Call For Papers: Investigating Angel
Editor: Stacey Abbott, The University of Surrey Roehampton, UK
Publisher: IB Taurus

We are seeking proposals for a collection entitled Investigating Angel.

Recently renewed for a fifth season and with the recent conclusion to the
series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel is expected to take centre stage in
2003-2004. BtVS’ favourite vampire Spike has been signed to Angel while
regulars from BtVS are expected to make guest appearances. As a result the
series should expect transference of loyalty in the absence of Buffy.
Furthermore, the climax to season four called into question all of the
events of the four preceding years and ended with the team of Angel
Investigations taking over the premises of their corporate nemeses,
Wolfram and Hart. These events suggest the end of one era for the show and
the beginning of a new format, distinct from previous seasons of Angel as
well as BtVS. This makes it an ideal time for a serious critical study of
the first four years of Angel as it evolved past being an extension of the
Buffy narrative into a dynamic show in its own right.

We solicit proposals for a collection of essays exploring the series Angel
in its own right rather then simply as an extension of Buffy the Vampire
Slayer. We welcome a wide range of critical approaches from across
disciplines to engage with the series’ complexity of narrative, genre,
style and theme. Essays can examine both individual episodes as well as
broader narrative or character arcs.

The aim of the collection will be to explore themes and aspects of the
series that are specific to Angel. We would therefore particularly welcome
proposals that examine the impact of locating the series in Los Angeles,
the introduction of a corporate villain, Wolfram and Hart, and how the
series negotiates issues of masculinity in crisis. Essays focusing on
other male characters in addition to Angel are encouraged. Wherever
possible, papers should consider the series’ distinct visual style
alongside discussions of theme or representation, as this is an area that
often gets overlooked in favour of thematic readings.

Possible topics for discussion include, but are not limited to:

Narrative and Genre in American Quality Television
· Narrative arcs
· Crossovers with BtVS
· Generic hybridity
· Structuring narrative for television
· Temporality and the flashback

        City of Angel: The Fragmented Cultures of Los Angeles
· Moving to LA: Angel and the legacy of urban noir/urban gothic
· Demons as Other/Demons as Us: Exploring the racial plurality of
LA
· Making the invisible visible: Gangs, runaways and the violence
of the street
· Vampires and Demons: Metaphors for alternative sexualities
· Mixing the real LA with the fantasy LA in the Angelverse
· Gender, sexuality, the femme fatale
· Police corruption

        Terrors of Family Life
· Incest, family violence, child abuse, neglect
· Demonic pregnancies, monstrous mothers, vampire mothers vs human
mothers
· The collapse of fatherhood
· Vampires as alternative families
· Inbreeding in vampire families

        Genre and the Masculine Crisis
· Construction and deconstruction of the superhero
· Family horror: themes of incest and family violence in Angel
· Vampire Families: Monstrous Mothers and Failed Fathers
· Male adolescent angst and growing up
· Life in and out of the ‘hood: The Crisis of Charles Gunn

        Wolfram and Hart: Legal Vultures as the Biggest Big Bad
· Legal and corporate corruption
· Evils of capitalism and globalisation
· Gender politics in the corporate world
· Law and lawlessness in the Angelverse

We invite contributors to submit an abstract of up to 500 words by the
15th December, 2003 to:

s.abbott_at_roehampton.ac.uk

Or by mail to:

Dr. Stacey Abbott
Film and Television Studies
School of Humanities and Cultural Studies
University of Surrey Roehampton
Digby Stuart College
Roehampton Lane
London SW15 5PH

Please include a brief biography.

If your proposal is accepted for the collection, you will have until the
14th May, 2004 to complete it. The book is planned for a Spring 2005
publication.

Stacey Abbott is lecturer in Film and Television Studies at the University
of Surrey Roehampton. She has written on Buffy the Vampire Slayer and her
PhD thesis was an examination of the modern vampire in American cinema and
television.

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Received on Sat Nov 15 2003 - 19:10:24 EST