Call for Papers and Sessions
THE DOCUMENTARY TRADITION
November 8-12, 2006 (Dallas, TX)
www.filmandhistory.org
 
CFP: The Documentary Tradition on Television
 
The cable, satellite, and digital delivery revolutions have fundamentally
altered the landscape of television and of television documentary. The new
multichannel environment has created a boom in TV documentary not seen since
the heady days of the Cold War and the so-called "Golden Age" of television.
Boutique informational networks like Discovery and The Learning Channel have
enabled a wealth of new original documentary production while other such
channels like Sundance and The Independent Film Channel have provided new
conduits for the distribution of filmed documentaries. The result is more
documentaries reaching more people than ever before. The Television Section
of the Film and History Conference is looking for papers that address this
new boom-time for documentary production and delivery on TV.
 
Topics and/or approaches might include:
 
* Analysis of the industrial changes abetting the rise in documentary
production or distribution
* Analysis of the industrial discourse about documentary, its "value" as
"public service," or its status as "entertainment"
* Analysis of how television delivery impacts or causes us to reassess
documentary theory or production more generally
* Discussions of particular documentary filmmakers, subgenres of production,
or techniques of production.
* Discussion of how "reality TV," or unscripted programming, fits into the
"documentary tradition" on TV
* Analysis of a specific documentary series or episode (contemporary or
historical) and its relation to political, social, or economic debates
* Analysis of a particular documentary/informational network and its
contents
* Analysis of documentary depictions of a particular historical event on TV
(such as 9/11, or the Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan)
 
I am particularly interested in contributions that consider how the
flourishing of documentary on contemporary television relates to the United
States' pursuit of a more activist foreign policy in the post-9/11 era. How
do TV documentaries, programs, and networks (like the new Military Channel)
relate to the "information war" within the larger War on Terrorism?
 
The film and history League will be holding its biannual conference on "The
Documentary Tradition" during Nov. 8-12, 2006 at The Dolce Conference Center
in Dallas, TX. Full details on the conference are available at
http://www.filmandhistory.org. Proposals for either individual papers (300
word abstracts) or complete panels are welcomed.

Proposals should be submitted by email no later than July 30, 2006 to: Stacy
Takacs (stacy.takacs_at_okstate.edu)

__
Stacy Takacs
Assistant Professor of American Studies
Oklahoma State University
700 North Greenwood Ave.
Tulsa Ok 74106-0700
918-594-8331
stacy.takacs_at_okstate.edu

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Received on Sat May 20 2006 - 10:08:33 EDT