THE WORKING LIFE
CALL FOR PAPERS
Seventh Annual Northeast Historic Film Summer Film Symposium
Thursday, July 20 - Saturday, July 22, 2006
Working life and moving images are at the heart of Northeast Historic Film
(NHF). In 1985, NHF co-founders David Weiss and Karan Sheldon restored
Alfred Ames' 1930 amateur film From Stump to Ship for the University of
Maine. Ames, president of a lumber company, had documented the twilight of
the long lumber industry in the state. Weiss and Sheldon brought Ames'
16mm film back to life for audiences throughout New England. In 1986, they
founded Northeast Historic Film and began collecting a wide range of
amateur, documentary, personal and industrial films that captured images
of work and everyday life of people in New England.
Today, NHF houses over six million feet of film and holds an international
reputation as a regional archive at the forefront of collecting,
preserving and studying moving image heritage. To celebrate the 20th
Anniversary of NHF and the legacy of From Stump to Ship, the theme of the
Seventh Annual Summer Film Symposium is "The Working Life."
We invite papers and presentations that explore the working life as a
subject of amateur and non-commercial film. We are interested in moving
images that offer us a new historical, cultural, and critical
understanding of work since the late 19th century.
By examining moving images of the working life made by amateurs and for
noncommercial purposes the aim of this symposium is to consider the details,
diversity and perspectives on work that often escape recognition in
mainstream media representations. Potential paper topics might include,
but are not limited to subjects such as:
Blue collars, white collars; Factory life; Labor history; Leisure as
work; Work as leisure; Time and motion studies; Sweatshops; Unions;
Value of work; Industrial Ruins; Fairs and exhibitions; Migrant Work;
Farming; Consumption; Trade shows; Techniques and skills; Mechanization;
Labor at sea; Riots; WPA film projects; Production lines; Protests;
Uprisings; Fraternal Organizations; Hierarchy and difference
The NHF Summer Film Symposium is a multi-disciplinary gathering devoted to
the history, theory, and preservation of moving images. The Symposium is
noted for bringing together archivists, scholars, and artists in an
intimate
setting. NHF is located in Bucksport, a town of 5,000 on the coast of
Maine (for more info on NHF, please visit: http://www.oldfilm.org).
Presenters have a full hour in which to deliver their paper and engage in
discussion with their colleagues. Typically, presentations are 30 minutes,
including moving images, and followed by 30 minutes of discussion. The
symposium is open to archivists, artists and scholars from all
disciplines.
NHF houses a 125-seat cinema with 35mm, 16mm, videotape, and DVD projection,
and we are looking for presentations that include interesting moving images.
Please send 250-500 word abstracts outlining your paper ideas to the
symposium organizers at the address below. We prefer e-mail submissions,
but will accept any format. We are happy to discuss your presentation
ideas with you in advance of a formal submission. The Symposium Program
Committee will begin reviewing proposals on February 15, 2006. Please send
proposals and inquiries to:
Mark Neumann, Associate Professor
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Janna Jones, Associate Professor
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Department of Communication, CIS 1040
University of South Florida
Tampa, FL 33620-7800 USA
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Screen-L is sponsored by the Telecommunication & Film Dept., the
University of Alabama: http://www.tcf.ua.edu
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