Call for papers: Disability in World Cinema: Translating Subjectivity (NOV-2024)

This panel aims to address the question of the representation of disability in world cinema (fiction and documentary), while moving away from a purely historical approach that would primarily focus on the evolution of representation of disability to consider how Disability Studies have enabled us to reconsider the cinematic representations of disability. This panel hinges on the assumption that Disability Studies have given rise to a series of critical and theoretical tools, as well as to a renewed perception of disability that no longer sees it as a hindrance, but rather as a driving force for creation.

One of the objectives of this panel will thus be to observe how a certain number of artists working today are seizing on the question of disability to provide subjective and non-hegemonic representations that are often overlooked in more mainstream productions. Our approach for this panel is rooted in what constitutes the heart of Disability Studies, namely the possibility that the latter have offered to bring forth new modes of representation that value the lived experience of disabled people.

We welcome presentations that choose to explore the ways in which the theoretical tools developed by Disability Studies have fostered the creative process of artists who no longer perceive disability as the sole defining feature of an individual, but instead seek to translate the subjectivity of the disabled person through the affective power of the audiovisual medium. We are particularly interested in presentations that focus on works whose primary goal is to avoid the essentialization of disability.

Possible topics include, but are not limited to:

-The possibilities offered by the audiovisual medium to convey a more subjective and affective representation of disability (i.e. haptic images);

-How these modes of representation have redefined spectatorship and the way we approach images;

-How disabled artists are using the audiovisual medium to translate their own experience of disability.

Submission Deadline : April 30-2024

For More details: Visit https://www.pamla.org/

roc104@usask.ca

Call For Articles: "The Beauty of Storytelling and the Story of Beauty"-The Polish Journal of Aesthetics

We kindly invite Authors to submit proposals to a special issue of The Polish Journal of Aesthetics - "The Beauty of Storytelling and the Story of Beauty", Vol. 75 (2/2025), edited by Joanna Szczepanik (Faculty of Architecture, West Pomeranian Technological University in Szczecin, Poland) and Kalina Kukie?ko (Institute of Sociology, University of Szczecin, Poland)

This issue of The Polish Journal of Aesthetics delves into the intricate relationship between beauty and storytelling. Over a century ago, the emergence of artistic avant-gardes challenged the primacy of beauty as the paramount aesthetic value. In contemporary times, amidst the complexities of the 21st century, its interpretation and significance are contested by notions such as originality, innovation, and creativity. Furthermore, the advent and progression of new media, notably the ascent of Artificial Intelligence (AI), introduce new dimensions for scrutinizing authorship, aesthetic ideals, and the essence of art. Recognizing storytelling as a potent vehicle for comprehending the world, this issue urges authors to explore beauty as an inherent feature of narrative, encompassing both form and content, as articulated by W?adys?aw Tatarkiewicz: “whether it be color, sound, or thought.” Is there still a place for beauty in the modern world? What has become of the reverence for this once supreme value, traditionally aligned with goodness and truth in the Greek triad? A narrative infused with beauty entices, persuades, evokes emotions, resonates with experiences, and ultimately enriches our lives. This issue serves as an invitation to contemplate the current state of beauty in relation to storytelling as its fundamental aspect, and in reference to art-based research, which applies artistic methods to qualitative research. We welcome submissions representing diverse philosophical, artistic, cultural, and sociological perspectives, employing varied theoretical frameworks to engage in discourse about beauty and storytelling. Articles may explore, among other topics:

- Contemporary perspectives on beauty,

- Methods of narrating beauty and narratives about beauty,

- The beauty embedded within contemporary storytelling and narratives,

- Beauty's intersection with AI,

- Beauty as a constituent element of storytelling,

- Storytelling and aesthetic values,

- The storyteller, story, storytelling, and their audience,

- Storytelling and the world of design,

- Storytelling as an approach to aesthetic inquiry, art-based research, and qualitative research.

We also invite submissions in the form of essays, reviews, poetry, multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary expressions that explore the volume’s theme from non-academic perspectives.

Submission deadline: 31 March, 2025

All Authors interested in contributing to this issue of The Polish Journal of Aesthetics are kindly requested to send full papers by submission page at the journal's website by March 31, 2025.

We strongly urge all Authors to read the instructions (‘For Authors’) before the submission.

Welcome to visit our website at:

https://pjaesthetics.uj.edu.pl/

pjaestheticsuj@gmail.com

Call for Papers: Twenty-First-Century #Religion and #Culture in Youth #Literature (A Special Issue of The Lion and the Unicorn)

 From its earliest moments in medieval Britain and colonial America, Anglophone children’s literature was built on a foundation of religion. Even when not positioned as explicitly religious, the dominant British and colonial religion of Christianity infused children’s books with church-based morals, and references to Christmas and Jesus were taken for granted. Since then, religion has continued to be an important aspect of children’s literature, but the relationships between religion, culture, children’s literature, education, and libraries have changed several times. Now, in the twenty-first century, Anglophone children’s literature is often more conscious of religious and international diversity, having been influenced by movements like We Need Diverse Books and grassroots organizations serving religious and cultural minorities. At the same time, increasing social and political polarization affects the production of children’s literature, especially when controversial topics are so often tied to religious ideologies. Recent developments like new manifestations of religious nationalism, the rise of antisemitism and Islamophobia, the splintering of the Methodist church, Pope Francis’ decision to allow Catholic clergy to bless same-sex relationships, the growing rate of young adults leaving religious communities, and differentiation within a variety of indigenous and diasporic religions make the time ripe for reconsideration of academic discussions about the role of religion and belief in children’s literature.

This special issue aims to revive and expand long-standing conversations about the roots and continued presence of religion in children’s literature, beyond consideration of early Christian influences. For example, children’s literature has been shaped by many developments including:

• fundamental changes in religious institutions; 
• cross-cultural influences within and between religions; 
• secularization and resistance to secularization; 
• grappling with and/or reconciliation of creationism and evolution; 
• movements intersecting with religion (e.g., ongoing civil rights struggles, feminism, LGBTQ+ advocacy, abortion access, environmental activism, decolonial movements, Black Lives Matter). 

With an eye towards interfaith dialogue and inclusion, we will feature a variety of perspectives on religion and culture in children’s and young adult literature. 

We invite submissions of proposals for this special issue of The Lion and the Unicorn to be published in Spring 2026. Please submit abstracts of 400-500 words for full-length essays (8,000-10,000 words) addressing, challenging, and/or developing ideas about the current state of religion and culture, broadly defined, in texts for children and young adults in a variety of religious and cultural contexts. We especially encourage papers considering non-Western and non-Abrahamic religious traditions, papers engaging with intersectionality, and papers considering old ideas in a new light.

Possible topics include, but are not limited to:

• Does religion still matter in twenty-first-century youth literature? 
• How does the post-secular and/or post-humanist age affect religious content in youth literature, and vice versa?
• How does the current state of religion in children’s literature and the relationship between religious cultures and children’s literature fit within the longer history of children’s publishing?
• What is the legacy of canonical authors or enduring representations of religious practice in children’s literature? 
• What has happened to the “Christmas chapter,” especially in series fiction? What role have those episodes, so long a staple of Anglophone children’s texts, played in shaping youth literature, national religious consciousness, politics, etc.?
• What does children’s literature still lack in the realm of religion and culture? Why are those elements important, and what prevents them from being represented?
• How are the many voices within individual religious or cultural communities represented? What are some of the internal debates, and how do they affect either niche or mainstream publishing?
• Are there significant differences in religious representations between books published for a mainstream audience and ones published for an internal religious or cultural community? Between books distributed in a single country versus books distributed globally?
• How does the religious or cultural affiliation of the perceived or intended audience affect the narratives of children’s texts? 
• What are the functions of youth libraries in religious cultural centers like mosques, synagogues, churches, or temples? What kinds of book-centered programming happens in these centers, and what role do they play in the representation of religion and culture in children’s literature?
• How do public libraries and/or public schools use materials with overt or subtle religious messaging? What kinds of book-centered religious programming do public libraries and/or public schools plan? How does this vary based on community demographics? 
• How do local or national standards of education in subjects like “world religions” influence which books make their way into the curriculum? How are these books utilized in lesson plans?
• At a time when librarianship, children’s literature scholarship, and publishing have committed to diversifying representation, what role does the age-old question of quality in children’s texts play in various contexts including religious communities, professional educators, scholars, etc.?
• How does religious content in youth literature shape the cultural consciousness of youth in all religious traditions (including none), of the publishing industry, and/or of professional organizations? 
• What role do children’s editions of sacred texts and/or study guides play in the broader market of youth literature?
• Is there a significant difference between religion as represented in fantasy and religion as presented in contemporary or historical realism? What are the effects of those differences on readers?
• Do books about contemporary youth and religion differ in any significant ways from books drawing on religious pasts or legends? 
• Does age matter? How do picture books, early readers, middle grade books, and/or young adult books differ in their engagement with or representation of religious and cultural content?
• How does youth literature with religious content address or engage with often-controversial themes like social justice, the environment, etc.? How does a religious lens influence the messaging around these topics? What are the differences between various religions’ and denominations’ approaches to these topics?
• How does religion function in any or all aspects of youth literature and youth media more broadly?

Deadline for submissions of proposals: July 15, 2024

Submit via Google Form: https://forms.gle/tC8g7MYpLAxF6dcu8

For any questions, contact Sara Schwebel (sls09@illinois.edu), Suzan Alteri (salteri@illinois.edu), or Dainy Bernstein (dainyb@illinois.edu).

Contact Information

Sara Schwebel, Suzan Alteri, Dainy Bernstein

Contact Email

sls09@illinois.edu

URL

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1_VikD2T6mhwLfCA8ai83I-hg9aeWUHft/view?usp=shar…

Attachments

CFP: Twenty-First Century Religion and Culture in Youth Literature

Call for Book Series Announcement - Afrasia: Contours, Crossings, Connections -University of Pittsburgh Press

 The University of Pittsburgh Press is pleased to announce the launch of Afrasia: Contours, Crossings, Connections (ACCC), a new scholarly book series that will examine how African and Asian peoples have encountered each other across diverse geographical and cultural contexts, in the past and present, with a focus on the frictions and solidarities of these encounters as catalyzed by contemporary trends in global migration, movement, and interrelation.

ACCC takes Afrasia as the conceptual and contingent space—historical and contemporary; sociocultural, political economic, and ideological; interpersonal, collective, and mass-mediated, among others—through which African and Asian peoples, as well as peoples of African and Asian descent, have engaged each other on and between their respective continents, across and through oceanic regions, and around the world. The series aims to establish a framework through which to understand the various interactions and enmeshments that took and take place between and across African and Asian actors—interactions that are neither stable nor unchanging but rather defined by their complexity, richness, mutability, and depth.

Welcoming interdisciplinary scholarship that explores the myriad dimensions of these exchanges, the series traces the contours of Afrasia to encompass West, Central, South, Southeast, and East Asia; Sub-Saharan and North Africa; and diasporic zones worldwide, including the Indian Ocean, the Caribbean, and the Americas.

ACCC will be edited by Marvin D. Sterling, associate professor of cultural anthropology, and Pedro Machado, associate professor of history, both of Indiana University Bloomington. An international editorial board of distinguished academics will advise the editors and the Press on series matters.

“The complex, myriad, and increasingly deep entanglements of Africans and Asians—and people of African and Asian descent—have chartered broad and wide-ranging trajectories whose contours and dynamics have shaped the currents of the global past and are defining the contemporary world,” states Machado. “Interest in exploring these enmeshments has been growing in recent years and this series will provide an urgently needed venue to showcase scholarship in this field.”

“In addition to the international political, economic, and similar terms in which the interactions between African and Asian peoples have been understood, we are invested in what have been under-explored perspectives that are socioculturally attentive, ethnographically attuned, and humanistic in their framings of the global histories, as well as the present and emergent futures, of these interactions,” offers Sterling. “In this way, the series is both forward looking, and decades overdue.”

The series invites proposals for monographs and edited volumes from new and experienced scholars. Inquiries should be directed to William Masami Hammell, senior acquisitions editor: whammell@upress.pitt.edu. Submission information is available on the Book Submissions page. Once up and running, the series aims to publish 2-3 books each year.

Contact Email

whammell@upress.pitt.edu

URL

https://upittpress.org/series/afrasia-contours-crossings-connections/