*CFP* "CULTURAL REPRESENTATIONS OF THE SECOND WIFE", BOOK CHAPTER

This slightly revised call is for abstracts for a scholarly, international edited collection entitled, Cultural Representations of the Second Wife: Literature, Stage, and Screen.

Currently I am seeking a number of academics and professionals in the field who might like to send me an abstract for consideration for inclusion in the book.

Due to effects of the covid-19 pandemic 2020-21, and the strain this has placed on people and businesses (including academics and universities world-wide), the deadline for abstracts for this project has been extended.

The aim of this scholarly edited collection is to reveal how the personal expectations and actual experiences of the second wife may differ from the social and cultural expectations and realities of the role of the second wife; and how the second wife may be perceived in the popular and social culture of various cultures, in screen, stage, and literary productions and pop culture narratives.

In any culture, religious and cultural beliefs are inseparable, and intrinsic one to the other, and are important to the marriage customs and laws of that particular culture or society.

*CFP* "KIMPOSIUM! THE SEQUEL", SYMPOSIUM

Kimposium! The sequel

14 - 16 September 2021

 

In 2015 we held Kimposium! to great success.  Now, as Keeping Up with the Kardashians draws to a close after twenty seasons, we revisit and renew our feminist thinking about these globally famous women.  Renowned and reviled, loved and hated, the Kardashians are quintessential icons of early 21st century celebrity cultures.  But this family represents and embodies so much more.  Indeed, studying the Kardashians and their products leads to consideration of some of the most pressing social and cultural issues of our time.

Dr Meredith Jones, from Brunel University London, says:

“Love them or hate them, the Kardashians are arguably the USA’s new ‘royal’ family, their every move scrutinised. But unlike the British Royals these people invite the public in to observe their everyday lives. In the course of doing this they have redefined reality television and had profound social impacts: Notably, Kim is at the forefront of an international change to what an ‘ideal’ woman’s body is, and Caitlyn has brought trans into the mainstream like nobody before her.”

*CFP* "ADOPTION, KINSHIP, CULTURE: ENGAGING THE PAST, IMAGINING THE FUTURE", ASAC 2021 EIGHTH BIENNIAL VIRTUAL CONFERENCE

Adoption, Kinship, Culture: Engaging the Past, Imagining the Future

ASAC 2021 Eighth Biennial Virtual Conference

Gatherings for Q&A on Zoom: Oct. 15, 10am-7pm EST

 

Adoption, Kinship, Culture: Engaging the Past, Imagining the Future, hosted by The Alliance for the Study of Adoption and Culture (ASAC), considers crossing boundaries, changing discourses, and new kinship formations to imagine the futures of adoption. This conference investigates what adoption, foster care, kinship, and assisted reproductive technologies (ARTs) might look like in the coming decades. What discourses, representations, practices, policies, and laws will change and which will stay the same, and why? Who and what will lead the way? As we speculate about the futures of adoption, we cannot ignore the innumerable pasts and the complexities of our present moment. Thus, we also ask, how has the past informed, anticipated, or rejected the future? What will be the effects of the past on our future kinships?

*CFP* "CONSTRUIRSE UNA VOZ: CINEASTAS ESPAÑOLAS DEL SIGLO XXI", SECCIÓN CUADERNO, L' ATALANTE: REVISTA DE ESTUDIOS CINEMATOGRÁFICOS

Las niñas (Pilar Palomero, 2020) arranca con una colección de primeros planos que las presenta gesticulando, haciendo parecer que cantan. Después del ejercicio, la monja les pide a unas “cantar de verdad”, a otras mover solamente los labios. La profesora da las primeras notas en el piano, pero en el momento en el que las niñas toman aire para cantar o hacer como que cantan, el montaje introduce un corte a negro, un silencio tremendamente elocuente. El prólogo se propone como un canto cortado que abre un discurso que supondrá la travesía subjetiva de una niña que no sabe o no puede hablar hasta la articulación de una voz. Podemos interpretar a esa niña de vivísimos ojos atentos —interpretada por Andrea Fandos— como una heredera de Ana Torrent en El espíritu de la colmena (Víctor Erice, 1973), niña del cine español que alza el emblema del deseo de saber. Podemos interpretar a esa niña también como metonimia de una generación de directoras que años después podrán articular una voz a través del arte cinematográfico, al hacer trabajo de su vocación.

Cuando, en 2013, la revista Caimán Cuadernos de Cine intentó acuñar la etiqueta “Otro Nuevo Cine Español” para referirse a la nómina de nuevas firmas que habían ido surgiendo desde el comienzo del milenio en el cine nacional, el número de autoras no alcanzó la decena. Número a todas luces insuficiente, pero también indicativo de que había ya una semilla tanto por parte de las publicaciones como de las instituciones para apoyar paulatinamente un proceso de apuesta por la igualdad de oportunidades en la producción cinematográfica nacional. En 2017, en su décimo aniversario, Caimán presta su gran angular a las 50 directoras del siglo XXI, entre las cuales hay ya ocho españolas. Sin embargo, en la serie documental Women Make Film (Mark Cousins, 2018) solamente aparece Ana Mariscal.

*CFP* "SIBLINGS ON STAGE, PAGE AND SCREEN", VIRTUAL CONFERENCE

Siblings on Stage, Page and Screen

Virtual Conference

Saturday 16th January 2021

Though ubiquitous across stage, page and screen, images of siblings remain an under-researched and under-discussed phenomenon. The relationships, rivalries, conflicts and collaborations between brothers and sisters are frequently overlooked, and yet offer the possibility for fascinating discussion and insight into a wide range of cultural texts.

Following the successful Siblings on Stage and Screen symposium held at the University of Worcester in September 2018, we are delighted to announce a second Siblings conference, to be hosted virtually by the University of Chester via the Microsoft Teams platform. We invite papers which explore the relatively under-developed study of siblings in visual culture, performance and literature, in various and creative ways.

*CFP* "LA REPRESENTACIÓN DE LA FAMILIA EN EL MANGA Y EL ANIME", MONOGRÁFICO 8, REVISTA ADMIRA

Durante las últimas décadas, el cómic japonés (manga) y la animación japonesa (anime) se han consolidado como objetos de investigación relevantes en los Estudios de la Comunicación, los Estudios Japoneses y los Estudios Culturales. La creciente presencia internacional de estos productos comunicativos y su éxito entre varias generaciones de audiencias extranjeras han propiciado multitud de investigaciones centradas en las características estéticas, narrativas, ideológicas, económicas y socioculturales de los cómics y las animaciones procedentes de Japón. 

Con el fin de contribuir al conocimiento sobre manga y anime así como sobre el modo en que las obras de estos medios representan la sociedad japonesa para una audiencia extranjera, la Revista ADMIRA lanza una convocatoria de artículos para su próximo número. Bajo el título “La representación de la familia en el manga y el anime”, este monográfico coordinado por el investigador Francisco Javier López Rodríguez tiene como objetivo reflexionar sobre el modo en que los cómics y las animaciones de Japón (de)construyen, critican, promocionan o cuestionan determinados valores, roles de género, actitudes o acciones en el seno de la familia. 

*CFP* SPECIAL ISSUE, TINAKORI: CRITICAL JOURNAL OF THE KATHERINE MANSFIELD SOCIETY

Love and all its passions, pains, and ambiguities is a key theme of Mansfield’s short fiction. This special issue of Tinakori looks to explore Mansfield’s creative treatment of love in all its various forms: between lovers, friends, family members, parents and children. How do Mansfield’s Modernist literary strategies represent the emotions and experiences of love including the pain of separation and the dark shadow that is jealousy? Anne Carson suggests that the experience of eros is a study in the ambiguities of time. Lovers are always waiting. They hate to wait; they love to wait. Wedged between these two feelings, lovers come to think a great deal about time, and to understand it very well, in their perverse way’. How do Mansfield’s stories represent beginnings and endings and separations and reunions – topics that have autobiographical resonance for the writer? What is the significance of time and waiting for love? Do her lovers invent new worlds? In what ways can these be more imagined than real? Can love be ecstatic? Or demonic? This issue seeks to focus on the varied ways that Mansfield explored love as both pain and pleasure.

*CFP* “CHILDREN AND MEDIA: EMERGING ISSUES”, SPECIAL ISSUE. COMMUNICATIONS: THE EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF COMMUNICATION RESEARCH

The role of media in the lives of children and youth has long been the subject of research attention within the media and communications scholarly community to the extent that there now exists a defined sub-discipline specialism dedicated to the subject, drawing on a full range of methodologies, research traditions and disciplinary formations. To a great extent, research attention has followed patterns of media and communications research more generally, focusing in particular on children as consumers and related patterns of consumption as well as contexts, effects and consequences of media use and media repertoires.

The wider socio-political environment and the technological landscape of global internet connectivity as it impacts on children and youth have also received much attention, with reference to the shaping of policies that take children’s views and children’s lives into account. Consequently, with a growing evidence base and greater critical awareness of the heterogeneity of children’s and youth’s media experiences, the research agenda has moved from a generalized characterization of children and media as a fixed or holistic relationship to a much more nuanced and complex understanding of the mediated nature of life-worlds for children as for members of the adult world.

*CFP* “REPRESENTARIONS OF REGUGEE, MIGRANT AND DISPLACED MOTHERHOOD IN A GLOBAL CONTEXT”, EDITED COLLECTION

Contributions are invited for a scholarly edited collection that aims to explore literary accounts of migrant, refugee, and displaced motherhood in a global context. The collection will look primarily at contemporary writings about migrant motherhood. In a world marked by forced migrations, climate change, and wars, the collection aims to examine writings about the displacement of mothers at the American borders, in the Syrian conflict, and beyond. 

This book seeks to examine writings by and about the displaced mother in both fiction and non-fiction.  Refugees and migrants are often unseen, or worse seen as an inconvenience or imposition.  Migrant mothers in particular are often overlooked, with their experiences, their needs, and their lives nearly erased. Vu Tran says that for those who can never quite accept her, a refugee is like a ghost (p. 154).  This collection is particularly interested in analysis of first-hand accounts of migrant motherhood, while also recognizing that the migrant mother is often silent. Therefore, analysis of both fictional and non-fiction accounts may be of importance as the collection pieces together the fragmented lives of migrant mothers.  

*CFP* “IT’S BECAUSE OF THE IMPLICATION: ESSAYS ON THE FX SERIES IT’S ALWAYS SUNNY IN PHILADELPHIA”, EDITED COLLECTION

Editor seeks original essays for an edited collection on the long-running FX comedy series It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. This collection is under contract with McFarland Publishers and will address the cult following of this series as it goes into its 14th and 15th seasons on the lesser known network. Featuring a cast of outright detestable characters, IASIP has a tremendous online following and a very loyal fanbase that keeps it busy year after year.

While many attribute the success of the show to its “low-brow Frasier-esque” appeal, this series has survived, even thrived, in a culture that has brought down shows for a lot less than the scandalous political, racial, and social commentary explored by Sunny. I welcome proposals on any facet of the IASIP series, including, but not limited to the ideas listed below. If you have other ideas or proposals for chapters, please feel free to email inquiries.

Chapters in the proposed collection can focus on one or more of the following categories:

*CFP* "FAMILIAL INFLUENCES ON SUPERHEROES", BOOK CHAPTERS

The edited collection, Familial Influences on Superheroes, will examine the role that the family plays on the development of the superhero as portrayed in radio, comics, graphic novels, television series, and feature films.  Many superheroes have experienced the trauma of losing (a) parent(s), which sets them apart from others.  Thus, the individuals that the superheroes gravitate towards become an integral part of their lives, to the point where they form a necessary and vital “familial network” of connections that would either replace those that were lost or never fully established.  This network ranges from “substitute” parents/guardians as well as siblings and relatives, to significant others and even more extended members comprising superhero teams.  

Each chapter will focus on a specific superhero and how s/he has been impacted by the aforementioned familial figures.  Through this collection of essays, readers will understand the psychological makeup of superheroes much better and see that behind every hero is a family member(s) encouraging them to use their powers for the benefit of humanity.  

*CFP* "WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?: ESSAYS ON FAITH & THEOLOGY IN THE ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE", EDITED COLLECTION

Editors Szanter and Bacon seek original essays for an edited collection on the place of theology and belief in the context of the zombie apocalypse. This collection will address the function of faith and belief more broadly within existing and forthcoming zombie media. The evolving zombie studies space addresses many facets of human behavior and action in the post-apocalyptic landscape, but few address the presence of belief—ranging from how organized religion survives (or evolves) amidst zombies, how survivors cope with lingering spirituality or a desire to believe, or even how zombies themselves might express “faith” or “belief” in a post-human environment (In the Flesh [Mitchell, 2013-14], The Girl with All the Gifts [Carey, 2014/ McCarthy, 2016], Pride, Prejudice, and Zombies [Graeme-Smith, 2009/ Steers, 2016]). We welcome proposals on zombie narratives in any medium including but not restricted to: film, novels, television series, comics, gaming, music, theatre, art, and any not mentioned herein.

Chapters in the proposed collection can focus on one or more of the following categories:

*CFP* INAUGURAL ISSUE OF THE JOURNAL OF BODIES, SEXUALITIES, AND MASCULINITIES

We are delighted to invite submissions for the Inaugural issue of the Journal of Bodies, Sexualities, and Masculinities. The journal aims to bring together “critical studies of men and masculinities” and “sexuality studies.” More specifically, the journal provides a venue for research on bodies, sexualities and masculinities and all of their complexities -- temporal, medical, geographic, cultural, ethnic, legal - by welcoming submissions from the social sciences, humanities, life sciences, and health studies that are theoretically rigorous, methodologically sound, and draw on interdisciplinary approaches. It will provide a dialogue that will not only report cutting edge empirical research findings, but will also be a forum for new theoretical, methodological and analytical insights.

Building on two successful conferences – ‘Doing Sex: Men, Masculinities, and Sexual Practices’, July 2017 at the University of Newcastle; and ‘Bodies, Sexualities, and Masculinities, the American Men’s Studies Association’s 2018 Annual Conference – the journal will be at the forefront of research and scholarship in its field. Work on these topics is more pressing and prescient than ever before and the journal aims to create a space for scholars not only to be developing and building upon existing approaches in the field, but also to be innovative, to be risky and challenging by presenting new ideas and alternatives ways of seeing and understanding. As editors, we are fully aware that the academy is not a meritocracy. Thus, in part, the ethos of this journal is to welcome submissions, especially in this inaugural issue, that cover a wide breadth of topics, theories, and contexts, from scholars and researchers at various stages of their careers.

*CFP* "VISUALIZING KINSHIP: POLITICS, CHALLENGES, OPPORTUNITIES", ADOPTION & CULTURE JOURNAL

Adoption & Culture publishes essays on any aspect of adoption’s intersection with culture, including but not limited to scholarly examinations of adoption practice, law, art, literature, ethics, science, life experiences, film, or any other popular or academic representation of adoption. Adoption & Culture accepts submissions of previously unpublished essays for review.

Adoption & Culture is the journal of The Alliance for the Study of Adoption and Culture (ASAC). ASAC promotes understanding of the experience, institution, and cultural representation of domestic and transnational adoption and related practices such as fostering, assisted reproduction, LGBTQ+ families, and innovative kinship formations. ASAC considers adoptive kinship to include adoptees, first families, and adoptive kin. In its conferences, other gatherings, and publications ASAC provides a forum for discussion and knowledge creation about adoption and related topics through interdisciplinary, culture-based scholarly study and creative practice that consider many ways of perceiving, interpreting, and understanding adoption.

*CFP* "TRANSITIONS INTO PARENTHOOD: CHILDBEARING, CHILDREARING, AND THE CHANGING NATURE OF PARENTING", CONTEMPORARY PERSPECTIVES IN FAMILY RESEARCH BOOK SERIES

Contemporary Perspectives in Family Research, an annual series which focuses upon cutting-edge topics in family research around the globe, is seeking manuscript submissions for its 2019 volume. The 2019 volume of CPFR will focus on the theme of "Transitions into Parenthood: Childbearing, Childrearing, and the Changing Nature of Parenting."

Around the globe, the very conceptualization of family is associated with the relationship between a parent and a child. The birth of a child represents both the end of one experience, wherein parents have been preparing for the arrival of the child, and also the beginning of yet another experience, involving the rearing of the child. Entry into parenthood represents a fundamental shift in family structure and family dynamics. Furthermore, this decision to have a child has substantial bearing upon the larger society, particularly in regard to population issues. Quite obviously, the two components of childbearing and childrearing vary considerably across cultures, and over time, and each of these continues to change. 

*CFP* "FAMILIES ON SCREEN IN THE AMERICAS SINCE 1970", INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE: CONGRÈS DE L'INSTITUT DES AMÉRIQUES

International Conference: Congrès de l'Institut des Amériques (9-11 October 2019, Paris). Panel 10: Families on Screen in the Americas Since 1970.

The 1960s are known as a period of profound economic, social and political turmoil. In Western societies, revolutionary uproars directly impacted the bourgeois ideal of the nuclear family inherited from the 19th century. In this family structure, the head of household is an all-powerful father wielding his authority over wife and children. The male breadwinner–female homemaker family model popularized after World War II started to erode from the 1960s onwards to finally splinter in the 1970s. With its fast-growing viewership at the time, television has contributed to this evolution somewhat paradoxically. On the one hand, televisual productions could reproduce the established order. But on the other hand, they could incorporate sociocultural changes that became consensual.

TV shows constitute invaluable sources to study these transformations as family issues have long held a key position in television productions across the Americas. Since the 1950s, many TV shows from the northern part of the continent have revolved entirely around families like Bewitched (1964-1972). 

*CFP* "FAMILY AND THE MEDIA: CULTURAL POLITICS AND PUBLIC NARRATIVES", THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MEDIA & CULTURAL POLITICS

Family as a form of social coexistence is widespread in political, cultural and media debates; cultural politics with respect to family can stir elections, fill media content, sell products and (re)construct socio-cultural and -political discourses. The presentation of families in the media is contextual, culturally encoded and socially determined in accordance with or opposition to predominant cultural politics and political ideologies.

The International Journal of Media and Culture (The IJMCP) invites contributions to the June 2019 special issue dedicated to “Family and the Media: Cultural Politics and Public Narratives”. The focus of this issue is on the analysis of (re)representations of family matters in diverse media. We ask: How and with which effect are family/families constructed/reflected in cultural politics and public narratives, in media as diverse as TV-series and film, (print) journalism and photography, blogs and microblogs (Twitter), social media apps (Snapchat or Instagram), radio and podcasts, or computer games? How do these media narratives construct, shape and/or influence public (political) discourses?