Call for Papers: Contemporary Approaches to Film Noir (#MLA27)

Modern Language Association (MLA) 2027 Convention 

Los Angeles, CA

7–10 January 2027

Film noir has evolved far beyond its mid-century origins, and has become a versatile and vital site for representing and intervening into contemporary realities. In preparation for an MLA 2027 special session proposal, this panel seeks papers that investigate noir films with cutting-edge approaches. We invite papers that engage with the following topics, including, but are not limited to:

• Eco-Noir
• Transnational and Global Noir
• Neon Noir
• Gender, Race, and Noir
• Tech-Noir and Surveillance
• Queer Noir
• Noir and Affect

Please submit a 250-word abstract and a short bio by 22 March 2026 to Mingrui Wen (University of California, Davis) at mrwen@ucdavis.edu.