CFP: BUFFY AT 20
April 1, 2017
Marquette University
Milwaukee, WI
CFP DEADLINE: DECEMBER 19, 2016
Please submit 250-500 word abstracts to gerry.canavan@marquette.edu and james.south@marquette.edu.
Participants will be notified by January 15, 2017.
Keynote Speaker: Sherryl Vint, University of California, Riverside
This one-day conference invites scholars working on film and television, literature, philosophy, history, folklore studies, religion, and related academic disciplines to explore the ongoing legacy of Buffy, the Vampire Slayer as it turns twenty years old this year. Undoubtedly one of the best-loved (and best-studied) television programs of all time, Buffy has left an indelible mark on contemporary genre fiction and contemporary fandom both. But where do we go from here? What is the place of Buffy today, in a media ecology that in many ways has moved beyond the stale genre conventions and offensive sexist assumptions that made it feel so revolutionary in its moment? Does Buffy really still matter, all these years later? We submit it does, and invite papers that advance novel and innovative interventions in Buffy studies that point the way towards another twenty years (at least)
Possible topics might include:
* Buffy/Angel spinoff media, including the video games, Fray, and the seasons 8-10 comics
* Where are they now? Post-Buffy careers
* Buffy/Angel fan commentary and fan fictions
* Bingewatching Buffy
* Re-(re-(re-))watching Buffy
* Buffy and philosophy
* Buffy and history
* Buffy and religion
* Buffy and contemporary identity politics
* Buffy/Angel and the wider Mutant Enemy culture industry (Firefly, Dollhouse, Doctor Horrible, The Cabin in the Woods, Much Ado about Nothing, the Marvel Cinematic Universe)
* Buffy and nostalgia
* Buffy and mythopoesis
* classic episodes / classically bad episodes
* the rise of Whedon Studies / Buffy in the academy / Buffy in the classroom
* Buffy in the Anthropocene
* Buffy in the Age of Trump
* Buffy’s impact, legacy, ongoing relevance, and future
Conference organizers:
Gerry Canavan (gerry.canavan@marquette.edu)
James South (james.south@marquette.edu)