cfp.english.upenn.edu

CALL FOR PAPERS FOR EDITED BOOK:

FOUND IMAGES: Documentary, Politics and Social Processes in Portugal

Editors:
Patrícia Vieira (Georgetown University / CEC, University of Lisbon)and Pedro Serra (University of Salamanca).

Documentary films have played a central role in the formation of Portuguese public opinion, in that they both analyze and interpret specific historic events and draw the public’s attention to social issues or governmental policies. Starting with the propaganda documentaries from the dictatorial regime of the New State (1933-1974), through movies that documented Portugal’s transition to democracy (1974-1976), to documentaries produced during the democratic period (1976-today), this film genre has determined the ways in which Portuguese society faces its socio-political developments, thus becoming a sort of a filter that interprets reality. Further, some documentaries are conceived as an archive of images about key moments in the country’s past and, therefore, strive to create a critical awareness of national history.
In Found Images we will select papers that reflect upon the interrelation between documentary and politics in Portugal. Articles can focus on theoretical questions pertaining to the link between documentary and politics, on broader themes in the development of Portuguese documentary film, or perform a more specific analysis of either the work of a filmmaker or a particular film. We encourage interdisciplinary approaches to the topic, including, cross-media studies, visual studies and cultural studies. Some of the topics we would welcome are: documentary and propaganda; documentary and colonialism; documentary and Portuguese history; documentary and pop culture; literature/music/art and documentary; ethnography/anthropology and documentary; theory of the documentary; documentary and fiction film; documentary and performance; documentary and journalism; documentary and meta-documentary/post-documentary.

• Papers are accepted in Portuguese, English, Spanish and French.
• Deadline for sending papers: June 1, 2010.
• Length of papers: 35.000 characters (with spaces).
• Articles should be e-mail to Patrícia Vieira (piv2@georgetown.edu) and Pedro Serra (pedroserra@telefonica.net).