Reading Stargate SG-1 and Beyond: Stan Beeler and Lisa Dickson, eds.
 
We have secured a contract offer with a publisher and are now soliciting
essays for a forthcoming collection focusing on Stargate SG-1 and its
spin-off series, Atlantis.

Essay abstracts of 500 words should be forwarded by October 1 2004 to
Stan Beeler, stan_at_unbc.ca or
Lisa Dickson, dicksonl_at_unbc.ca

In 1997 the series Stargate SG-1 first aired on American Cable television,
initially on Showcase and then in later seasons on the SciFi and Space
channels. Through syndication, it has since ventured into broader European
markets. Stargate SG-1 has blossomed into a series with a stable market
value driven by fierce fan loyalty. Moreover, the series has an eighth
season in production and â€" what may be considered the holy grail of any
television series â€" a spin-off (Atlantis) also premiering this summer.
Given the short and brutish lifespan of the average Fantasy / Science Fiction
series it would seem appropriate to take a critical look at Stargate SG-1 as
it enters its eighth season and attempt to discover the source of its staying
power. The show's military setting and its dramatization of the American
military's relationship with external powers (both Earthly and
extra-terrestrial), and its exploration of the ethics of technology, empire,
and exploration make an investigation of this series at this point in history
evocatively topical.
We are soliciting essays that will provide critical analyses of the program as
both film/text and cultural phenomenon. Essays should be scholarly but
should be accessible to a well-educated, well-informed lay readership. We
envision the following general categories:

Preliminary Chapter Breakdown
Textual/Film Studies, or Firepower and "Peaceful Explorers": close readings
of particular, exemplary episodes, and contextualizing essays focusing on the
broader strokes of recurring motifs, themes or cinematic elements and
practices.

Internationalism, or Stargate SG-1 and "Foreign" Policy: Like many programs
in its genre, Stargate SG-1 is set in the USA and filmed in Canada. Also,
the program addresses the issue of the American relationship to both Earthly
and alien "Others." In addition to essays focusing on issues relating to
cross-border production and marketing, this chapter may include articles
exploring the mapping of the American point-of-view onto "alien" spaces,
including the Canadian landscape, and the translation/modification/reflection
of that point-of-view within both the mise-en-scène and in the series'
international contexts, through, for example, non-English versions of DVDs,
European marketing practices, and so on.

Cultural Studies: Stargate SG-1: What are the causes, effects and social
contexts of this low key, yet persistent phenomenon? Essays may focus on
such issues as fan culture (for instance, the "Save Daniel Jackson
Campaign,"); convention culture; the ideology and politics of reception (who
is watching and why?), and so on.

Poaching: Fan Productions: essays focusing on the phenomenon of Stargate SG-1
fan fiction, vids, and artwork may include: traditional textual studies;
general discussions of such issues as the politics and legality of "poaching"
intellectual property (to use Henry Jenkins' much-quoted term);
investigations of the relationship between "canon" and "fanon," the use and
abuse of generic conventions, and so on.

Epilogue: The Future: As Stargate SG-1 moves into its eighth season and its
spin-off, Atlantis, is set to premier in the USA and Europe, this is an
opportune moment to evaluate the history of the Stargate SG-1 phenomenon and
to speculate on its future. Essays in this chapter may focus on Atlantis
exclusively, or conduct comparative discussions of the original series, its
parent film, and its television offspring.

Editors:
Dr. Stan Beeler
University of Northern British Columbia
and
Dr. Lisa Dickson
University of Northern British Columbia
--(sbeeler!=UNBC) || (My statements are personal. They are not UNBC policy.)-------------------------------------------------------------------Dr. Stan Beeler Chair, English Dept. University of Northern B.C.email: stan@.unbc.ca | WWW: http://www.unbc.ca/english------------------------------------------------------------------- ========================================================== From the Literary Calls for Papers Mailing List CFP_at_english.upenn.edu Full Information at http://www.english.upenn.edu/CFP/ or write Jennifer Higginbotham: higginbj_at_english.upenn.edu ==========================================================Received on Thu Aug 05 2004 - 02:49:14 EDT