[Commlist] CFP - The Scientist in Popular Culture

*Call For Papers: The Scientist in Popular Culture*

*Edited by Rebecca Janicker*

**

 From news and documentaries to TV drama and major media franchises, 
science has become a firm fixture in contemporary media culture. Across 
these diverse formats, a fascination with the perceived capacity of 
science – whether in the guise of medicine, criminology, space science 
or engineering – to transform life in wonderful and fearful ways 
endures. The figure of the scientist is science made manifest and, 
though different variants have evolved over the centuries, the scientist 
has remained a constant presence in Western culture. The last hundred 
years or so has seen many developments in science and technology and 
popular culture has kept abreast of these, portraying scientists that 
respond to the shifting hopes and fears of eager audiences. Science 
fiction may work variously to celebrate or denigrate scientific values 
and activities and many horror fictions have explored the ramifications 
of dabbling in science and technology. Moreover, the recent flourishing 
of superhero narratives has meant a strong focus on such characters and 
scenarios. The imaginary feats and failures, as well as the cultural 
prominence, of scientists have attained ever-greater heights as a 
result. Science and scientists have also flourished in other genres, 
such as forensic drama, police procedurals and true crime narratives, 
found their way into children’s fictions, and into comedy.

Acknowledging the long and enduring history of fictional scientists, 
including adaptations and re-imaginings, this planned essay collection 
seeks to offer critical interrogations of recent portrayals of the 
scientist as well as fresh insights into long-established characters. 
Scientists have featured on the big screen from the early days of cinema 
and held their own on the small for decades, from network television 
staples and lavish HBO offerings to recent fare on streaming services 
like Netflix. With this tradition in mind, suggested case studies might 
include, though are not limited to, the following texts:

*Films*: /Annihilation /(2018); /Back to the Future/ (1985); 
/Contact/ (1997); /Deep Blue Sea /(1999); /Despicable Me/ (2010); /The 
Fly/ (1958),/The Fly/ (1986); /Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde/ (1931); 
/Frankenstein/,//etc (Universal), /Curse of/ /Frankenstein/, etc 
(Hammer), /I, Frankenstein/(2014); /Godzilla/ (1998), /Godzilla/ (2014); 
/Hollow Man/ (2000); /Honey, I Shrunk the Kids /(1989); /I Am 
Legend/ (2007); /The Invisible Man/ (1933); /Island of Lost Souls 
/(1932), /The Island of Dr. Moreau/ (1977), /The Island of Dr. 
Moreau/ (1996); /Jurassic Park /(1993), etc; /The Man with Two 
Brains/ (1983); /The Martian/ (2015); MCU (/Black Panther/, /Deadpool/, 
/The Hulk/, /Iron Man/, /Spider-Man/, /Venom/,//etc); /Mimic/ (1997); 
/The Nutty Professor/ (1996); /The Omega Man/ (1971); /Outbreak /(1995); 
/Piranha/ (1978); /Re-Animator /(1985); /Splice/ (2009); /World War Z 
/(2013); /Young Frankenstein/ (1974); /28 Days Later/ (2002), plus any 
prequels, sequels and other franchise entries.

*TV:*/The Alienist/; /American Horror Story/; /The Big Bang Theory/; 
/Bones/; /Chernobyl/; /CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, CSI: Miami, CSI: 
NY/,/ CSI: Cyber/; /Dexter/; /Doctor Who/; /The Flash/; /Futurama/; 
/Game of Thrones/; /Hannibal/; /The O.A./; /Penny Dreadful/; /Rick and 
Morty/; /Ripper Street/; /Sherlock/; /Silent Witness/; /The Strain/; 
/Stranger Things/; /Waking the Dead/; /The Walking Dead/; /Westworld/, 
plus any spin-offs and other franchise entries.

Potential topics might include: issues of representation (e.g. age, 
childhood, gender, race, sexuality); genre (e.g. detective fiction, 
forensic drama, medical drama, police procedurals); Gothic and horror 
tropes; the role of the scientist in environmental catastrophes and 
outbreaks; national identity and history; science and ideology (inc. 
philosophy, politics, religion, scientism); science in partnership (e.g. 
business, Government, military, etc)


*Advice for Contributors*

Please send *250 word* *abstracts*, along with a *short bio*, to 
(Rebecca.Janicker /at/ port.ac.uk) <http://(Rebecca.Janicker /at/ port.ac.uk)/> by 
*September 15, 2019*. Abstracts should aim to clarify the intended scope 
and focus of the essay and include a provisional title. Queries are 
welcome at the same email address.

Publishers have been contacted about the project and abstracts will form 
part of the written proposal. The final essays will be scholarly and 
engaging and 7000–8000 words in total.

*About the Editor*

Rebecca Janicker is a Senior Lecturer in Film and Media Studies at the 
University of Portsmouth, UK. She received her PhD from the University 
of Nottingham in 2014 and had her thesis published as /The Literary 
Haunted House: Lovecraft, Matheson, King and the Horror in Between/ 
(McFarland, 2015). She is the editor of /Reading ‘American Horror 
Story’: Essays on the Television Franchise /(McFarland, 2017) and has 
published journal articles and book chapters on Gothic and horror in 
literature and comics, film and TV.


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