cfp.english.upenn.edu

Call for Papers: Guitars and Geeks: An Exploration of the Music and Culture of Geek Rock

DEADLINE: December 31, 2012

This book seeks to explore the culture, music, and significance of geek rock. As a sub-genre of alternative music, geek rock has not only been neglected in current humanities scholarship, it has also been literally erased from the mainstream with the deletion of the “Geek Rock” Wikipedia page. We contend that not only is geek rock present and significant within music and culture, but that it transcends musical genre and social boundaries. Geek rock, as we define it, is determined more by subject matter than by sound. The purpose of this collection of essays is two-fold: to define and re-map geek rock on the musical landscape and to explore the musical and cultural significance geek rock.

Contributors are encouraged to consider addressing the following in their submissions (please note that this list is by no means exhaustive):
• Explorations of musicians and/or bands in the geek rock milieu
• What makes geek rock and geek rock artists “geeky?”
• What constitutes “geeky” subject matter?
• What does it means to be a geek (in the present time and/or in previous decades)?
• How do geek rock and geek rock culture impact music, culture, and the history of each?
• How does geek rock bend genres and musical categories?
• How has geek rock and geek rock culture evolved?
• Why does geek rock continue to be marginalized? How has “geek” been reclaimed?
• Artists who could be considered forerunners of modern geek rock (for example: Captain Beefheart, The Residents, Jonathan Richman and The Modern Lovers, Steely Dan, Talking Heads, Robyn Hitchcock (The Soft Boys, The Egyptians), Devo, etc.)
• Music that reflects, comments on, or celebrates geek culture
• Filk Singing

Essays can run anywhere from 3,000 to 5,000 words and contributions from all disciplines and fields will be considered. Contributors are asked to avoid using quotes from song lyrics and to use MLA format. Figures, photos, and illustrations are not recommended unless you can provide a high-resolution (300 dpi or greater) image for which rights have also been cleared. The complete essay should also include a 200-word abstract, a brief CV, and a short list of suggested listening (ideally, three to five albums). Please submit essays in PDF or Word files (either .doc or .docx) to guitarsandgeeks@gmail.com by December 31, 2012.

Any further questions, please feel free to contact either of the editors of this book:

Victoria Willis, PhD
Georgia State University
vwillis2@gsu.edu
vickiewillis@gmail.com

Alex DiBlasi, MA
St. John’s University
diblasia@stjohns.edu
alexcharlesdiblasi@gmail.com