http://fiction.setonhill.edu/

Submit abstracts (500 words maximum) via email only to arnzen@setonhill.edu no later than February 1st, 2016. Full panel proposals should include all three proposals included with a summary (50 words maximum) of the panel’s central topic, submitted by the moderator. Accepted submitters must confirm commitment to attend and present their own original work at the conference in Transylvania.

For information on conference registration and location, visit www.ivfaf.com.

CFP ASLE 2017: Comics, Graphic Novels, and the Environment (June 20-24 2017, Detroit)

deadline for submissions:
November 25, 2016

full name / name of organization:
Juan Meneses, UNC Charlotte

contact email:
juan.meneses@uncc.edu

This panel for the next ASLE conference seeks to offer a range of explorations of environmental and ecological themes in comics and graphic novels. Whereas the conference’s “Rust/Resistance” special topic (http://www.asle.org/wp-content/uploads/ASLE-2017-CFP.pdf) should provide cohesion to the panel, papers that expand the study of comics and graphic novels from any environmental lens are also welcome. Among others, the panel will be concerned with several questions, such as: What particular forms of visualization do comics and graphic novels offer us as conduits to imagine the environment? What specific narrative forms in the medium such as the sequence, the gutter, or the panel must be explored in considering the ways in which we can tackle environmental issues? In what specific ways can the “worlding” capacities of comics and graphic novels be understood in environmental terms? What approaches to comics might be most relevant to environmental studies and, conversely, what environmental approaches might be most productive for the study of comics? How are agendas of environmental resistance specifically articulated in the medium of comics and graphic novels?

Papers that explore these and related questions while focusing on particular works will be given priority.

Submissions are invited to explore a range of topics including, though not limited to, the following:

Environmental justice and social movements
Industrialization and modernity
Comparative and planetary reflections
Environmental and natural disasters
Climate change
Inhabitance
Energy
Material culture
Pollution
Modernity and technological advancements
The Anthropocene
Bioregionalism
Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic narratives
Animal studies
Food
The weather
Graphic journalism
Science fiction
Eco-terrorism
Poverty
Agriculture
Landscapes
Water studies
Resources and infrastructures
Biopolitics
Geographical developments
Post-humanism
New media

Please send a 300-word abstract and short bio to juan.meneses@uncc.edu by November 25, 2016.

The World of Harry Potter (Popular Culture and the Deep Past 2017)

deadline for submissions:
November 15, 2016

full name / name of organization:
The Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies at The Ohio State University

contact email:
cmrs_gaa@osu.edu

The Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies invites you to join us on February 24-25, 2017, for our fourth ‘Popular Culture and the Deep Past’ extravaganza at The Ohio State University, devoted this year to the theme of Harry Potter on the 20th anniversary of the publication of J.K. Rowling’s first Potter novel.

As in past years, this event will feature a scholarly conference (featuring papers, round tables, and other academic events) nested within a Renaissance-faire-like carnival (featuring exhibits, gaming, contests, and activities of all kinds). We invite presentations on any topic related to the Potter phenomenon, ranging from literary and cinematic analyses to historical and cultural investigations, and including explorations of fantasy, magic, witchcraft, gaming, and other popular, artistic, or sociological dimensions of that phenomenon. In keeping with the CMRS mandate, we shall aim to explore historical and cultural strands that tie the Potter world to its medieval and early-modern antecedents; at the same time, we are interested in exploring the interface between the past and the present, and in paying attention to 21st-century manifestations in their own right. While the Potter world is the main focus, presentations may involve other topics that relate strongly to its literary or cultural themes. Conference presentations will generally be limited to 20 minutes’ duration, followed by 10 minutes of discussion; they will be organized thematically into sessions of three or four papers each. Other presentations, including music, dance, art, gaming, readings, and other activities or displays, will be accommodated more freely according to our resources of space and scheduling.

Please send your presentation ideas to cmrs_gaa@osu.edu, including a title, abstract (i.e., description), and contact information. Abstracts should be no more than 300 words and attached as either a Word document or PDF. We shall begin evaluating proposals after November 15, 2016; submissions after that date will be happily received up til the time of the event, but their inclusion will depend on remaining openings in the schedule.

Crossroads. A Journal of English Studies is looking for submissions for a theme issue dedicated to the study of Polish science fiction and fantasy literature.

While science fiction and fantasy are inarguably international genres, they have not developed in a uniform manner across the globe. The literary output of any nation is always shaped by many factors, including the country’s history, politics, and culture. This is certainly true as far as Polish science fiction and fantasy literature are concerned, since their present condition—though, undoubtedly, determined also by the achievements of foreign writers (but to what extent?)—has been affected by the nation’s difficult yet rich past, which has been reflected in the writers’ attempts at re-creating the country’s history, in the multiple references to its socio-political reality, and in the return to Slavic mythology and traditions. However, beyond the borders of Poland few of the country’s science fiction and fantasy writers have gained literary and scholarly recognition (which is, of course, due to the number of available translations). While foreign readers might be acquainted with the works of Stanisław Lem and Andrzej Sapkowski, they might know little about other noteworthy Polish writers. Which is not surprising, since not many critical publications on Polish sf and fantasy are available in English. Our work will, hopefully, satisfy that demand.

While papers dealing with the works of Lem and Sapkowski are welcome, we strongly encourage scholars to submit works related to any of the following topics:

historical development of sf and fantasy in Poland,
critical assessment of the present condition of Polish sf and fantasy,
past and present trends in Polish sf and fantasy,
success and failure of Polish sf and fantasy,
the role of fandom and popular magazines in the development of Polish sf and fantasy,
Polish sf and fantasy in translation,
comparative analysis of Polish and American/English sf and fantasy,
reception of American/English sf and fantasy in Poland,
reception of American/English literary criticism on sf and fantasy in Poland,
religious, gender, racial, social, political, etc. dimensions of Polish sf and fantasy,
critical analysis of the works of Jacek Dukaj, Elżbieta Cherezińska, Janusz A. Zajdel, Jerzy Żuławski, Marek Oramus, Marek S. Huberath, Maja Lidia Kossakowska, Andrzej Pilipiuk, Jacek Piekara, Robert M. Wegner, Anna Kańtoch, Anna Brzezińska, and other Polish writers of sf and fantasy.
Schedule

January 15, 2017 – deadline for submitting abstracts (200-300 words)
January 30, 2017 – notice of acceptance
April 30, 2017 – deadline for submitting full papers (guidelines for authors will be provided)

After the papers receive a positive review, we will proceed with editing, proofreading, and publishing.

Please send your questions and submission to:

crossroads.sfandfantasy@gmail.com

The theme issue will be guest-edited by Weronika Łaszkiewicz, Mariusz M. Leś, and Sylwia Borowska-Szerszun who are part of the research team “Wymiary Fantastyki” established at the University of Białystok. You can visit them at: http://fantastyka.uwb.edu.pl/

Crossroads. A Journal of English Studies is a peer-reviewed electronic quarterly published by the Department of English at the University of Białystok. The journal welcomes contributions on all aspects of literary and cultural studies (including recent developments in cyberculture), linguistics (both theoretical and applied), and intercultural communication. The aim of the journal is to provide a forum for interdisciplinary research, inquiry and debate within the area of English studies through the exchange, crisscrossing and intersecting of opinions and diverse views. The electronic version of Crossroads. A Journal of English Studies is its primary (referential) version. The journal has received 6 points in the listing of scholarly journals issued by the Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education.

For more information, please visit http://www.crossroads.uwb.edu.pl/call-for-papers-a-theme-issue-on-polish-science-fiction-and-fantasy-literature/.

Monsters with a Thousand Faces: Adaptations of Literary Horrors

deadline for submissions:
January 13, 2017

full name / name of organization:
Joseph J. Darowski and John Darowski

contact email:
monsteradaptations@gmail.com

The editors of Monsters with a Thousand Faces: Adaptations of Literary Horrors are seeking abstracts for essays that could be included in the upcoming collection. This collection will feature essays focused on adaptations of characters that first appeared in a traditional novel or short stories. The adaptations can be in any other form of media (film, television, radio drama, comic books, stage play, etc.) or even be an appropriation of the original character into a new novel.

Among the monsters we are hoping to see included in the collection are:

-Dracula

-Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

-The Invisible Man

-Grendel

-Monsters from mythology

-Monsters from Fairy Tales

Note: The editors already have several essay on Frankenstein and it is unlikely that any new essays on adaptations of this text will be accepted.

Essays can explore themes related to adaptation theory or another angle, such as a New Historicist reading associated with when the adaptation was produced.

The completed essays should be approximately 15-20 double-spaced pages.

Abstracts (100-500 words) and CVs should be submitted by Friday, January 13, 2017.

Please submit via email to monsteradaptations@gmail.com.