International Association for the Fantastic in the Arts

Edited Collection: Excessive Reflections: Doubles and Other Transmutations in Latin American Gothic

deadline for submissions:
November 30, 2017

full name / name of organization:
Edited Collection: Excessive Reflections:

contact email:
antonio.alcala@itesm.mx

Background:

The collection Excessive Reflections focuses on a recurrent motif that is fundamental in the Gothic—the double. Dating back to ancient times and civilizations, the double acquires modern relevance when Otto Rank examines it in his essay published in 1914, and is later quoted by Sigmund Freud in “The Uncanny” (1919). This volume is interested in exploring how this ancient notion acquires tremendous force in a region, Latin America, which is itself defined by duplicity (indigenous/European, autochthonous religions/Catholic). Despite this duplicity and at the same time because of it, this region has also generated “mestizaje”, or forms resulting from racial mixing and hybridity. Special attention will be paid to the eruption of the indigenous through the figure of the nahual (also nawal or nagual), the guardian spirit or alter-ego embodied in animal form, as well as to other doubles and numerous transformations present in Latin American Gothic constructions.

Justification:

In recent years, much attention has been paid to national manifestations of the Gothic, as well as to what Glennis Byron termed “Globalgothic,” “the emergence of cultural and transnational gothics” (Globalgothic 1). Thus, several collections have aimed to examine manifestations of this mode in the Anglophone realm (Scottish, Canadian, American, Australian, etc.), while others have chosen to examine other regions of the world that had been previously overlooked by the Gothic Studies lens, such as Asian Gothic and Latin American Gothic.

Objective:

This collection, then, aims to contribute to the current discussion about the Gothic in Latin America by looking at the doubles and hybrid forms that result from the violent yet culturally fertile process of colonization that took place in the area. This will be done by acknowledging the literary and artistic richness that has been shaped and fueled by a legacy of conquest, as well as the violent encounters and the oppression of indigenous people resulting from the consequent establishment of European hegemony during colonization, but in equal measure by powerful forms of resistance and cultural hybrids that have emerged from this intense phenomenon.

Excessive Reflections aims to answer questions such as:

How central is the presence of doubles, split personalities and hybrid bodies in the discussion around Latin American Gothic?

Is there a connection between the tradition of Magic Realism, a genre native to this region and closely associated to ghostly presences, and the Gothic?

Is there a link between the historical and geographical identity of the region and the presence of doubles in the literature, film and art produced in it?

What is the connection between the presence of hybrid bodies in the present and the pre-Columbian heritage in the area?

Submission process and deadlines (also questions):

Those interested are asked to send a 300 word abstract, plus a 50 word bio note to:

ilsebussing@gmail.com

&

antonio.alcala@itesm.mx

ABSTRACT SUBMISSION DEADLINE: NOVEMBER 30, 2017

COMPLETE ESSAY SUBMISSION DEADLINE: APRIL 30, 2018

The Fourth Annual Dartmouth Illustration, Comics and Animation Conference. May 26th and 27th, 2018.

deadline for submissions:
December 1, 2017

full name / name of organization:
Dartmouth College

contact email:
michael.chaney@dartmouth.edu

The Fourth Annual Dartmouth Illustration, Comics and Animation Conference. May 26th and 27th, 2018.

Scholars, artists, and researchers at all levels are encouraged to submit a paper related to the following areas:

Representations of neurodiversity, Autism/Aspergers, cognitive or neurodevelopmental difference, disability studies or medical humanities.
Insurgent pedagogies using visual media, teaching comics beyond the classroom, teaching comics as a form of social justice, visual literacies and social activism.
Images and the sacred, iconophobia and theories of theology and religion in relationship to drawn media.
Adaptations, translations, remixes, transmedial practices.
The futures of visual-verbal media.

Other questions which could become the germ for panels or papers:

Can there be closure in animation?
How do digital technologies impact the comics image?
How do qualities of stasis, simultaneity, and sequence associated with the comics image apply to animation?
In what ways do the word-image tensions of the illustrated book or picture book differ from those of a graphic novel?
What is the phenomenology of the contemporary graphic novel, illustrated book, or animated film?
How do these forms presage the future of the human or the humanities?
And finally, the location of the conference may also be a source of inspiration for prospective participants. Not only does Dartmouth College lie in close proximity to the Center for Cartoon Studies in White River Junction, Vermont, but it is also the historic home of Theodore Geisel (Dr. Seuss).

Interested participants may propose individual papers or panels. Individual papers should be no longer than 20 minutes. Panels shall be ninety minutes long and should be comprised of three presenters and one (ideally separate) panel chair. Please send 300 word abstracts and a brief bio for each proposed paper no later than December 1, 2017.

Send all proposals and inquiries to
michael.chaney@dartmouth.edu

Conference website: https://generationbioware.wordpress.com/2017/03/10/generation-bioware-international-academic-conference-wroclaw/

American Literature and Culture Section (Department of English Studies, University of Wrocław) and New Media and Popular Literature Section (Department of Polish Studies, University of Wrocław) invite paper abstracts for “Generation BioWare,” a conference focused exclusively on the Canadian developer and their games.

Founded in 1995, BioWare have been responsible for some of the most acclaimed titles in the history of the industry. The studio’s games are famous for multi-layered narratives and complex characters, both of which originated in titles set in the well-established worlds: Faerûn from the Dungeon and Dragons pen-and-paper RPG system and the Star Wars universe. Since their release, Baldur’s Gate (1998), Baldur’s Gate II: Shadows of Amn (2000), and Knights of the Old Republic (2003) have enjoyed critical and commercial success and the two franchises have enabled the studio to create its own proprietary worlds in Jade Empire (2005), Mass Effect (2007), and Dragon Age: Origins (2009) as well as to further refine story-telling structures, character writing, karmic mechanics, and worldbuilding techniques.

The positive reception of BioWare titles has been accompanied by the development of a dedicated fanbase, whose general video game literacy was centrally shaped by BioWare’s design decisions and techniques. As a result, BioWare games have come to be regarded as templates for many western RPGs: the recent Kickstarter success of Divinity Original Sin (2014), Pillars of Eternity (2015), and Tyranny (2016) can be partly ascribed to the impact the Baldur’s Gate series had on these titles.

Consequently, BioWare’s impact on the medium as well as the industry can be perceived as nothing short of critical. To address this influence, we would like to create a platform for academic exchange and invite submissions from scholars and researchers across disciplines, including game studies, literary studies, linguistics, fan studies, media studies, sociology, and cultural studies.

Suggested areas of research include but are not limited to: • narratology and character research, • literary and ludological dimensions, • sociology of BioWare games and their fan communities, • BioWare games and classic RPGs, • worldbuilding techniques, • narrative techniques, • gameplay design, • poetics of BioWare games, • ethical and moral issues in BioWare games, • localization and adaptation, • paratextuality and transmediality, • video game market and the evolution of BioWare as a studio, • Interplay, BlackIsle, Troika, and Obsidian as competitors and creators of alternative worldbuilding and narrative techniques, • narrative and character design methods, • visuality and sound in BioWare games.

Dear colleague:

Volume 55.1 (2014) of Extrapolation is now available on the liverpool.metapress.com website at http://liverpool.metapress.com/content/g6114146054k/.

Extrapolation is a leading international journal publishing academic work on the specialized popular culture genres of science fiction and fantasy. You can keep up to date with the journal by clicking here to sign up to new issue alerts, and can learn more about the title at its website page here.

This issue contains:

Call for Reviewers

We are pleased to announce the winners of the Student Caucus election: the next representative to the board will be Skye Cervone, and the Vice-Representative will be Stina Attebery. Congratulations, Skye and Stina!

Their terms will run from August 1, 2014 to July 31, 2016.

Deadline: September 5, 2014, 5:00 pm

Sponsored by the Center for the Study of Women in Society, Robert D.

Clark Honors College, and University of Oregon Libraries Special Collections and University Archives (SCUA).

Purpose: The intention of the Le Guin Feminist Science Fiction Fellowship is to encourage research within collections in the area of feminist science fiction. The UO Libraries Special Collections and University Archives (SCUA) houses the papers of authors Ursula K. Le Guin, Joanna Russ, Kate Wilhelm, Suzette Haden Elgin, Sally Miller Gearhart, Kate Elliot, Molly Gloss, Laurie Marks, and Jessica Salmonson, along with Damon Knight. SCUA is also in the process of acquiring the papers of James Tiptree, Jr. and other key feminist science fiction authors. For more about these collections, visit

http://library.uoregon.edu/node/3524.

Fellowship description: This award supports travel for the purpose of research on, and work with, the papers of feminist science fiction authors housed in SCUA. These short-term research fellowships are open to undergraduates, master’s and doctoral students, postdoctoral scholars, college and university faculty at every rank, and independent scholars working in feminist science fiction. In 2014, $3,000 will be awarded to conduct research within these collections.

The fellowship selection committee will include representatives from the Center for the Study of Women in Society (CSWS), Robert D. Clark Honors College (CHC), and SCUA.

Fellows will:

Complete their research at the University of Oregon within a year of award notification; Submit a 1,000-word (maximum) essay on their research topic to CSWS for possible inclusion in publications; • Meet with representatives from CSWS, CHC, and SCUA during their visit to Eugene; Submit a separate paragraph to CSWS documenting the specific collections consulted during the fellowship; Submit a copy of their final project or publication to CSWS; Acknowledge the Le Guin Feminist Science Fiction Fellowship and its sponsors (CSWS, CHC, and SCUA) in all publications resulting from the research fellowship.

Applicants must submit by September 5, 2014:

• A 1,000-word (maximum) proposal that describes the project for which these collections will be consulted, as well as the role that the applicant expects these collections will play in the project;
• An anticipated budget for the research visit;
• A two-page curriculum vitae or resume;
• Full contact information;
• Two letters of recommendation.

Applications (as PDF attachments) and questions should be emailed to

Peggy McConnell, CSWS Accountant (peggym@uoregon.edu).

Center for the Study of Women in Society (CSWS)

1201 University of Oregon, Eugene, OR 97403-1201

(541) 346-5015 (fax) 5096 |csws@uoregon.edu.

PDF FLYER:

http://csws.uoregon.edu/wp-content/docs/grants/2014_Le_Guin_Fellowship_flyer.pdf

WEBSITE ENTRY:

http://csws.uoregon.edu/2014-le-guin-feminist-science-fiction-fellowship/