Please note the revised deadline for this event - Monday 19th April, 2010.

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Investigating Torchwood: Text, Context, Audiences
One day conference at the ATRiuM, CCI, University of Glamorgan, Cardiff
Friday June 18th, 2010

Proposals are sought for a forthcoming symposium to be held at the University of Glamorgan on the BBC Wales programme Torchwood (2006- ).Whilst academic work has examined Torchwood's parent show Doctor Who in both its classic (pre-2005) and contemporary forms, less attention has focused on Torchwood. This one-day event seeks to redress this balance, considering the show from a media and cultural studies perspective.

We are interested in papers which undertake close textual analysis of the show, as well as those which consider issues of representation and portrayal, and the show's reception. We would also particularly welcome proposals which consider Torchwood within the context of debates over Welsh television and media, and in papers which focus on issues of genre, the international appeal of Torchwood, or its appeal across generations/sexualities. Whilst proposals which allude to Doctor Who and/or The Sarah Jane Adventures are welcome, the main focus of the proposed papers should be Torchwood.

The event features a keynote address by Dr. Matt Hills, Reader in the School of Journalism, Media and Cultural Studies at Cardiff University. Dr. Hills is the author of numerous articles on cult TV, as well as books such as Fan Cultures (Routledge, 2002) and Triumph of a Time Lord: Regenerating Doctor Who in the Twenty-first Century (I.B. Tauris, 2010). We also seek to extend invitations to industry and production personnel associated with Torchwood and hope to offer comments from this perspective alongside academic papers.

Possible topics for proposals might include, but are not limited to:

• Representations of gender, sexuality, and ethnicity
• Representations of, and audience responses to, death in Torchwood
• Fan/audience responses to Torchwood
• Celebrity and stardom
• Notions of authorship
• Genre (e.g. sci-fi, investigative drama, horror)
• Portrayals of time travel & space
• Discussions of production and industry
• Representations of Cardiff and Wales
• Torchwood's transnational and international appeal
• Issues of quality television and cultural value
• Multiplatforming of Torchwood (e.g. radio adaptations)
• Torchwood: Children of Earth as innovative 'event' television

Submission guidelines: Please send abstracts of no more than 400 words and a brief biographical note to Dr. Rebecca Williams (to whom enquiries should also be directed) at rwillia3@glam.ac.uk The revised deadline for proposals is Monday 19th April, 2010.