cfp.english.upenn.edu

This panel strives to contextualize this history of mandatory military service by examining media representations of the draft. 2013 marks the 40th anniversary of the official end of the longest extended period of military conscription in American history, essentially running from 1940 to 1973. The panel hopes to consider issues of propaganda, subversion, nationalism, gender, race, sexuality, religion, and/or class identity as well as broader national narratives of citizen soldiery. I welcome research related to various forms of media – including but not limited to film, radio, television, comics, and videogames – from both the period of the draft as well as media showing retrospective depictions.

All proposals should be sent to Scott Balcerzak (sbalcerzak@niu.edu) by the 10th of August, and must include a 250-300 word summary, a title, five bibliographic citations, and a brief author bio. Selection of proposals will be made by the 12th of August.

Scott Balcerzak, PhD
Assistant Professor of Film and Media
Department of English
Northern Illinois University
DeKalb, IL 60115
sbalcerzak@niu.edu