International Association for the Fantastic in the Arts

CFP: Special Issue of Science Fiction Studies on Gender and Sexuality. Past special issues of SFS have focused on women writers and on queer theory, but this issue proposes to take a broader approach to gender and sexuality, focusing on a full spectrum of related topics: femininity/masculinity in sf, sf and sex/gender change, sf pornography, techno-fetishism, alien sex, multiple genders/sexualities, sexual subcultures in sf, sf and censorship, sex work(ers) in sf, slash/flash writing, and more. We welcome submissions from a range of disciplinary perspectives. The deadline for 500-word abstracts is May 1, 2008; please send them to Rob Latham at rob-latham@uiowa.edu or to Istvan Csicsery-Ronay, Jr. at icronay@depauw.edu.

Special Extapolation Issue on Geoff Ryman

The Summer 2008 issue of Extrapolation will be devoted to the work of Geoff Ryman. Ryman is increasingly recognized as an important writer in the field of science fiction, the author of six novels and numerous other works and the recipient of the James Tiptree Jr. Award, the British SF Award, the Philip K. Dick Award, and the John W. Campbell and Arthur C. Clarke awards (the latter twice). His writing inspires consideration as science fiction, especially in the contexts of gender, sexuality and embodied technologies, but also compels us to consider questions of generic convention and definition, particularly in the intersections between science fiction, fantasy and history. Indeed, Ryman’s brief discussion at the end of Was of the importance of using fantasy and history against each other has been widely taken up in the discussion of sf and fantasy more generally. The editors of this issue invite consideration of any aspect of Ryman’s work, including his hypertext novel 253, and his involvement with the ‘Mundane SF’ movement, which calls for an emphasis on near future and present day ‘realist’ sf.

All manuscript submissions, including explanatory notes and the list of Works Cited, should be double-spaced on one side of the sheet only. Neither embedded footnotes nor generated footnotes that some software systems make available should be used. Documentation should follow the MLA Style Manual (1999) with parenthetical citations in the text and a Works Cited list at the end. Only explanatory endnotes are needed.

Please send an electronic submission in either MSWord or WordPerfect to the Guest Editors, Wendy Pearson (wpearson@uwo.ca) or Susan Knabe (sknabe@uwo.ca). An e-copy in Word should be submitted to Javier A. Martínez at jmartinez@utb.edu. Please contact the editors with specific questions.

Please note the extended deadline of March 15, 2008.

Relevant Across Cultures: Visions of Connectedness and World Citizenship in Modern Fantasy for Young Readers

University of Wrocław, 28-31 May, 2008

International Conference hosted by
THE CENTER FOR CHILDREN’S AND YOUNG ADULT FICTION AT THE UNIVERSITY OF WROCŁAW

Second Call for Papers

“We need a story, a myth that does what the traditional religious stories did: it must explain. It must satisfy our hunger for a why. Why does the world exist? Why are we here? […] It must provide some sort of framework for understanding why some things are good and others are bad. […] We need a myth, we need a story because it’s no good persuading people to commit themselves to an idea on the grounds that it’s reasonable”
–Philip Pullman, “The Republic of Heaven,” 665-666

Works of literature are distinctive to the specific culture which produced them and embody that culture’s place- and time-bound consciousness. However, many of the themes and topics in literature are relevant across cultures. The well-being of children, the importance of family, the need to foster human relationships, and the right for happiness are some among the many concerns central to most cultures. In the global reality of contemporary uni-media-verse, an increasing number of fantasy novels and films addressed to young audience cross cultures in their important themes. They explore what it means to grow up and get along in the modern world, provide glimpses into the cultures and traditions that make up the fabric of this world, and define human rights and responsibilities toward this world in its social, political, cultural and environmental dimensions.

Since its inception the Center for Children’s and Young Adult Fiction has had a strong interest in the way in which literature addressed to young audience, especially fantasy, can bring about empathy for and understanding of cultures and situations other than those we are familiar with. In our Relevant Across Cultures Conference we want to look at how novels, picture books and films of the last three decades are helping to bridge cultural, social and political gaps between different groups of people. We are particularly interested in the current mythopoesis toward connectedness and world citizenship, in new heroic and gender patterns which are beginning to fill the mythology gap, and in visions of viable value systems which promote intercultural dialogue, harmonious coexistence and environmental awareness.

Our key-note speaker will be Brian Attebery, American critic and scholar, author of The Fantasy Tradition in American Literature (1980), (1992), and Decoding Gender in Science Fiction (2002). His presentation on “Stories Linked to Stories: Fantasy as a Route to Myth,” will open what we hope will become an exciting debate on the place of fantasy literature and film in the shaping of transnational cultural referents of the global tomorrow. Our intention is to provide a forum for a wide range of scholarly presentations and workshops.

Suggested topics for proposals include, but are not limited to:

SUBMISSIONS

The deadline for proposals is December 31, 2007. Proposals must include your name, e-mail address, mailing address, telephone number, institutional affiliation, technology requests (availability to be confirmed later), presentation/workshop title, and a 300-word abstract. Presentations will be limited to 20 minutes; workshops to 30 minutes. Selected papers will be considered for publication in the conference proceedings. Please submit your proposals to:

Marek Oziewicz and Justyna Deszcz-Tryhubczak
Institute of English Studies, University of Wroclaw
ul. Kuźnicza 22, 50-138 Wroclaw, Poland

Electronic submissions are preferred, but not required. Please send them as Word document attachments, alternatively via plain-text email. Detailed information about costs, accommodation, optional tours etc. will follow in January.

Conference secretary:
AGATA ZARZYCKA, agata@proteus.pl

Conference organizers:
DR. JUSTYNA DESZCZ-TRYHUBCZAK,
deszcz@yahoo.com

DR. MAREK OZIEWICZ,
marekoziewicz@uni.wroc.pl,
marek.oziewicz@fulbrightweb.org