We are looking to round out our collected volume of critical essays in American popular culture from 1865-1940,  that examine how women vigilantes, anti-heroines and outlaws of this era were represented in movie serials, radio dramas, films, comics, theater, and pulp fiction.  We are seeking at least one additional chapter. The majority of the book is set, and we are in contract with a peer-review publisher.  We are on a tight deadline, so preference will be given to papers that are already in progress that are a good fit for this collection. 

As this is a multidisciplinary collection, we encourage submissions from scholars in any of the numerous fields that examine the representation of women in American popular culture from 1865-1940. The call is open to a broad spectrum of methodological and critical approaches, and we invite submissions from seasoned as well as emerging scholars.   We encourage proposals that consider how representations of women intersect with matters of class, race, ethnicity, sexuality, and the gendered mores of mass culture. We especially welcome submissions that examine lesser-known figures, though a well-written chapter on a known character would be considered. Chapters may also examine historical figures, such as Calamity Jane, but the analysis should focus on their representation in popular media, rather than their biography. Please send abstracts of 500-750 words, or full chapter drafts by November 5th to: brayg@newpaltz.edu 

Full chapters will be on a tight deadline, but we will take into account that papers may need time to complete.  

About the editors:  Gregory Bray, PhD, is an Associate Professor in Digital Media and Journalism at SUNY New Paltz.  He serves on the editorial board for the Journal of Popular Culture and has previously served on the Board of Directors at the Broadcast Education Association.  His work has been published through The Journal of Popular Culture, McFarland Press, and Atropos Press.   

Andrew J. Ball, PhD, specializes in 19th and 20th century American culture. His scholarship has appeared in American Literary Realism, Studies in American Fiction, and Philosophy and Literature, among other publications. His book, The Economy of Religion in American Literature: Culture and the Politics of Redemption, is forthcoming from Bloomsbury in 2022. He is the Editor of Screen Bodies: The Journal of Embodiment, Media Arts, and Technology and serves as Editorial Assistant in Harvard University’s Department of Mathematics.