[Commlist] cfp: The Superhero Project: 4th Global Meeting

*CALL FOR PRESENTATIONS*

*The Superhero Project: 4^th Global Meeting***

Friday 4^th to Sunday 6^th September 2020

Die Wolfsburg, Mülheim an der Ruhr, Essen, Germany

________________________________________

/“What would you prefer, yellow spandex…?” – X-Men (2000)/

2020 marks twenty years since the release of /X-Men,/ which sparked a 
re-emergence of the superhero on screen and led to a spectacular ascent 
towards being the most successful and globally popular genre in cinema 
history, with dozens of films produced and many billions of dollars 
earned in the last two decades – an aggressive dominance that shows no 
signs of receding.

In the last year, the titanic /Avengers: Endgame /provided the superhero 
film with its biggest-ever canvas and, sandwiched between /Captain 
Marvel/ and /Spider-Man: Far From Home/, brought Phase Three of the 
Marvel Cinematic Universe to a triumphant finish, after eleven years and 
twenty-three films. Yet, late in 2019, DC placed its most iconic villain 
centre stage in Todd Phillips’ /Joker/, which provided a truly striking 
take on Batman’s arch-nemesis, drawing on 70’s /New Hollywood/ 
aesthetics and exploring issues such as mental health and social revolt. 
The James Gunn-produced /Brightburn/ merged the superhero genre with 
Horror to generate a forbiddingly dark mirror of the Superman origin 
story. Meanwhile, on television, the full CW line of DC Comics shows 
ambitiously collided in an adaptation of the signature 1980’s event 
/Crisis on Infinite Earths/, which surprisingly provided actor Brandon 
Routh a belated opportunity to reprise the role of Superman.

Within the source medium of Comics, the genre continued to show great 
diversity and invention, along with experimentation: Gene Luen Yang and 
Girihu’s superb /Superman Smashes The Klan /took a famous storyline from 
the 1940’s Superman radio show and used it to view The Man of Steel via 
the immigrant experience, while in the mainstream comics, Brian Michael 
Bendis controversially dispensed with a core tenet of the superhero 
mythology, as Superman revealed his secret identity to the world. /The 
Unstoppable Wasp/ was a light-hearted wonder, firmly focused on fun and 
easily accessible. After decades of being rooted in science, /Immortal 
Hulk/ took a sharp turn into the realms of Horror and Grant Morrison’s 
take on /Green Lantern/ vigorously resurrected the Silver Age of Comics. 
In Tom King’s /Mister Miracle/, the superhero is viewed through the 
lenses of mental health and political anxieties.

Soaring into its ninth decade, then, the superhero currently occupies a 
diverse, expansive and dominant space in modern popular culture. 
Perceived as a modern form of mythology or folklore, the characters 
signature emblems are among the most recognisable in the world, 
functioning as powerful, pervasive and vastly profitable brands. Yet, 
while still largely American in focus, the superhero has become 
increasingly international, capable of reflecting specific issues and 
operating as a powerful messenger of them - a power they have possessed 
since their inception.

*The Superhero Project: 4^th Global Meeting*invites inter-disciplinary 
discussion on superheroes and notions of the super-heroic.  Indicative 
themes for discussion may include but are not limited to:

1. Post-Humanism:

- Technology & augmentation / armour

- Cyborgs

- Prosthesis

- The Übermensch

- Mutations and genetic engineering

2. Dual Identities:

- The power of the mask

- Alter-egos and secret identities

- Costume and Disguise

- Cosplay

3. Gender & Ethnicity:

- Hyper-masculinity

- Depictions of the female superhero

- Ethnic diversity in superhero comics and their readership.

4. Sexuality:

- LGBT Superheroes

- Queer readings of established characters

- Gay Representation in Superhero Comics

- Camp and the Superhero

- Superheroes vs Sexual Violence

5. Deconstruction:

- The anti-hero

- The post-9/11 Superhero

- The Everyman superhero

6. Social Responsibility:

- Vigilantism

- Superheroes as role models

- Childhood play

- Heroism and cowardice

7. The Heroic & the Patriotic:

- The monomyth (the hero's journey)

- Patriotism and nationalism

- National personification

- The Soldier as Superhero

- "Truth, justice and the American way"

8. Pop Culture Depictions:

- Adaptation

- The superhero as brand

- Merchandising and franchising

- Fans and cultural capital

*What to Send*:

300 word abstracts should be submitted by Friday May 22^nd , 2020 to the 
following e-mail addresses: (d.graydon /at/ herts.ac.uk) 
<mailto:(d.graydon /at/ herts.ac.uk)>and (torsten.caeners /at/ uni-due.de) 
<mailto:(torsten.caeners /at/ uni-due.de)>.

Accepted proposals will be notified by June 08^st , 2020.

Abstracts should be submitted simultaneously to both Organising Chairs; 
abstracts may be in Word or RTF formats with the following information 
and in this order: a) author(s), b) affiliation as you would like it to 
appear in programme, c) email address, d) title of proposal, e) body of 
proposal, f) up to 10 keywords.

E-mails should be entitled: *_SUPER4 Abstract Submission_*.

Please use plain text (Times Roman 12) and abstain from using any 
special formatting, characters or emphasis (such as bold, italics or 
underline). We acknowledge receipt and answer to all proposals 
submitted. If you do not receive a reply from us in a week you should 
assume we did not receive your proposal; it might be lost! If this is 
the case, please do resend to both e-mail addresses.

*Organising Chairs*:

*Danny Graydon*(University of Hertfordshire): 
(d.graydon /at/ herts.ac.uk)<mailto:(d.graydon /at/ herts.ac.uk)>

*Torsten Caeners*(University of Duisburg-Essen): 
(torsten.caeners /at/ uni-due.de)<mailto:(torsten.caeners /at/ uni-due.de)>

*Danny Graydon*, FHEA

Lecturer, Screen (Digital Animation & Model Design)

Collaborative Partnership Leader, Escola Britanica des Artes Creativas 
(EBAC), Sao Paulo, Brazil

School of Creative Arts | University of Hertfordshire | College Lane | 
Hatfield AL10 9AB

Office: AB170 | Tel: +44 (0)1707 284 000 | Email: (d.graydon /at/ herts.ac.uk) 
<mailto:(d.graydon /at/ herts.ac.uk)>__| Internal Ext: 5336

*THE SUPERHERO PROJECT*: 4th Global Meeting / 4-6 September 2020 /  
Mulheim, Germany

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