postscript: a journal of graduate criticism and theory is a peer-reviewed,
multi-disciplinary journal published annually by graduate students in the
Department of English at Memorial University of Newfoundland. Students
either currently enrolled in a post-graduate program or having recently
graduated from one are invited to submit papers for a special issue
exploring issues concerning or related to rock 'n roll and its association
with freedom.

"Freedom's just another word for nothing left to lose," sings Janis Joplin
in "Me and Bobby McGee," expressing rock 'n roll's precarious vacillation
between volition and dependence, self-actualization and conformity. From
its roots in African-American ragtime and blues to its early incarnations in
the energetic rhythms of Chuck Berry, Buddy Holly and the Beatles and its
later manifestations in the realm of multigeneric popular music, rock 'n
roll has been closely associated with a spirit of independence, rebellion,
emancipation, and liberty. More recently, the culture industry has
problematized the relationship between rock and freedom by appropriating and
marketing rock's liberal spirit for a variety of corporate, capitalist and
political ends. Consequently, rock 'n roll has been transformed into an
instrument of cultural hegemony that is more directly associated with
subordination than subversion and emancipation. For many in the culture
industry, freedom as manifested in rock 'n roll has become "just another
word" for so much more to gain. For this special issue, postscript seeks
papers that thematize and interrogate the interaction between freedom and
rock 'n roll, industry and artistic expression; and that examine the
aesthetic, economic, historical, political, sexual, and theoretical elements
of this complex relationship.

Suggested topics include, but are not limited to:
        -Manufacturing Freedom? Corporate rock and the fabrication of essence
        -Byronmania vs. Beatlemania: rock, literature and the public
        -Rockin' the Casbah: is rock still an instrument of socio-political
subversion?
        -Whitman's Spirit: tracing the origins of rock through literary history.
        -Colonial Rock: the cultural appropriation of African-American experience
        -Blues, Jazz, Hip-Hop, and the Harlem Renaissance/Black Arts Movement
        -Rockin' the Other: rock 'n roll's negative epistemology
        -R.O.C.K. in the USA: rock as instrument of cultural subordination
        -Representin': bodies and the music video

Papers should be 3000-5000 words, unpublished, and in MLA format. Submitted
essays are subjected to blind review by either graduate students or faculty
members, depending on the area of specialization. For purposes of anonymity,
your name should not appear anywhere on the paper. Please enclose a cover
page with the title of your paper, your name, address, telephone number,
email address, institutional affiliation, and a brief biographical note.
Submissions must include three hard copies and a disk copy of the paper in
Wordperfect format only. Papers will only be returned if a document-sized
SASE is included (international submissions must include a postal coupon).

postscript also welcomes original cover art submissions designed for a 7" x
10" space. Please include a cover letter with the title of the work, your
contact information, and a brief biographical note. We strongly encourage
that cover art submissions include either a disk or CD with the image or
images submitted for consideration. All submissions must include a signed
letter or release form, giving the artist's permission for the piece to be
used by postscript. Again, submissions will only be returned to those who
include the appropriate SASE.

Send submissions and/or queries to: Co-ordinating Editor, postscript
                                                Department of English
                                                P.O. Box 58, Arts Building
                                                Memorial University of Newfoundland
                                                St. John's, NF A1C 5S7
                                                Canada

You can also contact the Co-ordinating Editor through email:
adambeardsworth_at_mail.com

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Received on Mon Mar 29 2004 - 01:27:49 EST