This workshop is part of the 54th Annual Congress of the French Association of American Studies which will take place at the University of Bourgogne in Dijon, France, from May 23rd to the 26th, 2023 (https://afea.fr/dijon2023/). The theme of this year's congress is "Voices, Sounds, Noises, Silences." This particular workshop is organized by a trio of researchers (Florence Cabaret, Sylvaine Bataille and Jessica Thrasher) from the University of Rouen - Normandy.

During the workshop we would like to explore the political and identity-related dimensions of the many uses of voice in television series, whether they be contemporary or older programs. Making one's voice heard may have a metaphorical or a literal meaning, and it may be a collective or an individual act, taking place in any situation of performative speech where an individual or group emancipates itself thanks to a liberating utterance.

These questions can be linked to the particular genre of a series. The voices of teenagers confronting their parents (as in Grand Army, for example), or the voices of characters coming out or making other significant announcements (from Dawson's Creek to Euphoria), can often be heard in teen series and family dramas. In police procedurals or courtroom dramas, the pleadings of different speakers in a trial, the interrogations by police, the testimonies of victims and others bring to light viewpoints that literally construct (sometimes opposing) realities such as in the true-crime series, Unbelievable. In historical and political series, the voice of a political leader delivering a speech and/or the slogans chanted during rallies and demonstrations initiate diverse forms of empowerment as may be seen in Show Me a Hero. Likewise, narrative agency, embodied by a character or characters, might be enhanced or minimized by auditory staging choices.

Furthermore, it might be pertinent to consider the aural aspect of various types of utterances. The voice-over - especially when it is used as an intra-diegetic device - could be an object of study of particular interest. The rebellious and sarcastic interior voices resisting imposed silence in The Handmaid's Tale, come to mind, for example. The recorded voice and sound flashbacks in Thirteen Reasons Why as well as voices returning from the grave in Desperate Housewives also illustrate the potential narrative resonance of the voice. Modulations and transformations of voice can also be understood as sources of meaning, from a voice that uses song to make itself heard (Glee) to a voice that must learn to control itself in order to transform reality (such as the voices of witches in The Vampire Diaries or Motherland: Fort Salem, for example), to a voice that passes as someone else's or literally becomes that of another person in a shift of gender or ethnic identity.

Additionally, situations where the materiality of the voice is at stake could also lead to other types of discussions related to the dubbing of actors and actresses or the questionable use of accents, brought to light by the recent debates over the Simpsons or The Big Bang Theory, for example. More broadly, the use of accents in television series in general might be a promising line of inquiry. Indeed, their variety is an integral part of the story told by Orange is the New Black, while Master of None dedicates an entire episode to this question in its first season.

Finally, this workshop could be the opportunity to discuss ways in which contemporary television series allow diverse artistic voices to be heard and to speak out within a television environment that may finally be giving more space to voices that were once marginalized. The examples are increasingly numerous from dramas such as The Underground Railroad and When They See Us to comedies like Fresh Off the Boat or the recent remake of One Day at a Time.

A wide range of approaches (case studies, comparative studies, etc.) is welcome on these or any other aspect related to 'Voices in American Television Series'. Please send your proposal and a short biographical note to the contact listed.