*CFP* "FEMINIST COMICS AND GRAPHIC NOVELS IN A GLOBAL FRAME", ISSUE 6 SPRING 2020 FEMINIST ENCOUNTERS JOURNAL

The success of longer form comics, or “graphic novels” emerging from the West such as Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis (2003, 2004) and Alison Bechdel’s Fun Home (2006) have introduced a new way of sharing personal female stories that signpost a political experience. This complements the more-established prose tradition of autobiographical works existing within feminism. The success of such graphic novels, in terms of financial gain and critical acclaim have supported a cultural elevation of the comics form and a recognition of its transformative possibilities within an ever-widening variety of disciplines, including medicine and law.

This special issue seeks toresist a US/European focusin order to interrogate how and why the comics form is being used by women in a wider global context, particularly where disseminating feminist messages. In doing so, the intention is to add to an understanding of the form’s potential as well as a broadening of our cross-cultural understanding of visual representation of women and feminist messages. Submissions are encouraged that take up issues of form as well as content within a feminist context with an emphasis on comics works by women that are previously little known about.

Some questions this issue may include but is not limited to include how comics works currently produced by women in the global South are located within the social, political and economic historical context of the country of origin. How is technology influencing the production and circulation of comics with a feminist message and what are the implications?

A list of submissions has already been collected and we are looking to add 3 further articles. Contributions are encouraged from a variety of disciplines including comics studies, graphic medicine, gender and sexuality studies, literature studies,sociology, history, law, media and cultural studies.

Any contributions that critically approach questions of the disciplinary apparatus of academic feminism, are welcome. We particularly welcome contributions from scholars working in the global south. Feminist Encounters: A Journal of Critical Studies in Culture and Politics aims to promote excellence in feminist research. We welcome articles that engage with political and cultural issues, and that seek to challenge social norms of gender, sexuality, race/ethnicity, class and disability, and which promote themes of equality, diversity, and social justice. Feminist Encounters: A Journal of Critical Studies in Culture and Politics encourages interdisciplinarity, and the use of feminist methodologies in research. Articles to be submitted should be grounded in the empirical and theoretical exploration of gender and its lived experience within a range of cultural contexts. We also welcome research on narrative, representation, and discourse that critically analyses the construction, maintenance and reinforcement of gendered normativities. The journal particularly encourages articles that provide information on historical and current political struggles, activisms, and critical social engagements. For general enquiries please email the managing editor viaeditorialfeminist@lectito.net. See our electronic submission guidelines here.

Article length 7000-9000 words including notes and works cited. We encourage the inclusion of illustrations. Where these are included, please allow 250 words per figure and ensure that you have copyright permissions for use.

Submission Process

Please email 300 word Abstract and Bio (100 words) in word or PDF form by 28 February 2019 to the editor: nicolastreeten@yahoo.com

Please include in the following order: Author(s), Affiliation, Email address, Title of abstract, Body of abstract 

Decision: 15 March 2019

Full articles due by 1 May 2019 


Guest Editor: Dr Nicola Streeten, Associate Researcher, Media, Film & Music, University of Sussex.