Midwest Popular Culture Association/Midwest American Culture Association
2015 Annual Conference
Cincinnati, OH (October 1-4, 2015)

The Midwest Popular Culture Association/Midwest American Culture Association seeks proposals for papers and panels on animation and anime for its 2015 Conference, to be held Thursday–Sunday,1-4 October 2015 at the Hilton Cincinnati Netherland Plaza in Cincinnati, OH.  The conference seeks papers on Western animation, Japanese animation (anime), and animation from other cultures.  As animation and anime cover all kinds of storytelling, topics may include but are not limited to the following suggestions:

• Social and political themes in animation and anime (environmentalism, gender roles, ethnic and cultural stereotypes, political corruption, etc.)
• Using animation and anime in the classroom
• Genres of (and in) animation and anime (love and romance, fantasy, horror, erotica, science fiction, crime and mystery, historical dramas, etc.)
• Ethical criticism of animation and anime
• History of animation and anime
• Comedy, parody, and pastiche in animation and anime
• Creating and producing animation and anime (adapting books and manga, visual styles, music, voice casting, translating and subtitling, etc.)

Please send submissions directly to http://submissions.mpcaaca.org. Full details are available on the official CFP at http://mpcaaca.org/cincy-2014/2015-cfp/. Graduate students are invited to apply for one of the MPCA/ACA’s competitively awarded travel grants at http://mpcaaca.org/conference/travel-grants/.

Abstract/proposal submission deadline: April 30
Subject Area Chair: Prof. Mark Gellis (Kettering University)

Stockholm University (Stockholm, Sweden)
September 3-5

Future in Comics

“This conference aims to investigate ways in which comics explore the idea of ‘future.’ Its goal is to gather scholars from the field of comic studies and related fields, such as linguistics, philosophy, literary studies, cultural studies, sociology, anthropology, film studies as well as others that can discover a conceptual connection to the rigorous study of comics. Given our broad and yet specific purpose, we aim to discuss work on comics originating from all major traditions: French bande desineé, American and British comics, Italian fumetti, Japanese manga, and so on. In pursuing this cross-cultural approach, we wish to discuss not only how different conceptions of the future in comics can be compared and analysed, but also how comics offer unorthodox modes of representation that allow for creative, intellectual freedom that may be different from literature and cinema. In particular, we are interested in, but not limited to, discussing these themes:

• The cross-roads between utopia and dystopia (e.g. Gundam‘s Universal Century, Transmetropolitan‘s representation of life in “the city”, Harlock‘s 30th century, the world of Rogue Trooper);

(more…)

Dallas, Texas – June 6-7, 2015

Third Annual Fandom and Neomedia Studies Conference

“We are pleased to announce a CFP for submissions to the Third Annual Fandom and Neomedia Studies (FANS) Conference in Dallas, TX, on 6 and 7 June 2015.

Fandom for us includes all aspects of being a fan, ranging from being a passive audience member to producing one’s own parafictive or interfictive creations. Neomedia includes both new media as it is customarily defined as well as new ways of using and conceptualizing traditional media.

Ours is an interdisciplinary group, including historians, psychologists, geologists, writers, and independent scholars. We welcome contributions from all disciplines and from all levels of academic achievement. Submissions are welcome from professors, students, and independent researchers. Topics may come from anime, manga, science fiction, television series, movies, radio, performing arts, or any other popular culture phenomenon and their respective fandom groups.” (more…)