CFP Ursula K. Le Guin Spec. Issue of Mythlore (updated 12/20/2020)

I couldn't find an updated text, but Mythlore has recently revised its deadline for a special issue commemorating the life and works of Ursula K. Le Guin.

A PDF version of the revised call can be accessed here.


This was the last version of the call:
https://call-for-papers.sas.upenn.edu/cfp/2020/02/12/deadline-extended-honoring-ursula-k-le-guin-citizen-of-mondrath


DEADLINE EXTENDED: Honoring Ursula K. Le Guin: Citizen of Mondrath


deadline for submissions:
May 25, 2020


full name / name of organization:
Mythlore, a journal of C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature


contact email:
mythlore@mythsoc.org

Call for Papers for Special Issue of Mythlore, Fall 2020:

Honoring Ursula K. Le Guin: Citizen of Mondrath

Guest Edited by Melanie A. Rawls



Proposal deadline March 25, Draft deadline June 25, Final paper deadline August 25

PROPOSAL DEADLINE EXTENDED to MAY 25



Mythlore, a journal dedicated to the genres of myth and fantasy (particularly the works of J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis), invites article submissions for a special issue focused on Ursula K. Le Guin, grandmaster of mythopoeic fantasy.

We welcome essays on the following topics: Le Guin’s Earthsea series, the three novels of the “Annals of the Western Shore,” namely Gifts, Voices, and Powers, the young adult novel The Beginning Place, and her fantasy short stories.

Le Guin’s masterwork Always Coming Home has a special place in Mythopoeic Society history, as it was the topic of a panel when she was Guest of Honor at Mythcon 19 in 1988. Though this work is not considered strictly fantasy, it clearly has mythopoeic elements, and we welcome articles on this text

Other potential topics for articles include:

• Good and evil in Le Guin’s worlds
• Gender
• Power and its uses and abuses
• Jungian and Taoist elements in Le Guin’s writing

We also call for articles on her critical essays that examine mythopoeic writing and any of her poetry or non-fantasy writing that has mythopoeic themes and imagery. We welcome articles that explore Le Guin’s influence on the fantasy genre as a whole and on other writers, as well as articles exploring how other writers influenced Le Guin (Le Guin claimed Philip K. Dick and Walter M. Miller as influences in an interview).



To get an idea of the range of topics covered in Mythlore, visit the online archive at https://dc.swosu.edu/mythlore/

and consult the electronic index, which can be downloaded free at http://www.mythsoc.org/press/mythlore-index-plus.htm. Submission guidelines can be found at http://www.mythsoc.org/mythlore/mythlore-submissions.htm.

Mythcon 51 Updates and New CFP (5/15/2021; Albuquerque 7/31-8/2/2021)

The Mythopoeic Society has announced the postponement of Mythcon 51 from this summer to next summer. The updated call is pasted below. Full details at the Society's dedicated site: http://www.mythsoc.org/mythcon/mythcon-51.htm.



New Dates! July 30 - August 2, 2021

Mythcon 51
The Mythic, the Fantastic, and the Alien
Albuquerque, New Mexico
July 30 - August 2, 2021

Call for Papers Download PDF of Call for Papers here


CONFERENCE THEME: THE MYTHIC, THE FANTASTIC, AND THE ALIEN This year’s Mythcon theme provides multiple opportunities to explore the Other in fantasy and mythopoeic literature. Tolkien spoke in “On Fairy-stories” of “the desire to visit, free as a fish, the deep sea; or the longing for the noiseless, gracious, economical flight of a bird.” We invite discussion about the types of fantasy that are more likely to put us into contact with the alien, such as time portal fantasy and space travel fantasy. In addition to Inklings, some writers who deal particularly well with the truly alien who might be explored include Lovecraft, Gaiman, Le Guin, Tepper, and others. Other topics that might be fruitfully explored are: 

• depictions of the alien Other in film and television (Contact, Arrival, HBO’s Watchmen, etc.);
•  developing constructed languages that are truly different from those of Earth-based humans;
•  fantastical Others in indigenous myths (such as Coyote and Spider Woman from Native American mythology);
• and American folklore about the alien (flying saucers, alien abduction, Area 51, Roswell).

Papers on our conference theme and the works and interests of our guests of honor are especially welcome, although all subjects will be considered.
GUESTS OF HONOR Papers on the works and interests of our guests of honor are also especially welcome:

Author Guest of Honor Rivera Sun is the author of The Dandelion Insurrection, The Roots of Resistance, and other novels. Her young adult fantasy series, the Ari Ara Series, has been widely acclaimed by teachers, parents, and peace activists for its blending of fantasy and adventure with social justice issues. The Way Between, the first book in the Ari Ara Series, has been read by numerous groups of all ages, while the second book in the series, The Lost Heir, has been nominated for the 2020 Dayton Peace Literature Prize. 

Scholar Guest of Honor David Bratman is has been reading Tolkien for over fifty years, and has been writing Tolkien scholarship for nearly as long. His earliest contribution to the field was the first-ever published Tale of Years for the First Age, right after The Silmarillion was published. Since then he has published articles with titles like “Top Ten Rejected Plot Twists from The Lord of the Rings,” “Hobbit Names Aren’t from Kentucky,” and “Liquid Tolkien” (on Tolkien and music). He’s been co-editor of Tolkien Studies: An Annual Scholarly Review since 2013, and has written or edited its annual “Year’s Work in Tolkien Studies” since 2004. David edited The Masques of Amen House by Charles Williams and contributed the bio-bibliographical appendix on the Inklings to Diana Pavlac Glyer’s The Company They Keep. He has also written on C.S. Lewis, Ursula Le Guin, Mervyn Peake, Neil Gaiman, and others.

PAPERS and PANELS PROPOSALS Email papers abstracts of 200-500 words to this year’s Paper Coordinator:
Cami Agan
cami.agan@oc.edu
by May 15, 2021.

Email panels abstracts of 50-150 words to Panels Coordinator:
Leslie Donovan
leslie.a.donovan@gmail.com
by May 15, 2021.

Include AV requests and the projected time needed for your presentation. We will make every effort to accommodate A/V requests, but such equipment is limited and cannot be guaranteed. Available time slots: Individual long papers are one hour, roughly 45 minutes for the paper with 15 minutes for discussion; Individual short papers or 1/2 hour, roughly 20 minutes for the paper with 10 minutes for discussion; Panels are 90 minutes, roughly 60 minutes for the panel with 30 minutes for discussion.
You will be notified after the deadline if your paper proposal has been accepted. See our Alexei Kondratiev Award for details on our student paper award!

All presenters must register for the full conference; please see the Mythcon 51 Registration page for information and rates.

Participants are encouraged to submit papers chosen for presentation at the conference to Mythlore, the refereed journal of the Mythopoeic Society (www.mythlore.org). All papers should conform to the 8th edition of the MLA Style Manual. Presenters who are full-time undergraduate or graduate students are encouraged to submit their completed conference papers in advance for consideration for the Alexei Kondratiev Student Paper Award. Please see www.mythsoc.org/mythcon/alexei.htm for more information.


ABOUT THE MYTHOPOEIC SOCIETY The Mythopoeic Society is an international literary and educational organization devoted to the study, discussion, and enjoyment of the works of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and mythopoeic literature. We believe the study of these writers can lead to greater understanding and appreciation of the literary, philosophical, and spiritual traditions which underlie their works, and can engender an interest in the study of myth, legend, and the genre of fantasy. Find out about the Society s activities at: www.mythsoc.org

Conference Updates

Some updates on conferences for 2020.

The Popular Culture Association has announced procedure for refunds for the cancelled conference in Philadelphia, and they are also seeking donations to offset the cost of that decision.

Details can be found at https://pcaaca.org/conference/2020/2020-cancellation-faqs and at https://pcaaca.org/conference/2020/2020-registration-donate-transfer-or-refund.

The 2021 conference is scheduled for Boston, 3/31-4/4/2021. Submissions for 2020 may be resubmitted for 2021.


The International Association for the Fantastic in the Arts has also posted information on refunds and details for the 2021 International Conference on the Fantastic in the Arts.

Details at https://www.fantastic-arts.org/2020/good-news-reicfa/ and at https://www.fantastic-arts.org/2020/icfa-41-and-42-update/, from their blog.

Next year's conference will maintain the same theme of "Climate Change and the Anthropocene."  It will run 3/17-3/20/2021. Submissions for 2020 may be resubmitted for 2021.


Most recently, the Science Fiction Research Association has cancelled their summer 2020 conference.

Full details at https://www.fantastic-arts.org/2020/icfa-41-and-42-update/.

Cancellations at Tor.com

Tor.com now has a detailed list on conventions and conferences that have been cancelled.

Full details at https://www.tor.com/2020/03/13/coronavirus-the-sci-fi-fantasy-conventions-canceled-so-far/.

One last cfp for the day:

CFP: Mythmoot VII: Defying and Defining the Darkness, June 25–28, 2020, Leesburg, VA, USA
https://www.fantastic-arts.org/2020/cfp-mythmoot-vii-defying-and-defining-the-darkness-june-25-28-2020-leesburg-va-usa/
February 1, 2020

Mythmoot VII: Defying and Defining the Darkness

“Look at how a single candle can both defy and define the darkness.”
— attributed to Anne Frank

When: June 25–28, 2020
Where: The National Conference Center
Leesburg, VA
USA

What is Mythmoot VII?

Mythmoot VII, with the theme of “Defying and Defining Darkness,” combines an academic conference, creative writing meet-up, and fan convention for a unique experience. Here at Mythmoot, we have room for serious scholarship in fields such as science fiction, high fantasy, horror, gothic, mythology, children’s literature, folklore.. .the list goes on. We also appreciate less academic, but no less enthusiastic, pursuits of all the above—such as demonstrations of how to knit the best fake candle ever, presentations theorizing the exact recipe for Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder, or papers dissecting the cultural background of Baron Harkonnen!

Call for Proposals:

Where there is light there is darkness—the two play off of each other. This concept appears throughout literature all over the world in yin and yang, good and evil, two sides of the same coin, and even in the literal sun rising and setting. How does one define the darkness? Can darkness only be defied once it is known? Should darkness even be defined or defied? We want to hear how you believe defining and defying the darkness interacts with the stories you love and how you would approach the topic.

We are accepting proposals for Papers, Panels, Workshops, and Creative Presentations about defying or defining the darkness (or tangential topics) in the following areas of study:

● Imaginative Literature (ex: Harry Potter, Dune, The Call of Cthulhu, Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, The Dresden Files, etc.)
● Tolkien and Inklings Studies
● Classic Literature from ancient times to the present
● Philology

If you are unsure whether your topic fits, send your proposal or a description of your idea to the listed submissions email, and we will let you know.

Individual presentations, whether creative or critical, will have 30 minutes—20 minutes for presentation and 10 for Q&A. (N.B. The “creative” category is not limited to original works but could include presenting or performing art, music, drama, or dance. If you have any questions about what you can present, please contact the submissions email.)

Panels must contain at least 3 papers and/or presenters and will be allocated 90 minutes total for presentations and Q&A.

Workshops must identify their own length (either 30 min, 60 min, or 90 min) and include justification for the requested time. Workshops may be run individually, but it is recommended that a workshop have at least two leaders. (Workshop examples: the knitting of Smaug hats, an interactive discussion on dragon species, etc.)

Papers will be presented in 90-minute sessions of 1 – 3 presenters. Each presenter will have 30 minutes (20 minutes for presentation and 10 minutes for questions) to present their paper.

Proposal Submittal:
Your submission to events@signumu.org must contain the following in the email: the type of submission, a title, a 300-word abstract or description, the name(s) of the presenter(s), and a two-sentence biography for each presenter. Title your email “Mythmoot VII Proposal”. All submissions must be received by 11:59 pm EST on March 13th, 2020.

No presentations will be given in absentia, and your submission to Mythmoot VII is considered an agreement to attend and present should your proposal be accepted. Each room will have a projector for presenter use.

CFP Children’s Literature and Climate Change (Spec Issue of The Lion and the Unicorn 6/15/20)

CFP: Children’s Literature and Climate Change, Special Issue of The Lion and the Unicorn
https://www.fantastic-arts.org/2019/cfp-childrens-literature-and-climate-change-special-issue-of-the-lion-and-the-unicorn/
November 11, 2019

CALL FOR PAPERS Children’s Literature and Climate Change
Special Issue of The Lion and the Unicorn
Guest Editors: Marek Oziewicz, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities Lara Saguisag, College of Staten Island-City University of New York 

We seek essays on how children’s literature empowers young people to productively engage with the challenges of climate change. After decades of climate change denial and toothless mainstream response, young people are angry. In response to climate change illiteracy and the impotence and negligence of adult-led institutions, teenage activists such as Xiuhtezcatl Martinez and Greta Thunberg are calling for radical and immediate action. How does children’s literature and media stoke this transformative anger and inspire young people to address the climate crisis and fight for their fundamental rights to life, health, and sustenance? How can educators and scholars of children’s literature support this fight? What new concepts, approaches, and narratives are needed to accelerate the sociopolitical revolution that will dismantle the status quo, or what Amitav Ghosh calls “the Great Derangement”? In this issue, we intend to bring together innovative research on children’s literature that attends to multiple facets of climate change and advances a conversation about the planetary future we can and want to create. 

Possible topics include, but are not limited to:
• The role of children’s literature on climate change in raising young people’s awareness about their responsibility to the biosphere;
• Depictions of climate change across various genres and forms, including picturebooks, chapter books, comics, short stories, and novels;
• Films, apps, music, and games that engage with climate change and seek to mobilize youth action;
• Constructions of childhood in climate change narratives and discourses;
• Climate change and youth participation in community protests, political campaigns, nonviolent civil disobedience, ecotage (ecosabotage), and ecorism (ecoterrorism);
• Climate change narratives about and by Indigenous youth and youth of color, who are often at the forefront of climate justice initiatives and whose communities are disproportionately threatened by climate change;
• Children’s and YA books that link responsibility to climate change with, in the words of Kim Q. Hall, “commitments to futures that are queer, crip, and feminist”;
• Depictions of environmental racism and classism as facets of climate change;
• Climate change and human migrations, including stories about climate refugees; 
• Comparative studies of children’s and YA literature on climate change published in the global north and the global south;
• Visions of climate futures, including discourses of hope or despair;
• Reimagining and restructuring institutions of children’s literature that depend on, profit from, and support polluting, extractive industries;
• Intersections of critical discourse on climate change and children’s literature scholarship, including new taxonomies and emerging genres apposite to the challenges of conceptualizing climate change, from environmental literature and cli-fi to eco-fiction and beyond;
• Reevaluations of existing literary traditions through new theoretical concepts or approaches such as energy humanities, environmental humanities, indigenous futurisms, the Anthropocene, ecocritical posthumanism, and other lenses. 

Essays should be sent to guest editors Marek Oziewicz and Lara Saguisag at LU.Climateissue@gmail.com by July 15, 2020. Submissions should be in the range of 4000 to 8000 words (although we will also consider shorter, forum-length essays). Accepted articles will appear in The Lion and the Unicorn, vol. 45, no. 2 (2021).

CFP SFRA Conference (3/31/20; Bloomington 7/8-11/20)

CFP: SFRA 2020
https://www.fantastic-arts.org/2020/cfp-sfra-2020/
February 19, 2020


DEADLINE EXTENDED TO 3/31/20 (details at http://www.sfra.org/Coronavirus-News)


SFRA 2020
Wednesday, July 8th – Saturday July 11th
Indiana University, Bloomington IN
Conference Theme: Forms of Fabulation

Keynote Speakers:
Tavia Nyong’o
Kate Marshall
Special Guest: John Crowley (author of Little, Big)

The Science Fiction Research Association invites proposals for its 2020 annual conference, to be held on the campus of Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana.

The SFRA is the oldest scholarly association for the study of science fiction and related genres. It brings together important writers of speculative fiction with premiere scholars of speculative fiction to discuss and debate timely and relevant themes. The annual conference also recognizes important contributions to the field through the Pioneer and Pilgrim Awards for excellence in scholarship.

This year we take FABULATION as our key term. Fabulation is a potent political force as well as an emerging genre convention. Ranging from fantasy fiction and the New Weird to fictional sciences and prefigurative politics, fabulation centers the importance of imagining otherwise in the construction of reality as a scholarly as well as a fictional action.

Fabulation is a future-oriented practice that draws from the energies of the past and the perspectives of the oppressed. Keynote speaker Tavia Nyong’o writes that Afro-fabulation resurfaces from the historical archive those untimely ideas that were “never meant to appear” (3) in majoratian culture and so could only be articulated by way of minor genres and obscure gestures—in performance art, speculative fiction, gossip and legend. Building on the critique of imperial sciences by Indigenous scholars and imaginative writers that were the focus of the 2019 conference, this year’s conference asks what subjugated knowledges can be found in the speculative fiction archives and how they might be surfaced in the present toward multispecies thriving and antiracist worlding. At the same time, reality-production as a form of fictionality has become the principle characteristic of politics in the 21st-century. In addition to asking how we can make fabulations, the conference theme also asks participants to consider the ethics of fiction in the post-truth era.

Topics related to the conference theme include:

● prefigurative politics, visionary fiction, & speculative futurisms
● the weird and the New Weird
● fantasy fiction, fairy stories, magic
● Afro-futurism, indigenous futurisms, and related genres
● post-truth politics and fabulation
● fabulation and Afro-fabulation
● insurgent research, fictional sciences, and related methods
● decolonial speculative fiction
● fabulation and the occult
● aesthetic warfare, feminist witchcraft, meme magic
● aesthetics as a technology of resistance
● European mythology and the problem of white supremacism
● fabulation, environmental ethics, and eco-eroticism
● fabulation and the nonhuman
● fabulation in games, videos, and other non-print media
● fabulation, cosplay, cons, and fan cultures
● science fiction, fantasy and the Midwest
● African, Afro-caribbean, and Indigenous cosmologies
● technology and magic
● children’s literature and magic
● Posthumanism, speculative realism, and fabulation

We also welcome papers on topics relevant to science fiction research broadly conceived that are not specifically related to the conference theme, including proposals for preconstituted panels & roundtables.

300-500 word abstracts should be sent to SFRA2020IU@gmail.com by March 15 2020. Acceptance notices will be returned by April 1.

Questions concerning this call for papers, preconstituted panels, & roundtables can be directed to SFRA2020IU@gmail.com with the subject line “CFP QUESTION,” or to the conference’s local organizers, Rebekah Sheldon (rsheldon@indiana.edu) and De Witt Douglas Kilgore (dkilgore@indiana.edu).

Graduate students are encouraged to submit abstracts & to attend, regardless of whether they plan to present.

Some conference travel grants will be made available. Applications will be posted soon and due on 15 April 2020.

You will also need to join SFRA (or renew your membership) in order to register for the conference. Conference Registration information will be posted soon.

http://www.sfra.org/

CFP Transmediality and Interactivity in the Fantastic (Spec Issue of Brumal) (6/15/2020)

CFP: Transmediality and interactivity in the fantastic, monographic issue coordinated for Brumal by Miguel Carrera Garrido (CIESE-Comillas, University of Cantabria)
https://www.fantastic-arts.org/2020/cfp-transmediality-and-interactivity-in-the-fantastic-monographic-issue-coordinated-for-brumal-by-miguel-carrera-garrido-ciese-comillas-university-of-cantabria/
February 12, 2020

Transmediality and interactivity in the fantastic, monographic issue coordinated for Brumal by Miguel Carrera Garrido (CIESE-Comillas, University of Cantabria)
Deadline: June 15, 2020

One of the characteristics that define fictional production in the 21st century is its tendency to distribute itself among numerous media of expression: television, cinema, literature, comic-books, theater, video games, role-playing games, etc. Far from leading to dispersion or to the proliferation of watertight compartments, such inclination – also present in other communicative practices – has led to the convergence of all these areas. As a result, it is becoming increasingly difficult, even inappropriate, to limit the focus of attention to a single medium and ignore the rest: stories expand to two, three or more of these environments, aspiring to preserve the unity of sense in heterogeneity. Thus, to get to a thorough and complete understanding of the message, the recipient – and, there-fore, the critic – has to consider different creative domains and apply several reading codes. This agent is simultaneously endowed, in contemporary creation, with a much more active and decisive role than he/she used to possess. Expected to interact with fictional products, as a member of a participatory and empowered culture, his/her intervention – often essential – oscillates between the interpellation and analysis from various discussion forums – especially the Internet and social networks – and direct participation in the imaginary universes, either expanding them in media different from than the one where they originated, or immersing themselves effectively in those worlds and influencing – either as an avatar, or playing a character – the course of the action.

These two complementary trends point to the terms on which the proposed monograph is based: transmedia(lity) and interactivity. Its goal: to trace the importance of these realities in the fantastic genre or mode, both in theoretical formulations and practical realizations.

Widely addressed in akin modalities such as science fiction or medieval fantasy (think, for example, of successful franchises, and recurring objects of analysis, such as Star Wars, A Song of Ice and Fire or Lord of the Rings, which transcended their original medium long ago, and where the interference of fans has become the norm), the concept of transmedial, or transmedia, has not had, to date, much repercussion in studies on the fantastic, at least as Brumal conceives it (that is, as the irruption of the impossible into a world in appearance similar to ours, in tune with Caillois’s and Roas’s theories). As for interactivity, it also has not received the due attention yet, despite the interest raised in recent years by expressions rarely considered artistic in the past, like video games, haunted attractions, fan fiction, “choose your own adventure” novels, etc. That is why it is urgent to undertake a project like the current one, in which we analyze, among other things, how speeches and stories have migrated from one medium to another – if that was not designed like that from the beginning –, to what extent inter-dependence be-tween the different media has been promoted, and how, in this process, the community of readers, spectators, players or, in general, fans has played an increasingly active and crucial role. It is at this junction, or convergence, between the transmedia(l) and the interactive towards which we want the participants of the issue to look.

Some of the proposed thematic axes, with which we want to cover both extremes, are:

• Originally, or strategic, transmedia(l) narratives of the fantastic.
• Expanded universes of the fantastic (or tactical transmedia).
• Appropriation, reworking and expansion of figures, motives and other references of the fantastic at the hands of fans.
• Theoretical relations between the concepts of transmedia(lity), intermedia(lity) and multimedia(lity) in the fantastic.
• Reflections on the concept of authorship in the fantastic transmedia(lity).
• New interactive modes of the fantastic (video games, haunted attractions, role-playing games, escape rooms, etc.) and their relationship with other media.
• Interactions, in social networks and in other forums, between fictional productions and fans of the fantastic.

For more information on submissions, format, length and so on, please visit the journal’s webpage or contact the coordinator on mcarreragarrido@gmail.com.

CFP PopMeC Conference (4/5/20; Madrid 5/27-28/20)

CFP: PopMeC, Instituto Franklin–UAH (Alcalá de Henares) on May 27–28, 2020
https://www.fantastic-arts.org/2020/cfp-popmec-instituto-franklin-uah-alcala-de-henares-on-may-27-28-2020/
February 11, 2020

PopMeC Conference
Instituto Franklin–UAH (Alcalá de Henares) on May 27–28, 2020

Thanks to the pervasiveness of popular culture in everyday life, its products embody a fundamental driving force in forging the collective imaginary of both national and foreign publics. The timely construction, consolidation, and intrinsic political potential of popular representations—myths, symbols, images, and signs—has undeniably facilitated the shaping of identities, discourses, and communities. The diversity and peculiarities of the American society can therefore be traced through the analysis of popular culture and multimodal cultural expressions, conveyed by means such as film, comics and graphic novels, TV and web series, videogames, music, books, and whatnot.

PopMeC aims at providing a collaborative, engaging, and fair environment for any interested scholar, promoting the sharing of knowledge, experience, and ideas across disciplines and thematic fields. We’re also working to foster a stimulating space for early career researchers and postgraduate students in North American studies, thus we’ll warmly welcome their proposals.

The conference will approach popular media and culture products—as well as their publics and reception—from an intersectional, multidisciplinary standpoint and a diverse range of perspectives. We’re looking for engaging, fresh, interesting papers acknowledging and exploring a variety of images and narratives, their configurations and aims, as well as examining the intersectional connections between identities, politics, and history, traceable in and across cultural products.

We welcome proposals for 20 min individual papers or panels constituted of three papers, on topics including (but not limited to):

> the representation of specific ethnic / religious / gender / etc. groups in the US popular media and culture (including mainstream, alternative, and self-representations)
> the articulation of American national ethos, myths, symbols and heroes
> public history and the representation of US history for the non-specialized public
> the reception of popular culture products and their publics
> comparative studies of contrasting / similar representations
> the US society as represented through humor, caricature, and satire
> deconstruction of national storytelling and stereotyped narratives

Please, send your proposal by April 5, 2020 to popmec.call@gmail.com attaching your abstract (200-250 words), inclusive of a short bio (100-120 words), name, affiliation, and email contact in a single file. All proposals (unless differently specified by the author) will be considered for both presentation in the conference and publication on the academic blog. Feel free to check our author guidelines page and to contact us for further information.

The languages of the conference will be English and Spanish. Nonetheless, we strongly recommend limiting the use of Spanish coherently with your chosen topic.

Registration fee:
> Full 45€ for waged scholars
> Reduced 15€ for unwaged scholars (e.g. postgraduate students, independent researchers)
[Coffee breaks and light lunch will be provided]

Key dates:
> April 5 deadline for proposals
> April 14 notification of acceptation and opening of registration
[We plan on doing a first round of evaluations by March 8 so that if your proposal needs a little retouching, we let you know and you can still resubmit it!]

Further details on keynote speakers, venue and registration will be provided shortly.
Organizing committee @ Instituto Franklin–UAH:
> Daniel Bustillo
> Carlos Herrero
> Anna Marta Marini
> Joaquín Saravia

Download the full CFP here: CFP_popmec

https://popmec.hypotheses.org/

CFP Giger Conference (4/26/20; Lausanne 11/25-27/20)

CFP: Les mondes de H.R. Giger : entre littératures et arts, The Worlds of Giger : between literature and the arts
https://www.fantastic-arts.org/2020/cfp-les-mondes-de-h-r-giger-entre-litteratures-et-arts-the-worlds-of-giger-between-literature-and-the-arts/
February 19, 2020

Les mondes de H.R. Giger : entre littératures et arts
The Worlds of Giger : between literature and the arts
Colloque international

Organisé par l’Université de Lausanne (UNIL) et la Maison d’Ailleurs (Yverdon-les-Bains)
25-27 novembre 2020, Université de Lausanne

Appel à contributions / Call for papers

Hans Ruedi Giger (1940-2014) est sans nul doute l’un des artistes suisses les plus célèbres au monde, depuis qu’il a conçu les décors et les créatures, notamment des films Alien et Dune. Mais il y a un Giger d’avant Alien également. Son œuvre comprend des peintures, des dessins, des sculptures, des objets de design ou encore des bandes dessinées, sans compter les multiples déclinaisons de son univers sur le plan mondial. C’est aussi un artiste pétri de littérature fantastique et de science-fiction, qui a souvent rendu hommage à l’un des maîtres du genre, H.P. Lovecraft. C’est la première fois que son œuvre est proposée comme enseignement à l’Université en Suisse et qu’un colloque international lui est consacré dans une université. En effet, parmi les nombreuses publications consacrées à l’artistes, les études scientifiques font figure d’exception. Ce colloque se propose de commencer à combler cette lacune.

Hans Ruedi Giger (1940-2014) is no doubt the most famous Swiss artist since he has designed te worlds and/or creatures of films such as Alien or Dune. But there is a Giger before Alien too. His work includes paintings, drawings, sculptures, objects and furniture or comics, not to mention the multiple uses of his universe in other fields (tattoe, etc). He is also fascinated by fantastic literature, and especially by H. P. Lovecraft. This is the first scientific conference devoted to his work.

Some possible topics

• Literary inspidations : Lovecraft etc
• Dreams : from surrealism to psychedelism
• Satire and caricature
• Giger in films : Dune /Alien / Species …
• Design
• Technical inventions (aerograph…)
• Erotism / Pornography
• Biomecanics
• Religion and esoterism
• Passages and trains (ghosts)
• Visionary architectures
• Comics
• Video games
• The Museum as Gesamtkunstwerk
• Derivatives : tattoe…
• Etc.

Les propositions de communication sont à adresser à Marc Atallah (marc.atallah@unil.ch) et Philippe Kaenel (philippe.kaenel@unil.ch), en anglais ou en français, jusqu’au 26 avril 2020. Elles comprendront une courte biobibliographie et un abstract de la communication (1500-2000 signes).
The proposals are to be sent to Marc Atallah (marc.atallah@unil.ch) and Philippe Kaenel (philippe.kaenel@unil.ch), in english or in french until 26 april 2020.
Le colloque est soutenu par l’Université de Lausanne (Centre des Sciences historiques de la culture – SHC, et la Section de français).

Conference Cancellations as of 3/15/20

In response to the coronavirus pandemic, the follow events have recently been cancelled.

Follow the links for more details.

2020 International Conference on the Fantastic in the Arts: https://www.fantastic-arts.org/2020/icfa-41-is-cancelled/.

2020 Conference of the Popular Culture Association: https://pcaaca.org/conference/2020/update-2020-pca-conference-march-13-2020.

CFP Patriotism and Protest - NEASA 2020 Annual Conference (3/1/2020; Cambridge MA 6/6/2020)

One last post to catch up with. My thanks to NEPCA for the head's up.

Patriotism and Protest | NEASA 2020 Annual Conference | June 6, 2020

https://newenglandasa.wordpress.com/neasa/annual-conference/

Deadline for Submission: March 1, 2020

Contact: NEASAcouncil@gmail.com

Call For Papers

“Patriotism and Protest”

New England American Studies Association Annual Conference

June 6, 2020

Lesley University, Cambridge, MA

The New England American Studies Association (NEASA) invites proposals for its 2020 conference on the theme of “Patriotism and Protest.” How have protest, dissent, and unrest shaped movements in American history and culture? What have been the defining features of American patriotic beliefs and attitudes? How have artists, workers, and organizations sought to commend and critique major US institutions through the production of material objects and texts? Topics addressed may include, but are not limited to:


– Revolution

– Civil Rights, Women’s Rights, Voting Rights

– Labor Unions and Strikes

– Public Marches and Occupations

– Climate Change Protests

– The Future of American Patriotism and Protest

– Hashtag Activism and Social Media Outrage

– Propaganda and State Media

– MAGA Patriotism

– Critical Optimism, Queer Optimism, and Postcritique

– Afro-pessimism

– Abolition

– Military Service and Militarism

– Great American Artists

– Hollywood and American Cinema

– Citizenship and Migration

– Global Populism and Nationalisms

– International Implications of American Nationalism

– Sound, Music, and Protest Anthems

– Visual Culture of Patriotism and Protest


NEASA welcomes proposals for individual papers, full panels, and for five-minute “lightning round” presentations. Please send abstracts of 250 words and a short bio to Lucas Dietrich at NEASAcouncil@gmail.com by March 1, 2020. Graduate students and non-tenure track scholars are eligible to submit conference presentations for NEASA’s Mary Kelley Prize.

The conference will be held at Lesley University’s Porter Square campus in Cambridge, MA. Registration will be $60 for full-time faculty, $40 for contingent faculty and independent scholars, and free for graduate students. The registration fee will include coffee and lunch.

CFP NEPCA 2020 General Call for Papers (6/1/2020)

Re-posted from https://nepca.blog/2020/01/27/cfp-for-nepca-2020-is-here/.

The 2020 Northeast Popular Culture Association (NEPCA) will host its annual conference this fall on Friday, October 23-Saturday, October 24 at the Southern New Hampshire University in Manchester, New Hampshire. We are looking forward to another engaging and rewarding conference for new and seasoned members alike. We are seeking proposals for panels and presentations for this year’s conference.


NEPCA prides itself on holding conferences that emphasize sharing ideas in a non-competitive and supportive environment. We welcome proposals from graduate students, junior faculty, and senior scholars. NEPCA conferences offer intimate and nurturing sessions in which new ideas and works-in-progress can be aired, as well as completed projects.

You can find general information about the 2020 conference and any updates here. We will be updating it with the hotel discount rate as well as other lodging options and the like.

We have over 35 different areas for you to submit your proposal to, so be sure to check out our Areas of Pop Culture to determine the best place for your proposal. If you have questions about a particular area, reach out and ask the appropriate Area Chair.

Please submit your proposal via the online form: https://forms.gle/TTbp6EVTkYJqcGgM6. Both proposals for individual papers and complete panels will be considered. The deadline for proposals is June 1, 2020.

The 2020 conference is about 1 hour from Boston, just under 2 hours from Providence, RI or around 2.5 hours from Burlington, VT, Hartford, Connecticut or Augusta, ME, about 3.5 hours from Albany, NY, 4.5 hours from New York City or Montreal, QC.

For more information or questions, contact

Lance Eaton
Executive Secretary, NEPCA
NortheastPopCulture@gmail.com

CFP MLA's Teaching Science Fiction in the Literature Classroom (4/15/20)

Science Fiction in the Literature Classroom

The presence of science fiction in university classrooms is by now no longer shocking; the genre has become a mainstay not only in literature and philosophy classrooms but also in STEM fields, as its predictions and extrapolations pose memorable and concrete case studies to explore the societal and ethical implications of technological innovation, as well as interesting practical engineering problems to try to solve with real-world science. As the world around us becomes more and more science fictional with each passing year—often in ways that have eerie resonance with the dystopian and apocalyptic predictions of years past—the speculations of science fiction will only have more purchase in our attempts to prepare our students for a future that seems very much in flux.
But in film and literature departments science fiction still often suffers from a reputation as being easy, silly, and fundamentally undemanding, an essentially degraded form of artistic production unworthy of serious attention by serious critics. This reputation persists despite the canonization of major writers of science fiction—Kurt Vonnegut, Ursula K. Le Guin, Octavia E. Butler, Philip K. Dick, and J. G. Ballard, among many others—who are treated as exceptional deviations from the genre rather than emblematic of it, and also denies the science fictional dimensions of work by acclaimed writers such as Margaret Atwood, Kazuo Ishiguro, David Mitchell, and David Foster Wallace.

This volume, Teaching Science Fiction in the Literature Classroom, will be divided into three sections. The first, “Form and Genre,” will focus on teaching science fiction in its own terms, as a genre with rules, conventions, and principles quite specific to itself. The second, “Canonicity and Prestige,” will consider science fiction appearing in the classroom alongside more traditionally acclaimed literature and film, often on the same syllabus. The third, “Creation,” will consider pedagogy that invites students to create science fiction, with all the possibilities and pitfalls that can entail.

Scholars interested in contributing an essay of approximately 3,000–4,000 words are invited to submit a 250–500-word abstract outlining their chapter. The deadline for submissions of abstracts is 15 April 2020; please e-mail submissions and any questions for clarification to Gerry Canavan (gerry.canavan@marquette.edu). Permission from students must be obtained for any relevant quotations from student work in the essay; previously published essays cannot be considered. Learn more about the MLA guidelines for publication.

CFP Mythcon 51 (5/15/2020; Albuquerque 7/31-8/3/2020)

Mythcon 51

The Mythic, the Fantastic, and the Alien

http://www.mythsoc.org/mythcon/mythcon-51.htm

http://www.mythsoc.org/mythcon/mc51-CFP.htm
 
Albuquerque, New Mexico
July 31 - August 3, 2020

Location

Please join us at the Ramada Plaza Hotel by Wyndham in Albuquerque, New Mexico, for Mythcon 51. Albuquerque is a wonderful “destination city” where Mythcon has been held only once before in 2011 (Mythcon 42) and is well worth the return.

Call for Papers

Download PDF of Call for Papers here

CONFERENCE THEME: THE MYTHIC, THE FANTASTIC, AND THE ALIEN

This year’s Mythcon theme provides multiple opportunities to explore the Other in fantasy and mythopoeic literature. Tolkien spoke in “On Fairy-stories” of “the desire to visit, free as a fish, the deep sea; or the longing for the noiseless, gracious, economical flight of a bird.” We invite discussion about the types of fantasy that are more likely to put us into contact with the alien, such as time portal fantasy and space travel fantasy. In addition to Inklings, some writers who deal particularly well with the truly alien who might be explored include Lovecraft, Gaiman, Le Guin, Tepper, and others. Other topics that might be fruitfully explored are:

  — depictions of the alien Other in film and television (Contact, Arrival, HBO’s Watchmen, etc.);
  — developing constructed languages that are truly different from those of Earth-based humans;
  — fantastical Others in indigenous myths (such as Coyote and Spider Woman from Native American mythology);
  — and American folklore about the alien (flying saucers, alien abduction, Area 51, Roswell).

Papers on our conference theme and the works and interests of our guests of honor are especially welcome, although all subjects will be considered. 
 

GUESTS OF HONOR

Papers on the works and interests of our guests of honor are also especially welcome:

• Author Guest of Honor Rivera Sun is the author of The Dandelion Insurrection, The Roots of Resistance, and other novels. Her young adult fantasy series, the Ari Ara Series, has been widely acclaimed by teachers, parents, and peace activists for its blending of fantasy and adventure with social justice issues. The Way Between, the first book in the Ari Ara Series, has been read by numerous groups of all ages, while the second book in the series, The Lost Heir, has been nominated for the 2020 Dayton Peace Literature Prize. 

 

• Scholar Guest of Honor David Bratman is has been reading Tolkien for over fifty years, and has been writing Tolkien scholarship for nearly as long. His earliest contribution to the field was the first-ever published Tale of Years for the First Age, right after The Silmarillion was published. Since then he has published articles with titles like “Top Ten Rejected Plot Twists from The Lord of the Rings,” “Hobbit Names Aren’t from Kentucky,” and “Liquid Tolkien” (on Tolkien and music). He’s been co-editor of Tolkien Studies: An Annual Scholarly Review since 2013, and has written or edited its annual “Year’s Work in Tolkien Studies” since 2004. David edited The Masques of Amen House by Charles Williams and contributed the bio-bibliographical appendix on the Inklings to Diana Pavlac Glyer’s The Company They Keep. He has also written on C.S. Lewis, Ursula Le Guin, Mervyn Peake, Neil Gaiman, and others.

PAPERS and PANELS PROPOSALS

Email papers abstracts of 200-500 words to this year’s Paper Coordinator:
Cami Agan
cami.agan@oc.edu
by May 15, 2020.

Email panels abstracts of 50-150 words to Panels Coordinator:
Leslie Donovan
leslie.a.donovan@gmail.com
by May 15, 2020.

Include AV requests and the projected time needed for your presentation. We will make every effort to accommodate A/V requests, but such equipment is limited and cannot be guaranteed. Available time slots: Individual long papers are one hour, roughly 45 minutes for the paper with 15 minutes for discussion; Individual short papers or 1/2 hour, roughly 20 minutes for the paper with 10 minutes for discussion; Panels are 90 minutes, roughly 60 minutes for the panel with 30 minutes for discussion.
You will be notified after the deadline if your paper proposal has been accepted. See our Alexei Kondratiev Award for details on our student paper award!

All presenters must register for the full conference; please see the Mythcon 51 Registration page for information and rates.

Participants are encouraged to submit papers chosen for presentation at the conference to Mythlore, the refereed journal of the Mythopoeic Society (www.mythlore.org). All papers should conform to the 8th edition of the MLA Style Manual. Presenters who are full-time undergraduate or graduate students are encouraged to submit their completed conference papers in advance for consideration for the Alexei Kondratiev Student Paper Award. Please see www.mythsoc.org/mythcon/alexei.htm for more information.

ABOUT THE MYTHOPOEIC SOCIETY

The Mythopoeic Society is an international literary and educational organization devoted to the study, discussion, and enjoyment of the works of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and mythopoeic literature. We believe the study of these writers can lead to greater understanding and appreciation of the literary, philosophical, and spiritual traditions which underlie their works, and can engender an interest in the study of myth, legend, and the genre of fantasy. Find out about the Society s activities at: www.mythsoc.org

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PCA 2020 Update

The schedule for the 2020 Popular Culture Association National Conference is now available online.

The event runs from 15-18 April 2020 at the Philadelphia Marriott Downtown.

Full details at https://pcaaca.org/conference/schedule.

There are many areas of interest.

NEPCA Fantastic 2020 (6/1/2020; Manchester NH 10/23-24/2020)

Call for Papers on the Fantastic (Fantasy & Science Fiction / Monsters & the Monstrous)

The Northeast Alliance for Scholarship on the Fantastic and the allied Fantastic Areas (Fantasy & Science Fiction and Monsters & the Monstrous) invite paper proposals for the 2020 conference of the Northeast Popular Culture/American Culture Association (NEPCA) to convene at Southern New Hampshire University in Manchester, New Hampshire, from Friday, 23 October, to Saturday, October 24.

The deadline for proposals is June 1, 2020.

The 2020 conference is about 1 hour from Boston, just under 2 hours from Providence, RI, or around 2.5 hours from Burlington, VT, Hartford, CT, or Augusta, ME, about 3.5 hours from Albany, NY, 4.5 hours from New York City or Montreal, QC.

Fantasy & Science Fiction Area:

Area Chair: Amie A. Doughty (State University of New York, College at Oneonta), (Amie.Doughty@oneonta.edu)

Highlighting the more positive aspects of the fantastic genre, the Fantasy and Science Fiction area seeks to examine texts that bring about a sense of wonder in their receivers through their representation of the marvelous, and we welcome submissions from scholars of all levels for papers that explore any aspect of the intermedia traditions of the fantastic that might promote this work. Topics can include, but are not limited to, elements of fairy tale, fantasy, legend, mythology, and science fiction; proposals should investigate how creative artists have shaped and/or altered our preconceptions of these sub-traditions by producing innovative works in diverse countries, time periods, and media and for audiences at all levels.

Monsters & the Monstrous Area:

Area Chair: Michael A. Torregrossa (Independent Scholar) (Popular.Preternaturaliana@gmail.com)

This area welcomes proposals that investigate any of the things, whether mundane or marvelous, that scare us. Through our sessions, we hope to pioneer fresh explorations into the darker sides of the intermedia traditions of the fantastic (including, but not restricted to, aspects of fairy tale, fantasy, gothic, horror, legend, mythology, and science fiction) by illuminating how creative artists have both formed and transformed our notions of monsters within these sub-traditions in texts from various countries, time periods, and media and for audiences at all levels. Our primary goal is to foster a better understating of monsters in general and to examine their impact on those that receive their stories as well as on the world at large. However, as a component of the Northeast Popular Culture/American Culture Association, the Monsters and the Monstrous Area is also especially interested in celebrating both the New England Gothic tradition and the life, works, and legacy of H.P. Lovecraft, a leading proponent of Weird Fiction and an immense influence on contemporary popular culture. (Further information on the area at http://popularpreternaturaliana.blogspot.com/.)



Please submit your proposal for either area via the online form at https://forms.gle/TTbp6EVTkYJqcGgM6.

Membership in NEPCA is required to present; further details on the can be found at https://nepca.blog/.

Northeast Alliance for Scholarship on the Fantastic: https://northeastfantastic.blogspot.com/.