CFP: Comics and childhood (10/15/06; journal issue)

The "Comics and Childhood" special issue of ImageTexT is accepting paper
submissions that address the theme of comics and childhood, particularly
the use of image and text in the hybrid forms of comics and children's
literature.

Possible topics include but are not limited to:

    * History and evolution of the comics in relation to children's
      literature.
    * Cross pollination between comics and children's literature authors
      and artists (Ian Falconer, Neil Gaiman, Berkeley Breathed, Chris
      Ware, Lynda Barry, William Steig).
    * The Comics Code for comic books and regulations involving
      animation because they were viewed to be children's works.
    * Disney's role in comics and in making comics into children's texts.
    * Rising circulation in the USA of anime and manga for children
      (including translation of anime and manga for American audiences,
      and for children).
    * Significance of regulation and awards for recognizing 'quality'
      works, including the importance of the Comics Code seal of
      approval, the Caldecott Award and Honor Emblems, the Eisner Award,
      and others.
    * Synthesis of comics and children's literature with comicesque
      works for children like Mo Willems' works, picture books that
      could be classed as comics, as with Gaiman's "Stardust," and with
      works like Jeff Smith's "Bone," which is now being distributed by
      Scholastic.
    * Animation being treated as a 'children's form', often being
      embedded in other children's programming like "Sesame Street" and
      "Pee Wee's Playhouse" as well as being often used to present
      children in non-children's shows (the focus on children characters
      in "The Simpsons," "South Park," "Family Guy," and others).
    * Subversive workings of comics and children's literature due to
      their marginalized positions and due to difficulties in regulating
      hybrid forms.
    * Revisionist traditions in comics and children's literature,
      particularly comics that revise children's literature works and
      children's literature works that revise comics ("Castle Waiting,"
      "Fables," "Courtney Crumrin," "Nightmares and Fairytales,"
      "Sleeping Beauty," and "Classics Illustrated").
    * Cultural translation with animation, anime, comics, and children's
      literature (manga and anime being rewritten to be less violent for
      US viewers and readers).
    * Big Little Books and Better Little Books.
    * Issues of archiving and access in regards to comics and children's
      literature as it relates to their changing, mutable, and often
      ephemeral forms.
    * Questions of audience with original comic strips at turn of
      century for mass audiences and children's literature seen as 'for
      all ages.'

Please send completed papers in MLA citation format to
cmartin_at_english.ufl.edu by October 15, 2006.

Articles submitted should usually not exceed 10,000 words including
notes and should be presented to generally accepted academic standards.
Please submit all articles by sending an email with the submission
attached (including images, video etc.) If you cannot send attachments
of this size please send a copy of your article to the address below.
All postal mail submissions must include a copy of the article in
electronic form on either a floppy disk or a CD along with 3 print
copies of the article. Articles should be submitted preferably in HTML,
or as Microsoft Word, StarOffice, or OpenOffice documents. Webbed essays
are encouraged.

Alternatively, send hard copies to:
Cathlena Martin
Department of English
Univ. of Florida
4008 Turlington Hall
P.O. Box 117310
Gainesville, FL 32611-7310

Guest editors for the special issue are Charles Hatfield and Cathlena
Martin. If you have any questions, please email cmartin_at_english.ufl.edu

ImageTexT (http://www.english.ufl.edu/imagetext/) is a web-based journal
published by the University of Florida, committed to advancing the
academic study of comic books, comic strips, and animated cartoons.
Under the guidance of an editorial board of scholars from a variety of
disciplines, ImageTexT publishes solicited and peer-reviewed papers that
investigate the material, historical, theoretical, and cultural
implications of visual textuality. ImageTexT welcomes essays emphasizing
(but not limited to) the aesthetics, cognition, production, reception,
distribution and dissemination of comics and other media as they relate
to comics, along with translations of previously existing research on
comics as dimensions of visual culture.

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Received on Mon Sep 04 2006 - 21:34:14 EDT