Call for Panel Papers
Apologies for Cross Postings
Panel title: "Holy Hercules! Myth and Superheroes"
For "Holy Men in Tights!" Superheroes Conference, June 2005, University of Melbourne, Australia (details follow).
Papers are sought for a panel examining the relationship between superheroes and myth. Papers might consider superheroes overtly based on mythology, such as Wonder Woman or The Mighty Thor. Alternatively, papers might consider how the heroes of myth have informed the development of the superhero figure. Different approaches to the role of myth in popular culture are welcomed. Papers can consider superheroes in any media, for example (but not exclusively) comicbooks, television or film.
Please send a 500 word proposal to Djoymi Baker via email at djoymib@unimelb.edu.au, by April 10, 2004. Please also include a brief, one paragraph biography. Any papers not accepted for the panel(s) will be forwarded for the general call for papers and unless requested otherwise.
Djoymi Baker
Cinema and New Media
The School of Art History, Classics and Archaeology
The University of Melbourne
Victoria 3010 Australia
djoymib@unimelb.edu.au
--- General Call for Papers“Holy Men in Tights!"– a Superheroes Conference, June 2005
Superheroes and supervillains – whether human or god, born or created, product of nature or creature of science – they have existed as cultural icons for centuries. Why have they endured? How have they transformed over the decades? What is their cultural or mythic function? Where does the hero end and the superhero begin?
We call for papers or panel sessions that address the varying roles, identities, and social functions that these enduring beings serve. Superheroes and Supervillains may be interpreted through the lens of: historical approaches; censorship codes; industry and franchise differentiation (e.g. DC vs. Marvel Comics); mythology; national and cultural specificity; gender identity and power shifts; diverse media formats (cinema, comics, computer games, television) and their distinctive versions of superheroes; the female superhero (Wonderwoman, Catwoman, Jean Grey, Sable, Martha Washington, Sailer Moon, Buffy, Xena); serial form and the cliff hanger; the current resurgence in the cult of superpowers in recent cinema; the supervillain; the super-collective; auteurs (e.g. Frank Miller, Alan Moore, Tezuka Osamu, Massimiliano Frezzato); superhero universes (e.g. Matrix, Star Wars); fan culture.
Superhero examples can include (but are not limited to): the comic book superheroes from classics like Batman, Superman, Spiderman, Catwoman, Captain American, and X-Men, to revisionist and anti-(super)hero types found in the Invisibles, Dark Knight Returns, Watchmen, Preacher, Sandman, Punisher, Wolverine; superheroes in television (e.g. Buffy, Angel, Alias, Dark Angel, Xena); manga and anime (Astroboy, Prince Planet, Vampire D, the Zoids, Ikari Shinji, Akira); computer game types: Lara Croft, Final Fantasy heroes; ancient heroes (e.g. Odysseus, Hercules, Odin, Thor) and samurai warriors and mythology.
The deadline for paper proposals and panel sessions is April 15th 2004. The conference will be held in June 2005 and hosted by the Cinema Studies Program, University of Melbourne, Australia.
Send proposals to: Angela Ndalianis at angelan@unimelb.edu.au, http://www.refractory.unimelb.edu.au
=============================================== From the Literary Calls for Papers Mailing List CFP@english.upenn.edu Full Information at http://www.english.upenn.edu/CFP/ or write Erika Lin: elin@english.upenn.edu ===============================================
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