*CFP* "SPIES AND SECRET AGENTS ON EASTERN EUROPEAN SCREENS", SPECIAL ISSUE, STUDIES IN EASTERN EUROPEAN CINEMA JOURNAL

While various generic manifestations of popular cinema in Eastern Europe have attracted increasing scholarly attention, as testified, for instance, by special issues of SEEC devoted to sci-fi and musicals, a  research gap can still be observed regarding the espionage genre in the region, despite the fact that some of the Eastern European titles of this variety have become box office hits. The lukewarm academic interest in Eastern European spy thrillers thus far can perhaps be partly explained by the low cultural prestige of the genre and its assumed adherence to the hegemonies and realpolitik of the Cold War – implicit preconceptions that the proposed special issue is designed to address.

 

Aside from screen stories with a central focus on clandestine affairs, we also encourage studies on works that present secret agents in a range of generic frameworks, such as historical dramas, biopics or comedies.

• Some of the possible topics and approaches include:
• The espionage genre and cinematic secret agents before World War II
• Spy films and Cold War
• Post-communist spies and post-communist portrayals of socialist secret agents
• Non-fictional representations of spies and clandestine affairs
• Gender dynamics of the espionage genre
• The shifting transnational currents and conventions of the spy thriller, including those in the West
• Comparative studies of the spy genre in the cinemas of Eastern Europe and the rest of the world
• Genre hybridization
• Auteurs of spy films
• Production histories and patterns related to the genre

Equally encouraged are submissions of case studies of single films (or authors), comparative analyses of screen works from two or more Eastern European countries and surveys of on-screen clandestine affairs in the context of various political systems in a particular national cinema or sub-region.

Please send 200 word proposals for papers with short bios to eva.naripea@ra.ee by 1 October 2021. The deadline for full articles is 3 January 2022. Communication and Media Studies Scholars are welcome. No Payment from the authors will be required.