CFP: Final Week! (Re)Locating the Frontier: International Western Films (edited volume)

From: Cynthia Miller <[email protected]>

Final week for submissions!

While abstracts focused on all national film traditions are welcome, we
would like to particularly encourage submissions on Mexican, South
American, Nordic, and Canadian films, as well as those from the Indian
subcontinent.

Call for Papers:  (Re)Locating the Frontier: International Western Films
(Edited volume)

Cinematic representations of the North American West, from the silent era
to the present, have played an important role in one of the United States’
core cinematic genres and in the viewing lives of generations of audiences.
The Western tradition, however, with its well-worn tropes, readily
identifiable characters, iconic landscapes, and evocative soundtracks, is
not limited to the United States. Western, or Western-inspired films have
played a part in the output of numerous national film traditions, including
Asia, Central and Eastern Europe, and Latin America. Considerations of
these films, for the most part, have been decidedly U.S.-centric, with
discussions of international Westerns typically limited to a small number
of Eurowesterns and their directors.

This collection of essays seeks to broaden the scholarly conversation about
Westerns by considering films beyond the Hollywood and Spaghetti Western
traditions. The editors seek contributions that address a wide range of
international Westerns, including their significance, meanings, and
reception in their the national industries which gave them form.  How do
Westerns not made in the U.S. use the genre for their own purposes? Through
what innovations or adaptations is that achieved?  In what ways do these
films challenge or support the idea of national literatures and cinemas?
 How do their narratives negotiate nation, narrative, genre, and their
intersection?

Possible topics include, but are not limited to:

•       El Topo and the Mexican Weird West
•       Filming The Devil’s Backbone: The Border Frontier
•       Genre Mash-ups in Asian Westerns: Dynamite Warrior
•       The Good, the Bad, and the Samurai Tradition
•       Sounds of the Frontier: Eurowestern Soundtracks
•       Eurowestern Film Cycles: Django Rides
•       Exploring the Ostern: White Sun of the Desert
•       Karl May on Screen: The German Frontier Tradition
•       Her Majesty’s West: Carry On, Cowboy
•       Sholay and Frontier Independence
•       The “Northern”: Hollywood North, or Something Else?

Essays dealing with the Spaghetti Western tradition should approach it from
a fresh perspective, not yet represented in the substantial scholarly
literature.

Acceptance will be contingent upon the contributors' ability to meet these
deadlines, and to deliver professional-quality work.

Publication timetable:

Aug 15, 2012 – Deadline for Abstracts

September 30, 2012 – Notification of Acceptance Decisions

Feb 1, 2013 – Chapter Drafts Due

April 30, 2013 – Chapter Revisions Due

May 30, 2013 – Final Revisions Due

July 1, 2013 – Delivery to Publisher

Please submit your abstracts of 500-1000 words and a brief (1-page) CV via
email to both of the editors by August 15, 2012:

Cynthia J. Miller – [email protected]
A. Bowdoin Van Riper – [email protected]