1. CFP: Progression, Regression, and Transgression in Gothic World Literature & Film: New Approaches to the Ethics of Difference Conference
Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, Canada, 29 September-2 October 2023 [on line]. Deadline: 15 May 2023.
this conference will underline the global comparative framework of World Literary discourses. We will entertain proposals from a wide range of media including Gothic literature, drama, film, television, cyberspace or other art-forms. In addition, the conference will explore how Gothic-themed productions in all of these modes can augment recent efforts to decolonize, ethnicize, indigenize, and degender academic fields of study.
2. CFP: Narnia 2023 : Sons & Daughters of Narnia: Tracing CS Lewis’s Literary Influence into the 21st Century
Ulster University Coleraine (Northern Ireland), 13-14 November 2023 [in person]. Deadline 4 September 2023.
This two-day, public-facing academic symposium aims to examine CS Lewis in the light of his influence upon 20th & 21st century writers— those working in genres as varied as children’s fiction, sci-fi, literary and cultural criticism, popular apologetics, and even poetry. The central organising metaphor for the event is that of genealogy—the passing down to successive generations of the essences, qualities and characteristics which one inherits. Drawing upon this central metaphor, we will examine both the way in which Lewis was shaped by his own set of literary influences, and how he transmitted (and transmuted) these influences, through his own work, to writers throughout the world.
3. International Gothic Summer School
Manchester Metropolitan University, 6–9 June 2023. Deadline for papers: 22 May 2023.
The Manchester Centre for Gothic Studies is delighted to open registration for the International Gothic Summer School, an exciting series of lectures, workshops and seminars to be held at Manchester Metropolitan University from Tuesday 6–Friday 9 June 2023.
Over four intensive days, participants will explore selected aspects of the Gothic imagination, from the eighteenth century through to the present day.
Day one: Eighteenth and Nineteenth-century Gothic
Day two: Twentieth-century Gothic
Day three: Post-millennial Gothic
Day four: Professional Gothic Development
4. CFP: ‘Magic’ – special journal issue
M/C Journal. Deadline: 4 August 2023
the aim of this issue of M/C Journal is to consider the place of magic in contemporary media and society, to explore how recent media offerings shape our understandings of magic, conjuring and the supernatural, as well as cultural depictions of the everyday.
5. CFP: Transmedia Monsters and Villains
Transmedia Monsters and Villains series: Edited collections and monographs. Deadline: 15 September 2023.
This new series aims to cover the fascinating subject of monsters and villains through an interdisciplinary perspective represented by fields as different as literary, film, religious, gender and art studies as much as philosophy and sociological and ecocritical approaches. Each volume will focus on a single figure (or group of figures) and examine it in its multiple incarnations, from their origins in myth, folklore and history as well as in a literary text, to their various adaptations in different media, including comics, graphic novels, cinema, TV, exhibitions, the visual arts, merchandise and tourist attractions. Most welcome will also be an approach to the subject that transcends genres and thus examine the single monsters and villains as they are presented in horror fiction, thriller, science fiction, etc.
6. Folklore Podcast Lectures
The 2023 Folklore Podcast Lectures season is a programme of 15 talks with world-class speakers, followed by audience Q&A sessions. Ticket holders receive a link to attend live via Zoom, and access to a video replay of any talk they book for after the event, to watch again or catch up on anything they missed.
7. The History of Halloween
Prof. Ronald Hutton, The Folklore Society, 18 July 2023, 18:00 BST. On line.
Halloween is usually regarded as the creepiest festival of the modern year, a celebration of witchcraft, phantoms and images of fear which comes down to us from a remote a murky pagan past. This talk addresses the following questions about this tradition. How old and how pagan is Halloween? Was it the ancient pagan feast of the dead, and the Celtic New Year? What role does it play in the modern world, and should it still be celebrated?
