[Commlist] Adam Curtis Conference Call for Papers

Call for Papers Critical Perspectives on the Films of Adam Curtis Online 
Conference, Wednesday 8th September 2021
***
Critical Perspectives on the Films of Adam Curtis is a one-day, 
interdisciplinary conference hosted in collaboration with the University 
of Nottingham’s Institute for Screen Industries Research which 
critically examines the films of the documentary filmmaker Adam Curtis. 
The keynote speaker for the conference is Professor Brian Winston. 
Professor Winston is the Chair of the Lincoln School of Film and Media, 
founding chair of the British Association of Film, Television and Media 
Studies and has served as a governor of the British Film Institute. He 
has published over 17 books as well as receiving a US prime-time Emmy 
for documentary script writing and a Special Jury prize from the British 
University Council for Film and Video. To register for the conference 
please visit our Eventbrite page: 
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/critical-perspectives-on-the-films-of-adam-curtis-tickets-149549357153 
Adam Curtis is one of Britain’s most prominent and controversial 
documentary filmmakers. From 1992’s BAFTA award winning warning about 
the dangers of technocracy in Pandora’s Box to his critical analysis of 
the ideological origins of Islamic terrorism in 2015’s Bitter Lake, 
Curtis ranges over a vast historical, cultural and intellectual canvas. 
For some cultural commentators, Curtis’ documentaries, like the recent 
six-film BBC series Can’t Get You Out of My Head, are ‘dazzling 
masterpieces’ which bring to life concepts and approaches borrowed from 
the history of emotions, sociology, psychology and philosophy. For 
others, Curtis uses his privileged access to BBC archives to patch 
together discrete phenomena – from the Sex Pistols’ Who Killed Bambi to 
the revolutionary operas of Chairman Mao’s wife, Jiang Qing – into an 
incoherent and misguided grand narrative of historical and sociological 
change. Despite this prominence (or perhaps because of it), Curtis’ 
films and the history of ideas they present has received very little 
academic scrutiny. This scrutiny could extend to the range of material 
collated by Curtis, how these are presented or constructed, as well as 
the reception of his ideas among critics and a broader public. In this 
sense, the films of Adam Curtis serve as a useful vehicle to explore 
broader intellectual questions: How do scholars approach film as a 
historical text? How to filmmakers convey political concepts and ideas? 
How are documentary films related to more conventional sources of 
political thought and cultural practice? Potential approaches and topics 
could include, but are not limited to: •	The History of Emotions • 
Intellectual History/History of Ideas •	Conceptions of the Self
•	Capitalism/Power
•	Patterns/Time in History •	Memory •	The Screen Archive in Historical 
Practical •	Critical Reception and Audiences •	The BBC and Public 
History •	iPlayer and YouTube as Distribution Form •	Locating Curtis in 
Film Traditions
It is intended that some contributors to the conference will have their 
papers published as part of an edited collection. There will also be the 
opportunity to publish shorter articles online. To submit a short 
biography (of no more than 300 words) and an abstract (of no more than 
300 words) for presentations of 20 minutes per paper to Dr David 
Robinson at (david.robinson /at/ nottingham.ac.uk)
The call for papers will close on the 1st July 2021. Successful 
applicants will be notified no later than the 14th July 2021. For 
conference news and updates on Twitter follow: @critical_adam For more 
information on the Institute for Screen Industries Research: 
https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/research/groups/isir/index.aspx

Roberta Pearson
Professor of Film and Television Studies
Head of Department, Cultural, Visual and Media Studies
University of Nottingham


---------------
The COMMLIST
---------------
This mailing list is a free service offered by Nico Carpentier. Please use it responsibly and wisely.
--
To subscribe or unsubscribe, please visit http://commlist.org/
--
Before sending a posting request, please always read the guidelines at http://commlist.org/
--
To contact the mailing list manager:
Email: (nico.carpentier /at/ vub.ac.be)
URL: http://nicocarpentier.net
---------------