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September 06, 2004
Reading Stargate SG-1-Call for Papers
Reading Stargate SG-1 and Beyond: Stan Beeler and Lisa Dickson, eds.
We have secured a contract offer with a publisher and are now soliciting essays for a forthcoming collection focusing on Stargate SG-1 and its spin-off series, Atlantis.
Essay abstracts of 500 words should be forwarded by October 1 2004 to Stan Beeler (stan at unbc.ca) or Lisa Dickson (dicksonl at unbc.ca).
In 1997 the series Stargate SG-1 first aired on American Cable television, initially on Showcase and then in later seasons on the SciFi and Space channels. Through syndication, it has since ventured into broader European markets. Stargate SG-1 has blossomed into a series with a stable market value driven by fierce fan loyalty. Moreover, the series has an eighth season in production and what may be considered the holy grail of any television series, a spin-off (Atlantis) also premiering this summer.
Given the short and brutish lifespan of the average fantasy / Science Fiction series it would seem appropriate to take a critical look at Stargate SG-1 as it enters its eighth season and attempt to discover the source of its staying power. The show's military setting and its dramatization of the American military's relationship with external powers (both Earthly and extra-terrestrial), and its exploration of the ethics of technology, empire, and exploration make an investigation of this series at this point in history evocatively topical.
We are soliciting essays that will provide critical analyses of the program as both film/text and cultural phenomenon. Essays should be scholarly but should be accessible to a well-educated, well-informed lay readership. We envision the following general categories:
Textual/Film Studies, or Firepower and "Peaceful Explorers": close readings of particular, exemplary episodes, and contextualizing essays focusing on the broader strokes of recurring motifs, themes or cinematic elements and practices.
Internationalism, or Stargate SG-1 and "Foreign" policy: Like many programs in its genre, Stargate SG-1 is set in the USA and filmed in Canada. Also, the program addresses the issue of the American relationship to both Earthly and alien "Others." In addition to essays focusing on issues relating to cross-border production and marketing, this chapter may include articles exploring the mapping of the American point-of-view onto "alien" spaces, including the Canadian landscape, and the translation /modification /reflection of that point-of-view within both the mise-en-scene and in the series' international contexts, through, for example, non-English versions of DVDs, European marketing practices, and so on.
Cultural Studies: Stargate SG-1: What are the causes, effects and social contexts of this low key, yet persistent phenomenon? Essays may focus on such issues as fan culture (for instance, the "Save Daniel Jackson Campaign,"); convention culture; the ideology and politics of reception (who is watching and why?), and so on.
Poaching: Fan Productions: essays focusing on the phenomenon of Stargate SG-1 fan fiction, vids, and artwork may include: traditional textual studies; general discussions of such issues as the politics and legality of "poaching" intellectual property (to use Henry Jenkins' much-quoted term); investigations of the relationship between "canon" and "fanon," the use and
abuse of generic conventions, and so on.
Epilogue: The Future: As Stargate SG-1 moves into its eighth season and its spin-off, Atlantis, is set to premier in the USA and Europe, this is an opportune moment to evaluate the history of the Stargate SG-1 phenomenon and to speculate on its future. Essays in this chapter may focus on Atlantis exclusively, or conduct comparative discussions of the original series, its parent film, and its television offspring.
Posted by ChrissieMains at 08:54 PM | Comments (0)
Star Trek Franchise Effect-Call for Papers
The Star Trek Franchise Effect: Cultural Reception and Interpretation
The Star Trek franchise and associated cultural phenomena, a volume to be edited by Lincoln Geraghty.
Having received preliminary interest from an international publisher I would like to invite chapter proposals for an edited volume on the Star Trek television and movie franchise and related cultural phenomena, including fan groups, fan affection, novels, games, toys and merchandise, conventions, the Las Vegas Experience, world Exhibition tours, political resonances, mythic and religious inspirations, cultural impact, global fandom, the Internet, science fiction tradition, the television industry, the animated series, cult stardom, music, Paramount franchise branding and advertising.
Intended as a broadly interdisciplinary volume on the series and films of the Star Trek franchise, this book aims at a wide audience including students, academics and interested fans in the areas of film studies, television studies, sociology, communications, anthropology, American studies, philosophy, media and cultural studies, race and gender studies, English, politics, history, and other related disciplines. This collection will provide a multidisciplinary perspective addressing the full range of Star Trek cultural production and will not resemble any volumes analysing Star Trek currently in the marketplace. Because the five television series and ten feature films are the principal avenue of dissemination, it is expected that contributions will reflect familiarity with the entire franchise. Contributions that examine the overall impact of an entire series or compare two or more are particularly welcome, as are those contributions that examine the film franchise in its industrial and cultural context. Star Trek: Enterprise, having recently survived cancellation, is also a focus; contributions dealing with Star Trek: Enterprise and its place within the franchise, including fans, merchandise, new media practices, are also welcome.
Previous volumes on Star Trek have tended to look exclusively at either the series or fans, and often ignore the differential nature of the films and relevant merchandising of Paramount's senior franchise. This volume will attempt to gather those strands of Star Trek together and analyse them within the context of a media product that has lasted 40 years in a global television market. Publication of this volume would coincide with the 40th anniversary of the series.
Please send abstracts of 500 words and a short CV as email attachment (word format) to Lincoln Geraghty (aax1ggg1 at nottingham.ac.uk).
Deadline: 1st November 2004.
Posted by ChrissieMains at 08:49 PM | Comments (0)
So You Want to Contribute?
Maybe you've got something to share with other IAFA members -- a story about ICFA or another conference you've attended, a brief review of a book or website you think would be of interest, some cool stuff going on in your personal or professional life you want to share with ICFA friends -- just send me the content and I'll post it here.
Once the bugs are ironed out and the site is running smoothly, I'd like to expand the editorial team; if you've got the time and, preferably, some posting experience with Blogger, LiveJournal, or something similar, let me know.
Better yet, you've got some experience blogging or using Movable Type or playing around with coding, and you can help me fix the wonky stuff. I'd really, really, really love to hear from you.
Contact the Editor by emailing cemains at shaw.ca.
Posted by ChrissieMains at 02:29 PM | Comments (0)
The Utopian Fantastic
The Utopian Fantastic: Selected Essays from the Twentieth International Conference on the Fantastic in the Arts (Contributions to the Study of Science Fiction and Fantasy) is now available from Greenwood Press. Edited by Martha Bartter, it contains contributions from Roger Schlobin, Donald Morse, Jeanne Beckwith, Robin Anne Reid, Kelly Searsmith, and others. The ISBN: 0-313-31635-X.
Posted by ChrissieMains at 12:04 AM | Comments (0)