Call for Papers “Monsters, Mad Scientists, and Men from Outer Space” Area 2008 Film & History Conference “Film & Science: Fictions, Documentaries, and Beyond” October 30-November 2, 2008 Chicago, Illinois <http://www.filmandhistory.org>www.filmandhistory.org First-Round Deadline: November 1, 2007 Area: Monsters, Mad Scientists, and Men from Outer Space What happens when science goes horribly wrong? When nature spins out of control? What do we make of unknown beings that boldly menace the frontiers of civilization, or silently infiltrate them and walk among us? This area takes an in-depth look at science gone awry in the “B”s the low-budget films of Hollywood’s Golden Age that delivered thrills and adventure to local movie houses and drive-in theaters for more than three decades. Often dismissed as “quickies” made on-the-cheap that drew audiences through sensationalism and exploitation, B-Movies nonetheless were active participants in America’s imaginings of science, technology, nature, and human nature. The “Monsters, Mad Scientists, and Men from Outer Space” Area explores the cultural, social, and political fantasies, fears, and morality tales given shape and form in the classic “B”s and their off-shoots. Paper topics might include films on invasions, mutations, zombies, the undead, madness, space exploration (“Attack of the Crab Monsters,” “Invasion of the Body Snatchers”); science-fiction hybrids (“Phantom Empire”); classic “B” or exploitation directors (Sam Newfield, Roger Corman, Don Siegel); along with interrelated historical, theoretical, and socio-cultural concerns. Please send your 200-word proposal by November 1, 2007 to: Cynthia Miller, Area Chair Scholar-in-Residence Institute for Liberal Arts and Interdisciplinary Studies Emerson College 120 Boylston St. Boston, MA 02116 Email: <mailto:[log in to unmask]>[log in to unmask] (email submissions preferred) Panel proposals for up to four presenters are also welcome, but each presenter must submit his or her own paper proposal. Deadline for first-round proposals: November 1, 2007 This area, comprising multiple panels, is a part of the 2008 biennial Film & History Conference, sponsored by The Center for the Study of Film and History. Speakers will include founder John O’Connor and editor Peter C. Rollins (in a ceremony to celebrate the transfer to the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh), and Wheeler Winston Dixon, James Ryan Professor of Film Studies at University of Nebraska, Lincoln, and author of Visions of the Apocalypse and Disaster and Memory. For updates and registration information about the upcoming meeting, see the Film & History website (<http://www.filmandhistory.org>http://www.filmandhistory.org). -- No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.5.446 / Virus Database: 269.4.0/762 - Release Date: 4/15/2007 4:22 PM ---- Screen-L is sponsored by the Telecommunication & Film Dept., the University of Alabama: http://www.tcf.ua.edu