CFP: Edited Volume on Star Wars and Politics in the Disney Era
deadline for submissions:
September 30, 2025
full name / name of organization:
Dominic J Nardi
contact email:
dnardi@umich.edu
source: https://call-for-papers.sas.upenn.edu/cfp/2025/07/28/cfp-edited-volume-on-star-wars-and-politics-in-the-disney-era
This edited volume seeks to collect scholarship on the treatment of political themes and world-building in the Star Wars franchise since Disney acquired Lucasfilm in 2012. Scholars have thoroughly explored political topics in George Lucas’s works, but have paid less attention to how Star Wars projects under Disney have continued, changed, or challenged the franchise’s approach to politics. To advance the scholarship on this subject, we welcome proposals from a variety of disciplines and perspectives, including literary criticism, cultural history, political science, film studies, and fandom studies.
Possible / Suggested Topics:
We are willing to consider relevant proposals about Star Wars stories in any medium — including films, TV shows, novels, comics, and video games — published since Lucasfilm reset the Star Wars canon in April 2014. Below are some topics that essays selected for the volume might address. Please consider this list a starting point for ideas rather than an exhaustive checklist of desired coverage.
- Everyday heroes and weapons of the weak in Rogue One and Andor
- Political idealism in The High Republic multimedia project
- Magical weapons to identify rightful rulers in Rebels, The Mandalorian, and The Book of Boba Fett
- Luthen’s accelerationism in Andor
- Links between the Empire and organized crime
- Post-conflict justice in the Aftermath and Alphabet Squadron novels
- Information warfare and propaganda, including the Star Wars Propaganda artbook
- Political parties in Bloodlines as a commentary on American polarization
- Star Wars Visions and Ronin as non-Western perspectives on politics in Star Wars
- Mistreatment of veterans in Rebels, The Bad Batch, Andor, and Obi-Wan Kenobi
- Transplanetary corporations and the military-industrial complex
- Income inequality and the donor class in The Last Jedi
- Pre-Mor Authority and the Empire’s use of contractors
- Political dynasties and/or cults of personality
- How political debates during the 2010s and early 2020s affected responses to the Sequel Trilogy
- Interconnections between the State and carceral institutions
- Tensions between political and religious institutions
- Nemik’s manifesto as political rhetoric
Submission and Contact:
Interested authors should email the following to sweede01@luther.edu and dnardi@umich.edu by September 30, 2025:
- 300-500 word abstract of your proposed chapter;
- Contact information - name, email address, and any institutional affiliation;
- Resume/CV for each author/co-author (in any format).
Selected authors will be notified by November 1, 2025, and will be invited to contribute a first draft of a full-length chapter by May 4, 2026. Essays should be between 5,000-7,500 words.
About the Editors
Derek Sweet (sweede01@luther.edu) has been a professor in the communication studies department since 2005, focusing on the topics of rhetoric and public address. Some of his course topics include Public Address, Advanced Public Address, Rhetoric of Everyday Life, Rhetoric of Spirituality, and Media & Popular Culture. He also coedited The Transmedia Franchise of Star Wars TV (Palgrave 2020) and wrote Star Wars in the Public Square (McFarland, 2015).
Dominic J. Nardi (dnardi@umich.edu) is a political scientist who researches the depiction of politics in science fiction and fantasy. He coedited and wrote chapters for The Transmedia Franchise of Star Wars TV (Palgrave 2020), Discovering Dune (McFarland 2022), and Studio Ghibli Animation as Adaptations (2025). He received his PhD from the University of Michigan and teaches at George Washington University.
Last updated July 28, 2025
