Call for Papers – Panel Proposal

Society for Cinema and Media Studies Conference

22-26 March 2017

Chicago

Sonderforschungsbereich 948 / Collaborative Research Centre 948:
Helden—Heroisierungen—Heroismen / Heroes—Heroizations—Heroisms

International Conference "Heroism as a Global Phenomenon in Popular Culture"
Freiburg, September 28-30

Organized by Michael Butter (Tübingen), Nicole Falkenhayner, Wolfgang Hochbruck, Barbara Korte (Freiburg) and Simon Wendt (Frankfurt)

In light of continued violence upon Black and Brown bodies, I am concerned about the physical, emotional, and psychological toll such attacks will have on the collective Black male conscience. In an attempt to soothe a friend's pain I mentioned that survival is part of the Black man's experience in America. We have seen them bounce back higher and stronger throughout the course of history. Many of these historical episodes have however left them absent from the collective. Martyrdom is frequent in Black history, but all men of color cannot be sacrificed so that the collective can enjoy American life. It is also obvious that they must do more than just survive, they must be allowed to thrive and soar.

Lifewriting Annual: Biographical and Autobiographical Studies (AMS Press) seeks reviews of recent publications, including autobiographies, memoirs, letters, and so on. Word length: 1000-1500 words. Citation style: Chicago, 16th edition (author/date). Deadline for submission: December 1st, 2016. Expected publication of volume 6: 2017. Please get in touch with short proposals and questions. 

How does transmedia storytelling inform and influence contemporary understandings of the relationship between medium, auteur, canon, and fandom? Although clearly successful in connecting with audiences hungry for more stories set in these universes, transmedia continuations of films, television shows, and comic books illustrate how the marketing of auteurism obscures as much as clarifies complexities in authorship, collaborative production, different reading styles demanded of audiences across different media, and the relative importance of dynamics between intention vs. reception and narrative continuity vs. formal dissimilarity.