THE WORKING LIFE -- CALL FOR PAPERS
Seventh Annual Northeast Historic Film Summer Film Symposium
Thursday, July 20 – Saturday, July 22, 2006
KEYNOTE SPEAKER: Jennifer Abbott, Director of The Corporation and
A screening of The Corporation followed by a Q & A with the director
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 OrganizationsHierarchy
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 about NHF, 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 Janna Jones, Associate Professor
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Department of Communication, CIS 1040 Department of Communication, CIS 1040
University of South Florida University of South Florida
Tampa, FL 33620-7800 USA 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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