THE VELVET LIGHT TRAP A CRITICAL JOURNAL OF FILM AND TELEVISION STUDIES Call for Papers: Pornography Pornography has always been a ubiquitous, yet peripheral, part of the motion picture industry. Various events throughout the latter half of the 20th century have given pornographic films a more visible presence in the public sphere. But as pornography becomes increasingly widespread and accessible, media scholars have largely resisted it as an object of inquiry. Despite annual revenues currently surpassing those of Hollywood and much of the sports industry, pornography still remains "obscene" in the sense that film theorist Linda Williams recently used the term -- "off-stage" or "out of public view." Over the last fifteen years, scholars have inched pornography closer and closer to center stage. Issue #59 of The Velvet Light Trap will continue in that tradition. The editors seek essays that build on the momentum of recent scholarly work and address pornography in its varied forms. Possible topics for this issue include but are not limited to: * Connotations of the words "pornography" or "porn" * Genres * Sexually Explicit Art Cinema -- (e.g. Patrice Chereau, Catherine Breillat, Andrew Repasky McElhinney, Baise-Moi, Porn Theatre) * Pornography from non-Western countries * Teaching pornography * Amateur pornography * Production companies * The avant-garde as pornography / pornography as avant-garde * Questions of "the real" and evidence * Feminist interventions * Porn stars as celebrities / celebrities as porn stars * Documentaries about pornography - (e.g. Shooting Porn, Sex: The Annabel Chong Story, Inside Deep Throat, Porn Star: The Legend of Ron Jeremy, Kamikaze Hearts, Wadd: The Life and Times of John C. Holmes) * Films about pornography - (e.g. The Fluffer, Demonlover, Orgazmo, Wonderland, Boogie Nights, 8MM, Inserts) * Softcore vs. hardcore * Changing definitions of pornography * Exhibition/distribution * Delivery systems * Queering pornography * Internet pornography * Canon formation * Narrative strategies * Technology * Theories of the visible and audible * Intersections with race and class * Censorship * Rating systems * Porn Auteurs * Porn Classics * Careers in pornography To be considered for publication, papers should be between 4,500 and 7,500 words, double-spaced, in MLA style, with the author's name and contact information included only on the cover page. Queries regarding potential submissions also are welcome. Authors are responsible for acquiring related visual images and the associated copyrights. For more information or to submit a query, please contact Leslie Delassus ([log in to unmask]). All submissions are due January 15, 2006. The Velvet Light Trap is an academic, refereed journal of film and television studies published semi-annually by University of Texas Press. Issues are coordinated alternately by graduate students at the University of Texas-Austin and the University of Wisconsin-Madison. After a prescreening, articles are anonymously refereed by specialist readers of the journal's Editorial Advisory Board, which includes such notable scholars as Charles Acland, David William Foster, Sean Griffin, Bambi Haggins, Heather Hendershot, Charlie Keil, Michele Malach, Dan Marcus, Nina Martin, Tara McPherson, Walter Metz, Jason Mittell, James Morrison, Steve Neale, Karla Oeler, Lisa Parks, and Malcolm Turvey. Please address submissions to: The Velvet Light Trap c/o The Department of Radio-Television-Film University of Texas at Austin CMA 6.118, Mail Code A0800 Austin, TX 78712 ---- Screen-L is sponsored by the Telecommunication & Film Dept., the University of Alabama: http://www.tcf.ua.edu