Art and humanities research begins with a desire to understand the human condition. For centuries, literature has provided the source material for reflection on what it means to be human. While literature continues to enlighten us, for some time film has provided a visual alternative. Film not only offers a narrative similar to literature, it also provides an audio-visual feast for the senses.
Over the course of the 20th century and into the 21st, cinema, television, and related media have become increasingly central both to individual lives and to the lives of peoples, groups, and nations.
Most people enjoy films; most are happy to make claims about how they make us feel (emotive claims) and what we think about them (evaluative claims). We might, for example, say that a particular film made us cry, or frightened us, or had us ‘on the edge of our seats’. We might say a film is a ‘must see’, that ‘it wasn’t as good as his last’, that it ‘stinks’, or that it was a great story.
Film Studies urges us to move beyond such claims to ask how and why films make us feel the way that they do, and why we think some films are better than others. It requires that we move beyond the story and look rather at the form of the film – how it is put together.
Film is a major form of cultural expression, and the study of film is the study of culture, like the history of art or the interpretation of literature. This conference aims to consider film studies from a variety of critical, theoretical, and analytical approaches.
Papers are invited on topics related, but not limited, to:
- Film making techniques
- Cinematography
- Film editing
- Film and sound
- Film theories
- History of films
- Film analysis
- Film authorship
- Film genre
We also welcome poster proposals that address one of the conference themes.
The conference is addressed to academics, researchers and professionals with a particular interest related to the conference topic. Proposals up to 250 words and a brief biographical note should be sent by 15 July 2017 to: film@lcir.co.uk. Download paper proposal form.
Registration fee – 100 GBP
Venue: Monticello House, 45 Russell Square, Bloomsbury, London, WC1B 4JP, UK
We welcome applications from prospective volunteers and interns and enquiries from potential visiting scholars. For more information please contact us:
Dr Olena Lytovka
Director
London Centre for Interdisciplinary Research
Unit 210 - No: 11 Burford Road
London, E15 2ST, United Kingdom
www.lcir.co.uk
info@lcir.co.uk
