CFP Apocalypse, Dystopia, and Disaster in Culture (11/1/14; SWPCA 2/11-14/15)

Apocalypse, Dystopia, and Disaster in Culture (2/11-14, 2015 ; Abstract Due Nov 1)
full name / name of organization:
36th Annual Southwest Popular/American Culture Association in Albuquerque, New Mexico
contact email:
trayers.shane@gmail.com

Apocalypse, Dystopia, and Disaster in Culture
Area of the 36th Annual Southwest Popular/American Culture Association. February 11-14, 2015 in Albuquerque, New Mexico at the Hyatt Regency Hotel

Our area now includes “dystopia”! The Apocalypse, Dystopia, and Disaster in Culture Area is calling for papers about anything apocalyptic, dystopic, or disaster-related. This can be in movies, television, literature, graphic novels, or any other cultural examples of disaster, dystopia or the end.

Once again, this year did not disappoint in these topics, from The 100 to Under the Dome to Divergent to Pompeii. So why are we so obsessed with ending it all? Why do humans keep coming back to these same types of stories? What cultural fears do the works represent? What are the positives that come out of these kinds of works? This area is interested in all types of theories, both real world and fictional.

Please note that this area is specifically for those papers related to the apocalypse, dystopia, and/or disaster. For example, there is now a separate Zombie Culture area, so if it’s about the “zombie apocalypse” it goes here, but if it is just about zombies, then it goes to that area.

Abstracts are due by November 1st and should be submitted to the submission database found at http://conference2015.southwestpca.org/

Ideas for topics on Apocalypse and Disaster (Not a Comprehensive List):

Real examples: “Doomsday Preppers” television documentary, Bath salt “Zombie” attacks, Hurricane Katrina, Tsunami, East Coast Earthquake, Tornadoes, Haiti, Aurora and Newtown Shootings, Atomic culture.

Film and TV: Under the Dome, The 100, Revolution, Divergent, Defiance, Elysium, Oblivion, The Host, World War Z, Sharknado, This is the End, After Earth, Pacific Rim, Adventure Time, Olympus has Fallen, Melancholia, Falling Skies, The Walking Dead, Resident Evil, Terminator, 2012, The Core, Daybreakers, Zombieland, Independence Day, Night of the Comet, Armageddon, The War of the Worlds, End of Days, Last Night, 12 Monkeys, The Road, Dark Angel, Jericho, Children of Men, The Matrix, Crimson Tide, Invasion, V, Contagion, Dante’s Peak, The Island, The Day the Earth Stood Still.

Literature: Brave New World, Infinite Jest, Oryx and Crake, Breathe, World War Z, Divergent, Pesthouse, The Road, Children of Men, Alas Babylon, The Stand
Graphic Novels and video games: Y:The Last Man, Left 4 Dead, Resident Evil, The Walking Dead

Religious Apocalypse: Revelations and other religious apocalyptic texts, the Left Behind Series, Rapture Insurance.

Or any other works/topics related to apocalypse, dystopia, or disaster!


By web submission at 05/26/2014 - 16:52

CFP Recent Sherlock Holmes Film/TV (essays by 8/15/14)

[Update] Sherlock Collection of Essays
full name / name of organization:
Nadine Farghaly
contact email:
Nadine.Farghaly@gmx.net

Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson are one of the best known couples in Literature. Since Arthur Canon Doyle first published his famous detective stories in 1887, with his work covering the years 1880 until 1914 when Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson finally retired to the countryside, these stories have not lost any of their charm. Frequent adaptations in both the book world and the movie world have demonstrated that the famous detective has neither lost his charm nor his appeal. Different adaptations have added different layers to the Sherlock Holmes universe. While Robert Downey Jr.'s Sherlock brought a sexy playfulness to the screen, Benedict Cumberbatch's Sherlock made his social ineptness as well as his disabilities more prominent. The same can be said for the different John Watsons. Jude Law, added a very sophisticated Watson while Martin Freeman's Watson is a down to earth, broke, Afghanistan war veteran who suffers from PTSD. The female characters of these adaptations are also more than worthy of a thorough analysis; the recent BBC version features Irene Adler as a dominatrix. All of these different versions show very distinctive advantages and challenges, as well as they demonstrate different views/takes on sexuality. BBC's Sherlock has been given the moniker The Virgin while Ritchie's Sherlock obviously has a promiscuous side.

The CBS adaptation titled Elementary adds another layer of discourse to the Sherlock Holmes discussion. In this version of the famous detective stories John Watson has been transformed into Jane Watson. Here, Holmes is a former consultant to Scotland Yard whose drug addiction brings him to a rehabilitation centre in NYC. Post-rehab, Holmes moves in with a “sober companion” in Brooklyn, Joan Watson, a “former surgeon who lost her medical license after a patient died while consulting with the NYPD.” The series is already highly awaited by critics and fans alike since the gender change is something that, while it has been attempted before, never worked successfully. And while not much can be said about this series at this point, it will be necessary to analyse it thoroughly. The gender politics implemented in this show alone will be a reason to review it.

This collection will strongly focus on the gender politics that have been assigned over the last three years to the different Sherlock Holmes adaptations.
The book is already under contract with McFarland

What to Send:

A full draft of the essay (5000 – 8000 words) will be required by August 15th, 2014.

Final articles should be submitted to: Nadine.Farghaly@gmx.net receipt of the abstracts will be send within one week. In case you do not receive an email, please resend your work.


By web submission at 06/02/2014 - 10:53

Primeval: New World TV Marathon

Syfy will air a marathon of its "new" series Primeval: New World this Saturday, 10 August. The series is actually a Canadian-made production based on the popular ITV series Primeval, which aired in the US on BBC America. The latest version lasted for 13 episodes before its cancellation (and subsequent airing on Syfy). The Region 1 DVD/Blu-ray release of the series occurs this fall; the series is already available through video on demand services.




Marathon Schedule:

10:00 AM Primeval: New World - The New World
11:00 AM Primeval: New World - Sisiutl
12:00 PM Primeval: New World  - Fear Of Flying
01:00 PM Primeval: New World  - Angry Birds
02:00 PM Primeval: New World  - Undone
03:00 PM Primeval: New World  - Clean Up On Aisle 3
04:00 PM Primeval: New World  - Babes In The Woods
05:00 PM Primeval: New World  - Truth
06:00 PM Primeval: New World  - Breakthrough
07:00 PM Primeval: New World  - The Great Escape
08:00 PM Primeval: New World  - The Inquisition
09:00 PM Primeval: New World  - The Sounds Of Thunder - Part 1
10:00 PM Primeval: New World  - The Sounds Of Thunder - Part 2

New Doctor Who--Who Cares?

Apparently the BBC announced yesterday that actor Peter Capaldi will be taking over as the next Doctor Who. Details (and some comments by fans at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-23570354). Capaldi is 55 now, so this a big change from the younger Doctors we've had in recent years and (perhaps) suggests a change in the series's demographics (or the network's propagandist strategies).


However, as my post's title suggests, I'm not sure I really care about the Doctor anymore. Its been a good--sometimes great--run since 2005, but the departure of "the Ponds" (Amy Pond and Rory Williams) earlier in Season 7 seemed like a large slap in the face to fans (details at http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2210593/Doctor-Who-fans-say-goodbye-Amy-Pond-killed-hands-weeping-angels.html and http://www.themarysue.com/steven-moffat-ponds/ and http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2012/aug/31/doctor-who-farewell-amy-ponds and (sorry) http://doctorwhotv.co.uk/most-heartbreaking-moments-of-the-ponds-exit-40223.htm [there's lots more to view at https://www.google.com/search?q=doctor+who+ponds+no+more]; more on Amy at http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2012/aug/31/doctor-who-farewell-amy-ponds) and I haven't had the desire to watch further.


Michael Torregrossa
Blog Editor

Contemporary Uses of Fairy Tales in Popular Culture CFP (6/19/13)

Here's one more I just came across:

Contemporary Uses of Fairy Tales in Popular Culture
Publication Date: 2013-06-19 (in 26 days)
Date Submitted: 2013-03-18
Announcement ID: 202344

I invite submissions for an edited collection of essays on contemporary uses of fairy tales in popular culture. The collection will focus on recent reinterpretations and reboots of classical fairy tales, ways the contemporary texts address the original tales and narratological implications of the repetitions and adjustments of these stories. In essays that explore the functions and consequences of fairy tale reboots, remakes and updates, authors will consider the ways fairy tale generic conventions have been revised over time, representations of race, gender, class and sexual identity, the roles of archetypes, mythic tropes and patterns and the emergence of self-referential and meta-tales within these texts.

Essays may also address fan culture influence on contemporary tales, opportunities for interactivity and the roles of stars in fairy tale reboots. Text focus could include television series, feature-length films, comic books and graphic novels, games and animation.

Possible topics include but are not limited to:
• Fables (Bill Willingham/Vertigo, 2002-present)
• The Red Shoes (Kim Yong-gyun, 2005)
• Lost Girls (Alan Moore/Top Shelf, 2006)
• Hansel and Gretel (Yim Pil-Sung, 2007)
• Sydney White (Joe Nussbaum, 2007)
• Bluebeard (Catherine Breillat, 2009)
• The Sleeping Beauty (Catherine Breillat, 2010)
• Red Riding Hood (Catherine Hardwicke, 2011)
• Hanna (Joe Wright, 2011)
• Beastly (Daniel Barnz, 2011)
• Once Upon a Time (ABC, 2011-present)
• Grimm (NBC, 2011-present)
• Snow White and the Huntsman (Rupert Sanders, 2012)
• Mirror, Mirror (Tarsem Singh, 2012)
• Hansel and Gretel (Anthony Ferrante, 2013)
• Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters (Tommy Wirkola, 2013)
• Jack the Giant Slayer (Bryan Singer, 2013)

Submit a two-page proposals by the deadline of June 19, 2013 to Dr. Melissa Lenos at melissalenos@gmail.com; questions may be addressed to the same. Please also include a short bio. If your proposal is selected, the final essay (5000-8000 words) will be due on December 1, 2013.

 Melissa Lenos
 Email: melissalenos@gmail.com

Vampire Diaries Collection CFP (5/1/13)

Almost missed this one (though I'm starting to feel like I'm advertising for supernaturaltelevision@gmail.com). The Vampire Diaries (2009-) is a very popular series and a spin-off on The Originals has recently been announced for the fall.


Essay Collection: "The Vampire Diaries"
Publication Date: 2013-05-01 (in 4 days)
Date Submitted: 2013-01-22
Announcement ID: 200642

Articles are invited for an edited collection on issues related to any element of The Vampire Diaries (either the original books or the CW’s television series).

The following categories suggest possibilities but are by no means exhaustive:

• Monstrosity
• Fandom and/or Reception
• Transformation and/or Adaptation
• Gender
• Race
• Vampirism
• Shapeshifters
• Hybridity
• Witchcraft
• Heroism
• Villainy
• Adolescence
• Desire
\• History
• Memory
• Domesticity
• Power
• Possession and/or Mind Control

What to Send: 300 - 500 word abstracts (or complete articles, if available) and CVs should be submitted by May 1, 2013. If an abstract is accepted for the collection, a full draft of the essay (5000 – 8000 words) will be required by October 1, 2013.

Abstracts and final articles should be submitted to supernaturaltelevision@gmail.com. Please include “Vampire Diaries Submission” in your subject line.

 Dr. Margo Collins
Email: supernaturaltelevision@gmail.com

Essential Supernatural Out Now

Insight Editions has recently released the following:

Knight, Nicholas, and Christopher Cerasi. The Essential Supernatural: On the Road with Sam and Dean Winchester. Foreword Eric Kripke. San Rafael, CA: Insight Editions, 2012. Print. 978-1-60887-145-2

Profusely illustrated, this over-sized book serves as both a guide to and celebration of the first seven seasons of the Supernatural television series. The book includes a wealth of photographs from the show, commentary by the cast and crew, and a variety of extras for the fans. The book concludes with predictions for the upcoming season eight and a short episode guide devoted to seasons one through seven.

Dead Inside (Zombie Collection) CFP Update

UPDATE. CFP The Walking Dead, Essay Collection.
Call for Papers Date: 2012-08-13 (in 6 days)
Date Submitted: 2012-07-17
Announcement ID: 195841

UPDATE for The Walking Dead, Essay Collection: I will also be accepting PROPOSALS for articles for this essay collection by the August 13, 2012 deadline (although ideally the essays should be underway)

Dead Inside: The Walking Dead and the Problem of Meaning in the New Millennium

In the early twenty-first century, zombies are everywhere—in film (Land of the Dead, 28 Days Later, Dead Snow, Rammbock, The Horde), fiction (Stephen King’s Cell, Colson Whitehead’s Zone One, Max Brooks’ World War Z, John Ajvide Lindqvist’s Handling the Undead), social movements (zombie walks and the Zombie Research Society ), classrooms (Zombie Studies) and even politics (Daniel Drezner’s Theories of International Politics and Zombies). Undoubtedly one of the most sustained and complex representations of the modern zombie, though, is AMC’s television series, The Walking Dead, based on Robert Kirkman’s series of comics.

I am seeking essays for a scholarly collection that will explore the complexities of The Walking Dead in relation to the multiple forms of zombie revival, and that will address the ways in which the zombie articulates the crucial theoretical and political debates of the new century.

I am particularly interested in essays about how zombies, and narratives about zombies, engage problems of meaning. In the first episode of season one of The Walking Dead, after protagonist Rick Grimes wakes up in a hospital to a post-apocalyptic world, he encounters a door on which the words “Do Not Open. Dead Inside” are painted. Zombies claw at the opening. The moment encapsulates how zombies often function to signal loss or lack—of self, of consciousness, of history, of political efficacy, of meaning itself. How does the series, in its many contexts—literary, cinematic, historical, political—address compelling contemporary problems of meaning, of how we find and attribute significance in our lives. Essays should, then, take up The Walking Dead as a crystallization of one of the many contemporary problems of meaning. Some generative questions/contexts include:

--Why have zombies seen such a resurgence in the twenty-first century, after their apparent demise in the 1990s? How does The Walking Dead represent an evolution in the history of zombie fiction and film?

--How do zombies feature in imaginings of the end of the world? How do post-apocalyptic narratives with zombies (The Walking Dead, World War Z, Romero’s Dead cycle) differ from those without (The Road, Survivors, Jericho)?

--How do fictional, cinematic, and televisual zombies illuminate philosophical debates over the conceivability of the zombie and what the possible existence (or lack thereof) of zombies says about human consciousness and identity?

--How do zombie narratives encode politics and offer forms of social critique (notably of global capitalism), as well as embodying forms of utopian political thinking?

--How do zombies serve as figures of contagion—as a virus that infects both the body and the mind (memes, flash mobs, etc.)? What meanings inhere in zombies’ contagiousness?

--How do zombies engage with recent theorists of the posthuman?

Please send your essay of no more than 30 pages to Dawn Keetley, Associate Professor of English, at Lehigh University, 35 Sayre Drive, Bethlehem PA 18015. Email: dek7@lehigh.edu. The deadline is Monday August 13, 2012. All disciplinary and interdisciplinary perspectives are welcome. I will be happy to address any questions via email at any time. I am in communication with McFarland (which has been publishing the best books on zombies) about a contract for the collection.

Dawn Keetley
Department of English
Lehigh University
Drown Hall
Bethlehem PA 18015
(610) 758-5926
Email: dek7@lehigh.edu

The Prisoner Remake

More catching up:

The 2009 remake/re-envisioning of the cult TV series The Prisoner from ITV and AMC is now available on home video. It has some interesting ideas but didn't seem engaging enough for "quality television". The series posits a science fictional origin for The Village existing within the mind of one of the series's characters, and The Village is used (though its not always explained how) to help make disaffected or disturbed members of society into productive members of their community.

Falling Skies

The SF series Falling Skies on TNT returns this summer starting 17 June with an all new season:



Season One is also available on DVD, Blu-Ray, and video on-demand.

Doctor Who 2012

BBC America has uploaded to their website the following trailer for the new season of Doctor Who:

CW's Beauty and the Beast?

CW has posted several trailers for its new series Beauty and the Beast. It looks to be paranormal romance, but there is no indication yet as to why the male lead is a beast.

Fringe Collection Update

I'm sorry to have missed updating this in time; calls for papers are so ephemeral now. The latest posted deadline was 15 May 2012:

Shapeshifters, Cyborgs, and Psychedelics: Analyzing the Alternate Worlds of J. J. Abrams' Fringe
Call for Papers Date: 2012-05-15
Date Submitted: 2012-04-22
Announcement ID: 194120

Coeditors Sherry Ginn, Tanya R. Cochran, and Paul Zinder invite proposals or completed essays for an edited collection of scholarly works that explore J.J. Abrams’ science fiction television series Fringe (2008-present). We are interested in a variety of topics as well as diverse disciplinary approaches. Proposals should demonstrate not only a clear methodology and strong thesis but also a familiarity with current conversations and publications about the series. We would be especially pleased to see innovative perspectives on unusual topics such as the show’s paratexts or production elements. Though not prescriptive, the following list of topics may be productive to consider:

*Alternate Worlds
*Auteur Theory—J.J. Abrams, creator
*Broadcasting/Scheduling
*Casting
*Characters/Character Development
*(Dis)Ability—representations of mental illness, psychotherapeutic techniques, (de)institutionalization
*Drug Use—recreational use as well as therapeutic use of recreational drugs
*Discourse Analysis
*Fandom
*Gender
*Genre
*Government Intervention/Conspiracy Theories
*History—LSD trials, emergence of transpersonal
psychology/Consciousness Studies
*Intertextuality
*Interpersonal Communication
*Myth(ologies)
*(Neuro)Science and Technology—ethics (e.g., human experimentations)
*Philosophy/Spirituality/Religion
*Paratexts—web content, fan fiction, glyphs
*Production—cinematography, editing, musical score
*Predecessors—The X-Files, Regenesis, Eleventh Hour, etc.
*Psychology
*Race
*Rhetoric

We strongly recommend authors familiarize themselves with these publications to extend and/or challenge published analyses of the series:

*Grazier, Kevin R., ed. Fringe Science: Parallel Universes, White Tulips, and Mad Scientists. Dallas: Smart Pop, 2011. Print. 

*Stuart, Sarah Clarke. Into the Looking Glass: Exploring the Worlds of Fringe. Toronto: ECW, 2011. Print.

QUERIES AND SUBMISSIONS
Queries are welcomed; please email us at fringecollection@gmail.com. Send 350-500-word proposals or 5,000-7,000-word essays in Microsoft Word or Rich Text Format (RTF) to the same email address; please label your attachment with “Fringe,” your last name, and the date (day.month.year)—e.g., “Fringe, Cochran, 1.3.12.” We suggest but do not require that proposals include a working bibliography. Please provide in a separate document or in the body of the email a brief biography and selected vita.

PRODUCTION TIMELINE
We are currently negotiating with a publisher and working on the following timeline:
*Proposals Due: 15 May 2012
*Notification of Acceptance: 15 June 2012
*First Drafts Due: 1 November 2012

Sherry Ginn
Rowan-Cabarrus Community College
1333 Jake Alexander Blvd. South
Salisbury, NC 28146
Email: fringecollection@gmail.com

Upcoming TV

TV Guide has a list of promising pilots, and a number of them are telefantasy, including Arrow, based on the popular Green Arrow comic book character; Elementary, an updating of Sherlock Homes; and The Selection, set in the far future (click the links for more details).

TV Update

I'm behind, but SyFy recently premiered the new season of Sanctuary and BBC America a new season of Primeval. In addition, SyFy has recently aired holiday episodes of Eureka, Haven and Warehouse 13. More to follow ASAP.

Doctor Who Returns

The Doctor returns (briefly) for this year's Christmas special:

BBC America This Saturday

Coming this Saturday (1 October). BBC America premieres the season finale of Doctor Who and the series opener of Bedlam. Trailers follow.

New TV: Terra Nova

FOX premieres new series Terra Nova tonight, in which future humans retreat to the prehistoric past when conditions on present-day Earth become to dangerous. There is an interview with executive producers Brannon Braga and Rene Echevarria at the Geek Chic Daily website, and the series opener is reviewed in today's Los Angeles Times.

The following is the initial trailer for the series:

Torchwood Reborn?

I had sworn off Torchwood after what seemed to be the needless deaths of its most interesting characters in season 2 and Children of Earth, but the recent mini-series Torchwood: Miracle Day on Starz shows some promise (though I still dislike Gwen). The first episode is/was available for viewing to non-subscribers to the pay-cable network. No word yet on a DVD release.

Grimm TV Show

I came upon this video in relation to Once Upon a Time: Grimm is a new series for NBC inspired by the fairy tales of the Brother's Grimm (and, clearly, a bit of The X-Files and Supernatural).