I’ve attended this confrence before, with a paper about cosplaying, and I can highly reccomend it!

SCIENCE FICTION AND FANTASY AREA
Conference of the Popular and American Culture Association (PCA/ACA)
April 20 – April 23, 2011 — San Antonio, TX

One of the largest and most vibrant of the association, the Science Fiction and Fantasy (SF/F) Area invites proposals for its 2011 national conference. The goals of our area are (1) to share and support research, scholarship, and publication and (2) to mentor emerging scholars. As a result, we invite proposals from professors, independent scholars, graduate students, and undergraduates (with the guidance of a professor).

The 2011 conference will be held in conjunction with the Southwest/Texas PCA/ACA. Anyone interested in submitting a paper for the conference is encouraged to check out their website to determine if a call for a specific topic (e.g., Doctor Who) within the area has been posted. Their address is: http://swtxpca.org/. Follow the links located at the top of the page to access the science fiction and fantasy area chairs.

PCA/ACA SF/F welcomes any theoretical or (inter)disciplinary approach to any topic related to SF/F: art; literature; radio; film; television; comics and graphic novels; video, role-playing, and multi-player online games. Though not at all an exhaustive list, potential presenters may wish to consider the following. We would particularly like to encourage submissions for 2011 that examine Ethnicity, Race and Otherness and Writing, Direction and Production.

General Topics

* Fans and Fandom/Community Building

* Gender and Sexuality

* Class and Hierarchies

* Hybridity and Liminality

* Utopia/Dystopia

* Audience Reception

* Translation Issues

* Cross-Media Texts

* Regeneration—Moving Narratives from One Medium to Another

* Language and Rhetoric

* Genre—Space Opera, Cyberpunk, Dark Fantasy, etc.

* Franchising Narratives

* Intertexuality

* Marketing and Advertising

* Textual Analysis

* Sociological or Psychological Readings

* Archival Research

* Technology—Textual and Literal

* Pedagogy—Teaching Science Fiction and Fantasy

* Online Identity Construction

* Use of Music and Silence

* Visual, Spatial, and Design Elements

* Mythology and Quest Narratives

Examples of Fantasy Texts

* Classic and Contemporary Literature—Gilgamesh; Homer’s Odyssey; J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings; C.S. Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia; Terry Pratchett’s Discworld novels; J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series; Phillip Pullman’s His Dark Materials collection; Frank Baum’s Oz series; Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland, Through the Looking Glass and Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland; and works by such authors as Piers Anthony, Marian Zimmer Bradley, Neil Gaiman, Douglas Adams, Orson Scott Card, Margaret Weis, Ursula K. LeGuin, Mercedes Lackey, Patricia McKillip, and others.

* Film—The Princess Bride (1987), Willow (1988), Labyrinth (1986), The Dark Crystal (1982), The NeverEnding Story (1984), The Clash of the Titans (1981; 2009), Ladyhawke (1985), Spirited Away (2001), Donnie Darko (2001), Chocolat (2000), Amelie (2001), Pan’s Labyrinth (2006), etc.

* Television—The Twilight Zone (1959-64), The Prisoner (1967-68), Dark Shadows (1966-71), Wonder Woman (1975-79), Beauty and the Beast (1987-90), Wonderfalls (2004), The Dresden Files (2007), Supernatural (2005-), Xena: Warrior Princess (1995-2001), Charmed (1998-2006), Angel (1999-2004), Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997-2003), Lost (2004-), Being Human (2009-), and others.

* Comics and Graphic Novels—Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Season 8; Japanese manga; European comics; underground comics movement, etc.

* Gaming—Tomb Raider, World of Warcraft, Dungeons & Dragons, Everquest, Myst, Vampire: The Masquerade, etc.

Examples of Science Fiction Texts

* Classic and Contemporary Literature—from the works of Jules Verne, H.G. Wells, and Mary Shelley to Isaac Asimov, Robert Heinlein, Phillip K. Dick, Kurt Vonnegut, Octavia E. Butler, Anne McCaffrey, Marge Piercy, James Tiptree Jr., Frank Herbert, and Candas Jane Dorsey.

* Film—from Le Voyage Dans La Lune (1902), Frankenstein (1931), and Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) to 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), Star Wars (1977), Alien (1979), Blade Runner (1982), 12 Monkeys (1995), The Matrix (1999), Children of Men (2006), Iron Man (2008), The X-Files: I Want to Believe (2008), Transformers 2 (2009), Star Trek (2009).

* Television—classic TV such as Star Trek: The Original Series (1966-1969) and The Twilight Zone (1959-1964) to recent series of interest, including Lexx (1997-2002), Twin Peaks (1990-91), The X-Files (1993-2002), Dark Angel (2000-02), The 4400 (2004-07), the Stargate series including Universe, Babylon 5 (1993-98), Battlestar Galactica (2004- 2008), Terminator: the Sarah Connor Chronicles (2007 – 2009), Torchwood (2006-), Primeval (2007-), Heroes (2007-), Firefly (2002-03), Sanctuary (2008-), Eureka (2006-), and others.

The SF/F Area is also interested in featuring science fiction and fantasy writers and poets. Creative writers are welcomed.

Submission Guidelines: In Word (.doc/.docx), Rich Text Format (.rtf), or PDF, completed papers or 250-word proposals for individual papers, panels, roundtables, workshops, or creative writing readings should be submitted to Sherry Ginn at the address listed below. The document should contain the following information in this order:

* Name(s) of presenter(s)—indicate main contact person if submitting a group presentation

* Institutional affiliation—if applicable

* Name and contact information of cooperating professor—undergraduates only

* Address(es), telephone number(s), and email address(es) of presenter(s)

* Title(s) of paper(s), panel, roundtable, or workshop

* Completed paper(s) or 250-word proposal(s)—if submitting a workshop, please specifically indicate what those in attendance will gain

The paper/panel proposal will be acknowledged when received, and the sender will be notified of the submission’s status no later than 1 January 2011.

Please, do not simultaneously submit the same proposal to multiple areas. Doing so is a discourtesy to area chairs. Also please note that, per PCA/ACA guidelines, a person may present only one paper at the annual meeting, regardless of subject area. This includes roundtables, that is, a person cannot present a paper and a roundtable discussion.

Submission Deadline: 15 December 2010

Each year after the last conference panel on Saturday evening, the SF/F Area hosts a fundraising event that includes a film, snacks, and a prize raffle of DVDs, novels, academic books, etc.—thousands of dollars in merchandise. Come enjoy the food, friendship, and fun! Location TBA; film tentatively scheduled: Clash of the Titans (1981). Fundraising supports area activities and, beginning with the 2011 conference, awards to the two best papers, graduate student and professional. More details about these awards can be found at the area’s website: www.pcasff.org

Hope to see you in San Antonio,

Dr. Sherry Ginn, PCA/ACA SF/F Area Chair

Program in Social Sciences

Rowan-Cabarrus Community College

1531 Trinity Church Rd.

Concord, NC 28027 pcasff@gmail.com

NOTE: While the PCA/ACA welcomes fresh approaches to subjects, we also appreciate serious commitment to scholarship and to presenting at the conference.