CFP Conference Call for Papers: World Cinema and Television in French (proposals by 3/1/2016; U of Cincinnati 9/9-10/2016)

Of potential interest:

Conference Call for Papers: World Cinema and Television in French
Discussion published by Michael Gott on Tuesday, September 22, 2015
https://networks.h-net.org/node/14467/discussions/84437/conference-call-papers-world-cinema-and-television-french

Call for Papers:
World Cinema and Television in French
September 9-10, 2016 ∙ University of Cincinnati, USA

Sponsored by Contemporary French Civilization, The University of Cincinnati & The University of Rhode Island
Confirmed Keynote Speaker: Bill Marshall (University of Stirling)
Confirmed Roundtable Participants: Joseph Mai (Clemson University), Mireille Rosello (University of Amsterdam), Sylvie Durmelat (Georgetown University), Thibaut Schilt (College of the Holy Cross)

This interdisciplinary conference will examine cinematic and televisual cultural productions that fall under a broad ‘French-language’ umbrella in order to map out significant trends as well as new directions in the study of global French-language cinema and television and its points of contact with other languages and industries. It also aims to explore the opportunities and limitations of adopting labels such as cinéma-monde, transnational, Francophone, and World Cinema, as critical frameworks.

The conference will conclude with a round table that will bring together ideas raised during the conference.

We invite proposals in French or English for single papers and panels. Topics may include, but are not limited to, the following:

• New Francophone spaces in world cinema and television
• Transnational television and cinema in French (or partly in French)
• Screen media and/or digital media in the French-speaking world
• The notion of cinéma-monde or cinéma(s)-monde(s)
• Parameters, boundaries, and definitions of French-language and/or French cinema
• “Hubs” and emerging or overlooked  sites of French-language cinema (Montreal, Belgium, Chad)
• Film and television industries (production and/or reception of French-language cinema and television, funding sources, industry practices, etc.)
• Circuits and institutions of marketing and dissemination of French-language cinema (international and regional film festivals, cinema houses, etc.)
• International auteurs working in Paris or international auteurs not based in Paris but making films in French/in France (Aki Kaurismäki, Ursula Meier, Merzak Allouache, Amos Gitai, etc.)
• Directors whose work has intersected various Francophone spaces
• Linguistic issues and parameters of “French-language cinema”, non-French productions containing French dialogue, French productions with little or no French in them, multilingual cinema
• Interaction with and competition from English and points of contact with other languages in the Middle East, Africa, the Maghreb, and elsewhere
• Antecedents to contemporary World cinema in French
• Teaching French-language cinema to students who do not speak French

Conference participants will be invited to submit their papers for a special issue on the conference theme that will be published inContemporary French Civilization.

The deadline for abstracts (300 words) is March 1, 2016. Please send abstracts and a short bio as a single attachment toWorldCinemaConference@gmail.com

Please contact Michael Gott (michael.gott@uc.edu) or Leslie Kealhofer-Kemp (lkealhofer@uri.edu) with any questions.

Scientific Committee:
Sylvie Durmelat (Georgetown University)
Michael Gott (University of Cincinnati)
Leslie Kealhofer-Kemp (University of Rhode Island)
Joseph Mai (Clemson University)
Thérèse Migraine-George (University of Cincinnati)
Mireille Rosello (University of Amsterdam)
Thibaut Schilt (College of the Holy Cross)

Sponsored by The University of Cincinnati Center for Film and Media Studies and Department of Romance Languages and Literatures, The University of Rhode Island, and Contemporary French Civilization

CFP Essay Collection on The Hobbit in Fiction and Film (proposals by 12/1/2015)

Head's up from H-Film:

CFP: Essay Collection on The Hobbit in Fiction and Film (working title) with McFarland publisher
Discussion published by Janice Bogstad on Friday, October 2, 2015
https://networks.h-net.org/node/14467/discussions/86662/cfp-essay-collection-hobbit-fiction-and-film-working-title

COMPARING JACKSON’S The Hobbit FILMS TO TOLKIEN’s NOVEL: : Text into Film   Edited by Dr. Janice M Bogstad

 Call for papers for an essay collection -12-15 essays of 6000-8,000 words in length.

The deadline for receipt of an abstract, for consideration, is Dec 1, 2015. Final manuscripts are due March 1, 2016 with encouragement for earlier submission.  Contact me to discuss exceptions.



Send Abstracts and address queries to:  
Dr. Janice M. Bogstad, Professor    bogstajm@uwec.edu  715-836-6032
(McIntyre Library U of Wisconsin-Eau Claire   Eau Claire, WI  54702-5010

Manuscripts will be reviewed in a double-blind process by peer reviewers after having been tentatively accepted by the editor.

The collection will consider comparisons between Tolkien’s original Hobbit and the three Jackson films.  Of interest are structural parallels and differences, changes in character-focus from the book to the films, and considerations of philosophical differences in the overall message of Tolkien’s original book and Jackson’s films, but other well-supported arguments will also be considered.  As with the previously published essay collection, Picturing Tolkien (McFarland 2011), this collection will focus on positive comparisons. Essayists may wish to discuss features of the film that are, in their judgment, less successful, but will be asked to hold condemnation of the cinematic text simply on the basis of its differences from the textual narrative.  Authors may decide to focus on the films or the novel but the primary focus is comparative features of both.  Contribution to Tolkien scholarship can be articulated with two concepts:  its audience is the informed reader, not only the Tolkien, literary or film critic.  Its basic framework is in respect of co-measurability, that the books and the films are co-creations with parallel structures that intersect at certain points.  Each should be examined and compared as if those comparisons and intersections are significant to understanding contemporary Tolkien studies.

CFP History Channel's Vikings Collection (proposals 6/1/2016)

Courtesy Tim Rayborn:

New anthology on the Vikings television show

McFarland Publishers, an independent book publisher devoted to a wide variety of topics, including history, sports, and pop culture, is releasing a collection of essays on the History Channel’s television series "Vikings." I will act as editor, being a medievalist and having an interest in Northern European culture and history. I have written three books for McFarland (two available now and one published early next year), and am a professional performer of early music.

Entering its fourth season in 2016, the show has a large and growing audience of fans, though it also has detractors and critics, mainly for its tendency to take liberties with historical events and details. However, it does make use of period languages, and is known for its cinematography.

In assembling a collection of essays, I am looking for a considerable variety of topics, including history, sociology, pop culture studies, gender studies, etc. Possible subjects might include:

• Historical vs. onscreen representations of events, people, etc. The show often mixes elements together from different accounts. The point here would not be to overly criticize the series for its departures from history, but rather to examine differences and perhaps investigate why certain changes were made.
• Representations in the show of everyday life, such as food, drink, farming, and domestic activities.
• A study of Ragnar’s Saga and related accounts.
• Sexuality in the show, from both pagan and Christian perspectives.
• How religion is portrayed in various episodes, including Ragnar’s vision of Odin in the first episode, the events at Uppsala, Floki’s “Heathen fundamentalism,” Christian imagery in France and England, scenes such as the Viking blessing of the crops in Anglo-Saxon England, and Ragnar’s “funeral” at Paris.
• Related to the previous topic, a study of the character of Æthelstan and Anglo-Saxon monasticism in general (at Lindisfarne and elsewhere) would be welcome.
• Representations of women in the show. Viking women such as Lagertha, Siggy, Aslaug, Porunn, Helga, as well as Saxon and French women (such as Judith and Princess Gisla) are all worthy of further study, perhaps contrasting these characters with historical information.
• Sociological studies would be welcome, such as why the show is so popular now (the trailer for Season Four was a hit at San Diego Comic-Con 2015, and has some 850,000 views on YouTube; the show routinely has more than 4 million weekly viewers), and which themes seem to resonate with modern viewers.

The point of this anthology is to view the show for its own merits, understanding that it is a mixture of history, saga literature, fiction, and anachronism, all of which gives it its own unique flavor. Critical essays, rather than merely criticism, are what we seek. Ideally, potential contributors would want to view the upcoming Season Four (premiering in March, 2016) to include aspects of it in their articles, though there are certainly enough topics to begin work now, and to propose subjects of study.

Essays must be in English, fully cited with end notes, and bibliography, all in accordance with the current Chicago Manual of Style. The length of each contribution should be between about 5,000 and 10,000 words, unless there is a good reason that a given essay should be shorter or longer. Please use clear, concise writing.

Peer review will be conducted after the collection is submitted, currently scheduled for September 1, 2016.

Accordingly, the deadline for article submission is June 1, 2016. Submissions before that deadline are, of course, most welcome and helpful.

If contributors wish to include images not in public domain or text excerpts from copyrighted materials requiring written permission to reproduce, they will be expected to obtain such permissions on their own, and pay the required reproduction fees (if needed). McFarland cannot reimburse for this expense. I will need hard copies of each such permission. McFarland also discourages the use of quotations of dialogue from individual episodes, as well as images/screen captures, as these require additional permission/fees from the television network and can delay publication.

Potential contributors should submit a one- to two-page proposal including a potential title, a short description/abstract of the topic(s) for your essay, a brief summary of your background and qualifications, and contact information.

Please email your proposals to me at: trayborn@sbcglobal.net

Thank you for your time and interest, and I look forward to receiving and reading your proposals.


Best wishes,

Tim Rayborn

www.mcfarlandbooks.com
www.timrayborn.com