cfp.english.upenn.edu

This special topics panel seeks papers that explore the relationship between religion or religious practice and the hand-drawn image in all of its forms, from comics and illustrations in childrens literature to animated cartoons.

In addition to papers on individual texts or artists whose work merits consideration given the topic, we are also interested in papers responsive to the following questions:

How have recent media events related to images found offensive to particular religions or religious groups framed or re-framed the status of the image, of religion?
How do they re-frame the notion of the human?
How do images intervene upon religious or spiritual experience differently from other types of media?
How do contemporary images bear the historical tensions surrounding iconography and idolatry?

Please send all abstracts with a short bio to Michael Chaney at michael.chaney@dartmouth.edu by December 15, 2012.