After five years of much-appreciated service as FM Division Head, Susan George is stepping aside to allow someone else the opportunity. The IAFA board, on behalf of the entire IAFA community, thanks Susan for the hard work that she has done in this position. Beginning after the conference in March 2009, we will need a new division head for Film & Television.
This is an open call for volunteers interested in being considered for the position. The Division Head is the person who sends out paper calls for his/her Division, collects and accepts paper proposals, creates paper sessions, helps to create panels, and passes the work s/he’s done on to the 1st Vice President for scheduling. This Division is responsible for all aspects of fantasy, science fiction, and horror in film and television. In past conferences, the FM Division has sponsored papers on television series such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The X-Files, Star Trek, and Battlestar Galactica, and films from every decade, from Hammer horror and Ed Wood science fiction to Gattaca, Grindhouse, and The Day After Tomorrow.
General qualifications include current membership with IAFA (at least a couple of years of experience with the organization and conference attendance so you have some understanding of how things work at the conference), comfort with computers, easy and dependable internet access, organizational skills, the ability to work as part of a group working together on the ‘big picture,’ a willingness to work through the transition with Susan beginning immediately, the ability to attend March conferences while you hold the position and to attend the Division Heads’ meeting run by the 1st VP at the conference, plus, of course, the time required to do the work involved. The most successful division heads also make a point throughout the year of watching for new ways to advertise their divisions and for emerging scholars to approach with calls for papers.
Specific qualifications for the FM Division Head include a comprehensive knowledge of the field, both of primary texts (films and television series focused on science fiction, fantasy, and horror) and of secondary texts (scholarship on these films and series as well as film and television more generally).
Division Heads hold office for a term of 3 years (with a probationary first year) with the possibility of renewal for a second 3-year term.
If you have questions about the position, you can either email Susan or speak with her at the conference in March. To apply for the position, please email both Chrissie Mains, 1st Vice President (cemains AT shaw.ca) and Susan George, outgoing FM Division Head (sageorge13 AT sbcglobal.net) with a brief statement about your interest in and qualifications for the job. The IAFA board of directors will consider all applications for the position.
The deadline for applications is May 1, 2009.