Call for Papers
Storyworlds across Media. Mediality â?? Multimodality â?? Transmediality
June 30th â?? July 2nd, 2011 at Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz, Germany
Even though narratology was conceived as a transmedial endeavour from
its very beginnings in Russian formalism and French structuralism, most
of its more influential models have been â?? and continue to be â??
developed in the context of literary criticism and film studies. In
contemporary media culture, however, the creation of storyworlds is not
limited to literature and traditional feature films. Rather, emerging
forms of multimodal and interactive narration, experiments with the
distinction between fictional and nonfictional narrative, various forms
of intermedial adaptation, and attempts at 'transmedia storytelling'
create new ways of presenting narrative content, thereby calling
attention to the affordances and limitations of different narrative
media as well as to their potential for cooperation. The increased
interest in the relation between media and narrative sparked by the
development of digital technology and the recent proliferation of
delivery techniques in the context of media convergence has reinforced
the need for an interdisciplinary and transmedial narratology that
studies storyworlds across media.
We welcome proposals for papers on the following aspects of storyworlds
across media:
Transmedial narratological concepts: What are the theoretical problems
encountered by the project of a transmedial narratology that spans
different media? To what extent and under what conditions can
narratological concepts be applied across narrative media?
Mediality of Narrative: In what ways is the mediality of pictorial
narrative (e.g. paintings, photographs), graphic narrative (e.g. graphic
novels), audiovisual narrative (e.g. TV-series, film), and interactive
narrative (e.g. computer games) relevant for their specific narrativity?
Intermedial Relations: How do older media react to the emergence of new
media by imitating their techniques or borrowing their resources? How do
new media start out borrowing the narrative forms of older media but
eventually develop their own forms?
Transmedial Narration: What kinds of specific problems arise from the
transmedial representation of characters, events, and storyworlds in the
context of adaptations, transmedia storytelling franchises, and other
forms of transmedial narration?
Please send proposals (including a 300-word abstract, contact
information and a 100-word bio) for 30-minute papers via email (as a
PDF) to (storyworlds /at/ uni-mainz.de) no later than March 31th, 2011.
Accomodation for speakers will be provided. Publication of the
conference proceedings is planned.
Conference Organizers
Marie-Laure Ryan, PhD ((marilaur /at/ gmail.com))
Prof. Dr. Karl N. Renner ((krenner /at/ uni-mainz.de))
Jan-Noël Thon, M.A. ((thon.j /at/ t-online.de))
http://www.medienkonvergenz.uni-mainz.de/wp-content/uploads/CFP-Storyworlds.pdf
