Call for Papers: The Atomic Age First-Round Panel Proposals and Abstracts by 11/1/07 The Biennial 2008 Film & History Conference Chicago, October 30-November 2, 2008 Proposals for papers are now being accepted for The Atomic Age area at the biennial 2008 Film & History Conference in Chicago. This area investigates the impact of the nuclear age (1940s to the present) on society as portrayed through film and television. After the creation of the atom bomb and its use against Hiroshima and Nagasaki in World War II, nuclear arms, energy, and science were the subject of countless films across a wide range of genres, from Godzilla and Dr. Strangelove to The Day After and 24. How did the movies respond to the atomic age? How did they represent nuclear science and scientists? Did Atomic Age films exaggerate or dismiss the dangers of nuclear weapons and energy? How did social or political events concerning atomic energy make their way into film? And, in turn, how did such films affect national policy or civic character? These are just a few questions to be addressed in this area. Presentations can, for example, feature analyses of individual films and/or TV programs from historical perspectives, surveys of documents related to the production of films, or investigations of nuclear history and culture as explored through film. Genres could include films attempting to define atomic history, Hollywood blockbusters, TV programs or mini-series, science-fiction, propaganda, instructional films, documentaries, docudramas, newsreels and broadcast media, war films, national cinemas, music videos, avant-garde films, actualities, and direct cinema. Panel topics might include atomic war, national security and secrecy, atomic espionage, ethics and morals, reel representations of atomic science and scientists, peaceful applications of nuclear power, atomic fantasies, nuclear dystopia, civil defense, myths, nuclear terrorism, government and institutions, the anti-nuclear movement, nuclear accidents and near-disasters, Hiroshima and Nagasaki in memory and post-memory, religion and spirituality, medicine, health, safety, environment, gender, ethnicity, race, class, atomic nostalgia, nuclear testing, mutations, pedagogy, etc. Topics not included here are also welcome! If you wish to form your own panel within The Atomic Age area, I would be glad to facilitate your needs. Roundtable sessions and international participation are also encouraged! Please send 100-200 word abstracts and proposals for panels via email by 11/1/07 to: Christoph Laucht, Chair of the Atomic Age Area School of Cultures, Languages and Area Studies University of Liverpool Chatham Street Liverpool L69 7ZR United Kingdom Phone: ++44(0)151-794-2404 Email: <mailto:[log in to unmask]>[log in to unmask] For general information, online registration, and regular updates see: <http://www.filmandhistory.org>http://www.filmandhistory.org ---- Screen-L is sponsored by the Telecommunication & Film Dept., the University of Alabama: http://www.tcf.ua.edu