Call for Papers

Darwin & the Evolution/"Intelligent Design" Aftermath AREA

2008 Film & History Conference

"Film& Science: Fictions, Documentaries, and Beyond"

October 30 -November 2, 2008

Chicago, IL

 <http://www.filmandhistory.org/> www.filmandhistory.org

First-Round Deadline: November 1, 2007

 

AREA: Darwin & the Evolution/"Intelligent Design" Aftermath

 

Charles Darwin's Origin of the Species (1859) created an uproar around the
world, as did The Descent of Man and Selection in Relation to Sex (1871).
The idea of evolution had been accepted by most scientists already, but
Darwin established the actual mechanics, and his work has become a
cornerstone of biology, paleontology, and genetics ever since.  

 

Proponents of "Creation" or "Intelligent Design," a cosmology linked most
often to the Bible, still challenge the principles and facts of evolution,
however.  According to Gallup polls, nearly 50% of Americans believe that
God created humans in their present form.  From the Scopes trial in
Tennessee (vividly depicted in Inherit the Wind [1961, 1999]) to current
school-board controversies across the country, the science of evolution has
been under attack.  How have film and television reacted to this battle?
Has evolution theory revised the stories we tell about the world and
ourselves?  And what are the consequences to schools and museums, to
intellectual and political life, to popular culture and historical record?

 

We welcome proposals on any aspect of this controversy. While the debate
occurs frequently in the United States, we also appreciate proposals that
examine how this controversy is experienced in other countries.

 

Send your 200-word proposal by November 1, 2007, to

 

Keith Wheelock, Area Chair

Department of History

Raritan Valley Community College

325 Mountain View Road

Skillman, NJ 08558

Phone: 609-466-5968

E-mail:  <mailto:[log in to unmask]> [log in to unmask]

 

Panel proposals for up to four presenters are also welcome, but each
presenter must submit his or her own paper proposal. Deadline for
first-round proposals: November 1, 2007 

 

This area, comprising multiple panels, is a part of the 2008 biennial Film &
History Conference, sponsored by The Center for the Study of Film and
History. Speakers will include founder John O'Connor and editor Peter C.
Rollins (in a ceremony to celebrate the transfer to the University of
Wisconsin Oshkosh), and Wheeler Winston Dixon, James Ryan Professor of Film
Studies at University of Nebraska, Lincoln, and author of Visions of the
Apocalypse and Disaster and Memory. For updates and registration information
about the upcoming meeting, see the Film & History website
(http://www.filmandhistory.org).


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