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February 24, 2006
CfP: Deadline March 15 for MLA panel
Fantasy Fictions in the 21st Century
Although science fiction and fantasy are frequently paired in literary criticism, science fiction has often seemed to garner the bulk of both popular and critical attention -- from the overwhelming popularity of films like Terminator 2 and The Matrix to Fredric Jameson's recent theorization of the science fiction genre in Archaeologies of the Future. Moreover, while 1980s and 1990s sci-fi films and video games increasingly capitalized on the future-chic of cutting-edge technology -- usually signaled by heroines with avant-garde haircuts and PVC costumes -- fantasy seemed relegated to a terminally un-hip and de-eroticized land of role-playing games, medieval robes and magical animals. Yet the avid consumption of new and revitalized fantasy fictions in the past several years suggests a transformation of this dynamic, one that seemingly leaves behind the cyberpunk dystopias of the 1990s in favor of the studied archaism of Phillip Pullman, J.R. Tolkien, Susannah Clarke and many others.
For a proposed special session at the 2006 MLA convention, I welcome papers exploring the significance of this contemporary surge in the fantasy genre as it appears in both literature and film. Approaches of interest include but are not limited to the following:
* Neo-medievalism and other temporal/historical interventions of fantasy fictions
* Relationship between new/recently adapted work and fantasy genre theory
* Fantasy fictions and the posthuman
* The queerness of fantasy and slash fantasy
* The centrality of England and "English magic" in contemporary fantasy
* Fantasy and the role/position of children, children's lit and childishness
* The role of adaptation and the literature/film nexus
* Fantasy and/vs. technoscience
* The race politics of contemporary fantasy
* Nostalgia, gender and patriarchy in new/adapted fantasies
* Fantasy and the postsecular
* The conjunction of high-tech films and low-tech utopias
* Ecocriticism and fantasy
Please send a 1-page abstract and brief CV by March 15 to Jane Elliott (je509@york.ac.uk)
Jane Elliott
Department of English and Related Literature
University of York
Heslington, York UK YO10 5DD
Tel: (44) 1904 433366
Fax: (44) 1904 433372
je509@york.ac.uk
Posted by ChrissieMains at 04:00 PM | Comments (0)
What to See at the Conference - Horror
There is a wealth of papers representing the Horror Division this year. Among them is a session on the writing of Michael Arnzen with Mike (wearing his scholarly hat) presenting a paper on his own work.
For Lovecraft fans, there are two papers on the horror mythologist, one looking at Lovecraft’s reinvention of the horror genre (his shift of horror from the often predictable Judeo-Christian cosmos to the inherent terrifying universe of science) and a second examining Lovecraft’s influence on Thomas Ligotti.
One of the most interesting papers (one that I am personally looking forward to) dissects Mark Denielewsi’s House of Leaves, the fascinating novel that circulated widely in manuscript before its actual publication. House of Leaves manipulates the often overworked theme of the haunted house into a truly terrifying examination of interior space.
In addition, there will be papers on Hawthorne, Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde, Chuck Palahniuk’s Phastasmagoria, Wrath James White’s short story, “Resurrection Day,” “Boobs” by ICFA writer Suzy McKee Charnas, two papers on Stephen King, and for Proust lovers, a paper that follows up on last year’s examination of psychoanalytical terror in the works of the French writer.
There are also two papers with a philosophical bent, one on the actual phenomenon of horror and a second on Eastern philosophy and western occult.
Lord Ruthven Assembly members are active (as always), presenting several papers on Dracula (of course), including a paper session on the visual in the grand-daddy of all vampire novels (with LRA’s guest scholar, Elizabeth Miller, presenting). In addition, LRA will tender a panel on the always popular “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” and separate papers on I am Legend, Interview with a Vampire, and Vampire Hunter D.
LRA’s David Van Becker will offer a paper on his life work, the Gothic, and there will be one very unusual paper examining Canada’s unique Prince Edward Island in relation to Anne of Green Gables and Dracula.
Finally, although Chelsea Quinn Yarbro will not be at the conference this year (she will be in Italy for a promotional tour), there will be several readings by varied horror authors.
Stephanie Moss
Head, Horror Division
Posted by ChrissieMains at 03:05 PM | Comments (0)
What to See at the Conference: CYA Division
Because the visual dimension of media in children's literature is such an important avenue for acculturation and marketing, our division features some especially intriguing work on the overlap between visual art and prose.
Papers include those on how race, film, digital technology, subversion, and imperialism are caught up with the visual dimension of literature for children.
Our panel discussion (Saturday at 10:30) asks what uses art has for children politically; in other words, how does art teach children to see the world, how does it help situate them in a consumer economy, and how does it engage them in a symbolic landscape marked by conceptions of prejudice and innocence? As the centerpiece of the division, the panel is a good place to ask the fundamental theoretical questions that are implicit in the rest of the division, where papers explore classic children's literature as well as Harry Potter and comics for kids.
Joe Sutliff Sanders, Division Head (CYA)
Posted by ChrissieMains at 01:07 PM | Comments (0)