CFP: Nature and the Environment in the American West(s): The "Natural" World in Film and Television Representations of "the West." The first "westerns" were filmed in the East and then (Eureka!) moviemakers discovered California. This area explores not only the use of Western landscape (Monument Valley, etc.), but also the "role" of nature in film and television "westerns," as well as those strange-looking "boulders" of sound stage creation. From silent film to talkies, from the representations of the "west" of the American colonialists to the "west" of Silicon Valley, the natural world provides an environment for cinema narrative, often with a "speaking role." The natural environment of the American West(s) in film and television can be examined through many lenses. I hope you will join me for this opportunity to examine the importance of the natural world in "Western" film. Some sample films: Giant The Grapes of Wrath The Plow That Broke the Plains and The River A River Runs Through It Shane Twister Please send a brief (150-200 word) abstract and a short bio to: Deborah Carmichael Oklahoma State University Department of English 205 Morrill Hall Stillwater OK 74078 Phone/fax 405-372-1883 or email at [log in to unmask] SUBMISSION DEADLINE: August 15, 2002 This national conference, "The American West(s) in Film, Television, and History," sponsored by The Film and History League, will be held at the Kansas City Marriott-Country Club Plaza from November 7-10, 2002. See the Film & History website for details on registration and special events including the keynote speaker, John Cawelti, the author of a "pioneering" book, The Six-Gun Mystique. Go to www.filmandhistory.org for complete information about the conference, hotel accommodations, special events, etc. See you there at the Gateway to the West! ---- For past messages, visit the Screen-L Archives: http://bama.ua.edu/archives/screen-l.html