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

CFP Student Conference on Alterity in Fantasy and Science Fiction (7/15/2018; University of Freiburg 10/19-20/2018)

CFP: Fantastic Beasts, Monstrous Cyborgs, Aliens and Other Spectres: Exploring Alterity in Fantasy and Science Fiction, Student Conference, English Department, University of Freiburg, 19-20 October 2018
https://www.fantastic-arts.org/2018/cfp-fantastic-beasts-monstrous-cyborgs-aliens-and-other-spectres-exploring-alterity-in-fantasy-and-science-fiction-student-conference-english-department-university-of-freiburg-19-20-october-20/
April 13, 2018

Fantastic Beasts, Monstrous Cyborgs, Aliens and Other Spectres: Exploring Alterity in Fantasy and Science Fiction

Student Conference, English Department, University of Freiburg, 19-20 October 2018

Identity formation operates through processes of exclusion by defining the self against an other. As Sencindiver et al argue: “[O]therness has been inseparable from human identity and affairs from time immemorial – the birth of subjectivity ineluctably implicates the birth of its concomitant and allegedly dark twin”. Alterity is a concept of ongoing relevance and describes “the quality of strangeness inherent in the other”. The relationship between self and other is based on hierarchical power structures that stem from an essentialist mind-set and serve as justifications of exclusionary practices such as imperialism, sexism and anthropocentrism. With the emergence of postmodern theory in the 1960s, the validity of these hierarchies has been continually called into question. Especially the deconstruction of the divide between high and popular culture led to a pluralisation of perspectives, giving a voice to those who had formerly been excluded and silenced.

Critical theorists such as John Storey have described popular culture itself as an other that is always defined against any other definitions of “culture” and “popular”. It follows that popular culture constitutes a hegemonic site of struggle and thus provides productive ground on which to contrast different discourses surrounding alterity, which can in turn confirm or subvert them. Popular culture is not a mere reflection of current cultural discourses but takes an active role, influencing the various ways in which we perceive and respond to otherness.

We are currently witnessing a proliferation of the genres of science fiction and fantasy, particularly in media such as film or television (consider for example the popularity of films and series such as Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, Game of Thrones, the Star Wars sequels, recent Star Trek reboots & prequels and many more). The study of fantasy and science fiction is especially rewarding in the context of analysing representations of alterity. Both genres construct elaborate alternative worlds in which encounters between human characters and sentient nonhuman others call into question the nature of the human and, with it, the boundaries between self and other. The thought experiments that characterise fantasy and science fiction estrange our known reality which promotes an active examination of our world. They throw into relief what we consider as other and provide new models to encounter alterity outside of fiction in the ‘real’ world.

This conference aims to address the representation of alterity in fantasy and science fiction, its impact on cultural practices and its subversive potential. We are interested in the role of form, medium and (sub)genre in negotiations of alterity. We welcome papers analysing popular cultural texts from diverse cultural contexts. Please note that the language of the conference is English.

Potential discussion topics may include, but are not limited to:

• different (re)configurations of the Other (racialised and gendered others, cyborgs, fantastic creatures, animal others, etc.)
• socio-historical perspectives on alterity (reconfigurations of the notion of the subaltern, the uncanny, etc.)
• fictional representations of liminal or hybrid identities
• the influence of philosophy, ethics, science or anthropology (amongst others) on science fiction and fantasy
• negotiations of otherness in different media (i.e. TV, film, podcasts, computer games, web-series, music, transformative works, art, literature, etc.)
• the political impact of ethical representations of alterity

This student conference is organised by two Masters students of British and North American Cultural Studies at the University of Freiburg, Germany, Julia Ditter and Anne Korfmacher. If you are a student (B.A., M.A. or PhD level) and interested in presenting a 20-minute paper at our conference, please submit a short proposal (around 200-250 words) and a short biography (including your current study program) to exploringalterity@anglistik.uni-freiburg.de by 15 July 2018. There is no conference fee to be paid and technical equipment for the presentation will be provided. Conference participants will be responsible for organising and paying for their own accommodation and food.

Please see https://exploringalterity.wordpress.com/cfp/ for more information.

References:

Sencindiver, Susan Yi, Marie Lauritzen and Maria Beville. “Introduction.” Otherness: A Multilateral Perspective, Peter Lang, 2011, p. 17 (pp. 17-42).
Buchanan, Ian. “Alterity.” A Dictionary of Critical Theory, Oxford UP, 2010. Online.
cf. Storey, John. Cultural Theory and Popular Culture. Routledge, 2015. 7th Edition, pp. 13ff.