[Circulated to Studies in French Cinema list. Apologies for x-posting] Fortress Europe and Its "Others": Cultural Representations in Film, Media and the Arts 4-6 April 2005 Institute of Romance Studies School of Advanced Study University of London Call for Papers The historical and mythical layers embedded in Western European attitudes towards the "other" and the "stranger" are currently being reinforced by growing resistance to the flow of migrants and refugees from non-European and Eastern European countries, as well as to Pan-European trends towards unification of the continent. This resistance has been expressed most vocally by the "far-Right" populist parties and movements, but also in more restrictive immigration and refugee laws throughout the liberal democracies of Western Europe. Contemporary Europe's new "others" are immigrants and refugees from poor countries particularly from Africa and Asia. Although Europe, as a geopolitical entity and as an ideological concept, has itself rested on an historical process of absorbing, hybridizing, and assimilating different people from diverse ethnic and national groups, European countries have tended to view migration as challenging and threatening their territory, identity and ways of imagining themselves and others. The aim of the conference is to explore how the public debate about Fortress Europe has been negotiated in the cultural and aesthetic spheres within a wide range of representational forms, from the media to film, photography, literature, theatre, and the arts. Its aim is also to assess the impact that such representations may have on public opinion with regard to the issues surrounding immigration and asylum. We are also interested in contributions from and on Europe's "Others"' themselves, particularly on their own perceptions, imaginations, and fantasies of Fortress Europe. Proposals for twenty minute papers, should be submitted in the form of a 200 word abstract by 30 June 2004 to Yosefa Loshitzky [log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>. Early submissions are welcomed. We plan to publish selected essays in a refereed monograph. ---- Screen-L is sponsored by the Telecommunication & Film Dept., the University of Alabama: http://www.tcf.ua.edu