The Sidney Poitier International Conference and Film Festival
Nassau, The Bahamas, February 23-27, 2010
Deadline for Submissions: July 31, 2009
Email: Ian Strachan at istrachan_at_cob.edu.bs

The College of the Bahamas, School of English Studies presents the Sidney
Poitier International Conference and Film Festival. We invite critics,
historians, filmmakers, artists and cultural practitioners from around the
world to examine the artistic and social endeavors of acclaimed actor,
director, author, and diplomat Sir Sidney Poitier.

Sir Sidney Poitier, who was born in Miami to Bahamian parents and was
raised in Cat Island and Nassau, turns 83 on February 20, 2010. He remains
one of the most recognizable black icons in the entire world. Widely
celebrated but at times criticized for the roles he played during a career
that spans 60 years, there can be no serious discussion of blacks in
American film, and no serious analysis of American film history that
excludes him.

We seek now to encourage a fresh interrogation of the social, cultural, and
political significance of the Poitier oeuvre. We invite papers or panel
presentations that explore the broad spectrum of critical issues summoned
up by Poitier’s work as actor, director, and author. Presentations should
be 20 minutes in length. Papers will be considered for publication in an
upcoming scholarly text dedicated to Poitier’s work.

Possible Panel and Paper Topics Include (but are not limited to):
Caribbean Sense and Sensibilities in American Cinema
Constructions of Blackness in Poitier’s Films
Representations of Women in Poitier’s Films
The Iconic Black Male in America
Black Skin, White Masks
Poitier and the White/Black Gaze
Poitier and the Global Politics of Race and Liberation
Poitier, Bahamian Politics and Identity
Sexing the Asexual
Black Christs and the White Conscience
Desire, Sexuality and Transgression
Poitier and Censorship
Poitier in the Classroom
The Actor as Activist
Poitier and Film Theory
Poitier and the Black Power Movement
Poitier and the Digital Age
Autobiography and Refashioning
Poitier as Director
Poitier as Writer

Please send abstracts via email to: istrachan_at_cob.edu.bs.
Abstracts should be submitted by July 31, 2009, and should be no longer
than 250 words.
Two graduate student travel grants will be awarded. Those seeking these
grants should submit an abstract of 500 words and must submit full papers
by November 30, 2009.

For more information on the conference please go to:
http://poitierconference.synthasite.com/. For any questions feel free to
contact Ian Strachan at istrachan_at_cob.edu.bs, or Marjorie Brooks-Jones at
mjones_at_cob.edu.bs or call the School of English Studies at (242) 302-4381.

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Received on Sun Feb 08 2009 - 01:02:12 EST