Russell Crowe’s talents were globally recognized in the early 2000s after he appeared in a slate of well-received films – L.A. Confidential, Gladiator, and A Beautiful Mind, among others – that earned him critical acclaim. Nevertheless, in the years following these productions, he has continued to be a part of numerous projects with international and creative appeal. Alongside his films are his associations with Roman soccer teams – established in Spera’s (2023) chapter in my recent volume on Gladiator (https://vernonpress.com/book/1213) – his social media presence, and his musical performances.

The twentieth anniversary of Ridley Scott’s Gladiator (2000) was an important moment in film history, for it not only marked a great film and work of art, but it also reminded audiences how peplum and historical epics still mattered. The edited collection “A Hero Will Endure”: Essays at the Twentieth Anniversary of ‘Gladiator’ (2023) provided insights on the film two decades after its release.

Yet now there is a sequel with a November 2024 release. This CFP therefore serves to build on the work done in the 2023 essays and provide a further avenue of exploration for connections between the two films as well as innovative readings of Gladiator 2 on its own.

Topics include, but are not limited to:

REVISED DEADLINE: Special Issue of Surveillance & Society on Literature and Surveillance now accepting submissions until 12 January 2025.

Call for Papers: Surveillance and Literature

Special Issue of Surveillance & Society

Edited by Steph Brown, University of Arizona

Submission deadline: January 12, 2025 for publication September 2025

This special issue asks: what does literature, and the study of literature, offer our shared understanding of surveillance? And what can literature tell us about surveillance and its entanglement with the arts?

ASLE 2025: Collective Atmospheres, July 8-11, 2025

University of Maryland, College Park

Panel: National Cinemas of Agriculture

This proposed panel at ASLE 2025 seeks proposals that explore the ideal of national cinema in the global landscape, with specific emphasis on the cinematic representations of agriculture, rural life, and their connections to (post)colonial and Indigenous foodways.

The Function of Humour
A Transdisciplinary Conference

Conference Date: January 28-30, 2025 
Format: Online Virtual Conference
Fees: £100 for non-members (excluding Eventbrite fees)
15% discount for LABRC Members
Proposal deadline: 29 December 2024

Conference Webpage: https://labrc.co.uk/humour/

“Humor is mankind’s greatest blessing.” – Mark Twain

(Also, it’s a pretty good excuse to host an academic conference where people can laugh while learning!)

***Extended Deadline*** 

Nothing on Leila (1997) please!!!

ReFocus: The International Directors Series, published by Edinburgh University Press invites scholars, researchers, and practitioners to submit papers for a title dedicated to the influential works of Dariush Mehrjui (1939-2023), a seminal figure in Iranian cinema. Known for his profound impact on the New Wave of Iranian cinema, Mehrjui’s films blend social commentary, philosophical inquiry, and aesthetic innovation. This title aims to explore the multifaceted dimensions of Mehrjui’s oeuvre, examining his contributions to film art and his role in shaping Iranian and global cinema.

Topics of Interest

Webpage: https://labrc.co.uk/mythic-muse/

Mythic Muse: Writing Poetry with Mythology
An 8-week poetic inquiry course blending creative writing with research

When: 7 Wednesdays from January 15-March 5 (no class on Feb 19), 2025
19:00-21:00 (London Time)

Where: Online

Course Overview:

For sign-up forms, consult: https://beyondtrauma.yolasite.com/ 

The Beyond Trauma Conference (June 9, 10, & 11, 2025; Nice, France) aims to gather an international and interdisciplinary group of scholars to share their research (ethnographies, theories, and clinical practice) on post-traumatic states from resistance and resilience to retribution and growth. More specifically, we propose to focus less on trauma and PTSD and more on modes of healing that so often involve the arts for trauma survivors. 

Half a century later, the seeds Alice Walker planted with her seminal essay “In Search of Our Mothers’ Gardens” (1974) continue to  blossom today in aesthetic conversations. In Search of a Beautiful Freedom: New and Selected Essays (2023), whose title is inspired in part by Alice Walker’s In Search of Our Mothers’ Gardens: Womanist Prose (1983), Farah Jasmine Griffin asserts, “That book helped to shape many of us formed as intellectuals and writers in its wake.

Conference: 23-24 January 2025 (online)

ABOUT CONFERENCE: 

Call for Proposals: "TRANS∗Media”Harvard Graduate Music Forum 2025 ConferenceCambridge, MA | February 28–March 1, 2025 

∗Deadline extended to January 5th, 2025 at 11:59PM!∗

The African American Literature and Culture Society invites abstracts (of no more than
250 words) for presentations at the annual conference of the American Literature
Association (http://americanliteratureassociation.org/). We will also consider a limited
number of panel proposals (of no more than 500 words).

CALL FOR PAPERS

Sino Queer Translation:

Sexualities across Languages, Cultures, and Media 

Edited by Hongwei Bao and Yahia Ma

From campaigns against disenfranchisement to protests against sexual and gender-based violence, feminism has historically combined dissent—against exclusion, subordination, and prevailing power structures—with a focus on the imperative for social and political transformation. This issue of Rejoinder explores the history of feminist dissent and how it has shifted through the decades, both for activists and academics. In addition to a historical focus, we seek to address contemporary manifestations of dissent within feminism, exploring who successfully forges narratives that challenge feminism’s dominant iteration(s)—and what accounts for their success.