CFP: God and the Graphic Novel (9/15/06; NeMLA, 3/1/07-3/4/07)

38th Convention, Northeast Modern Language Association (NeMLA)
Baltimore, Maryland
March 1-4, 2007

The last thirty years have witnessed a veritable explosion in comics and =
comics-related research--in the thorough investigation of virtually all =
aspects of this once-marginalized genre (e.g., comics and race, as =
explored by Jeffrey Brown in *Black Superheroes*; comics and gender as =
discussed by Maurice Horn in *Women in the Comics*, or Trina Robbins in =
*From Girls to Grrlz: A History of Women's Comics from Teens to Zines*, =
etc.). And yet, in spite of this fact, one subject remains conspicuous =
largely by its absence: that of religious experience and/or reflection. =
This is all the more astonishing given the prominence of such themes in =
the history of graphic narration (just think of Justin Green's =
underground classic, *Binky Brown Meets the Holy Virgin Mary*, Garth =
Ennis's provocative *Preacher*-books, Craig Thompson's melancholy =
*Blankets*, or even the first "graphic novel" as such: Will Eisner's *A =
Contract with God*). Indeed, the recent uproar surrounding Danish =
cartoon depictions of the Prophet Mohammed has brought "God and the =
comics" to the forefront of current global-cultural debates of the most =
earnest (and, unfortunately, acrimonious) kind.

In view of the above, then, the time seems ripe for academic inquiry =
into the topic of "God and the Graphic Novel". Accordingly, this panel =
invites papers dealing with any aspect of the sacred and its comic book =
portrayal, including (but not limited to): comics and comparative =
religion, comics and proselytization (e.g., Chick Publications' =
*Crusaders* and other titles), comics and the rise of religiously =
inflected patriotism, comic book depictions of spiritual and/or mystical =
moments (e.g., Osamu Tezuka's multivolume Buddha-books), comic book =
encounters between members of differing faiths, comic =
re-readings/re-writings of traditional religious doctrines, and comic =
book reflections on the word/image matrix in religious discourse.

Please submit abstracts (450 words maximum) to:

Dr. Kelly S. Meyer
English Department
The College of Saint Rose
432 Western Avenue
Albany, NY 12203
meyerk_at_strose.edu

Abstracts may be sent via either email or snail mail, but must be =
received by September 15th, 2006, and should include the following =
information:

Name and affiliation
Email address
Postal address
Telephone number
A/V requirements (if any)

For the complete Call for Papers for the 2007 Convention, please visit: =
www.nemla.org. Interested participants may submit abstracts to more =
than one NeMLA panel; however, panelists can only present one paper. =
Convention participants may present at a paper session panel and also =
present at a creative session or participate in a roundtable.

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Received on Sat May 27 2006 - 13:27:31 EDT