CFP: Representations of Ghosts in Media and Popular Culture

Society for Cinema and Media Studies 2013 Annual Conference
Chicago, 6-10 March 2013

Deadline for submission of abstracts: 7 August 2012

Spirits and ghosts have been part of our culture for hundreds of years. On the stage of Shakespeare’s dramas and in religious rituals, in Dickens’ short stories and in the séances of Victorian spiritualism, in horror movies and urban legends, spectres have been responsible for popular amusements, irrational fears, and acts of devotion. In this regard, the dead coming back from the otherworld to haunt the living is a myth that pertains to the realm of fiction and popular culture as much as to that of religion.

How can we make sense of this coexistence between these two worlds (religion and fiction) that we usually deem as separate? This panel aims to address this question by looking at the way ghosts are represented in several media and cultural forms, including but not limited to photography, theatre, film, literature, television, and popular culture. It will discuss the question of how representations of ghosts waver between fictional and religious contexts, lacking a precise definition of their meaning, or perhaps allowing for the annexation to the worlds of belief and entertainment at the same time. This panel is interdisciplinary in scope. Proposals from different disciplines, including but not limited to film studies, theater, cultural history, photography, media studies, media history, religious studies, and literature, are welcome.

Possible subjects include:
* The supernatural and popular culture
* Ghosts and film technology/theory
* Spirit photography
* Representations of ghosts in literature and theater
* Ghosts and genre: horror, romance, comedy, art film, etc.
* New assessments of classic ghost films
* Mourning and media
* The aesthetics of cinematic ghosts
* The ghost and history
* Ghosts and theories of trauma

Panel convenors:

Murray Leeder
Carleton University
mleeder@connect.carleton.ca

Simone Natale
University of Cologne, Germany
simone.natale@uni-koeln.de

Please submit a 150/200-word abstract to both addresses above, as well as a brief bio, by August 7th. Panelists will be informed by August 15th whether they have been accepted or rejected. Questions are welcome.