CFP: NYU Cinema Studies Student Conference

From: Katherine A Johnson <[email protected]>

NYU Cinema Studies 2013 Student Conference Call for Papers is below:

*Something Old, Something New: The Marriage and Separation of Old and New
Media*


The New York University Cinema Studies department is excited to announce
the 2013 Student Conference. Each year our goal is to bring together
student scholars from a variety of departments and disciplines in order to
discuss particular subjects within the field of cinema studies and
production. We look forward to providing students at both the undergraduate
and graduate levels* *with an opportunity to present their ideas to their
peers. Organized by and for students, the conference offers a unique forum
for intellectual dialogue and stands as a valuable learning experience.
This year’s conference will take place the weekend of *February 22-24, 2013*
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*Focus*

Why do we desire the new?  Is anything ever really new, or simply a
continuation of what has gone before?  Walter Benjamin considers each
development in technology as anticipating the next when he writes: "Just as
lithography virtually implied the illustrated newspaper, so did photography
foreshadow the sound film."  Does Benjamin’s statement present continuity
between old and new technologies, or rather run the risk of merging their
separate identities and historiographies? This conference provides an
opportunity to reexamine cinema and historical change in an effort to
reassess what is *really* new within the context of our past and ever
changing present.

Participants might consider, but are not limited to, the following topics:

*Technological Innovations*
From it’s conception cinema appeared a technology-driven medium.
Innovations such as editing, sound, color, scope, 3D, television, and
digital transformed not only film form, but also spectator experience.  How
has the introduction and advancement of certain technologies affected movie
content and movie going experience? Has new technology made old technology
obsolete?

*Recycling and Reinventing the Old*
Media has a habit of remaking, adapting, continuing, and reusing content.
The process of recycling material can function both economically and
ideologically as in the case of sequels, franchises, found-footage films,
adaptations. How does the process of changing a narrative from one form to
another alter its content and meaning? Do adaptations always tell the same
old story?  If that’s the case, why is anything recycled and why do we
watch those movies.

*Creative Movements in History*
Visual media continue to document the ideas and realities of societies at
specific moments in time.  Certain social movements (feminism, Civil
Rights, LGBT, Occupy movements, etc.) have been pivotal in shaping the
styles and content of cinema.  These social movements have at times
inspired pioneering artists to develop new stylistic expressions.  Some
possible topics include the Avant-Garde, the French New Wave, new national
cinemas (Greece, Iran, Thailand, Argentina, Mexico, Chile, Nollywood,
etc.), “New Hollywood,” experimental film, D.I.Y. cinema (mumblecore,
iPhone movies, etc.).

*Other topics to consider:*
●      Nostalgia, memory, and old ways of looking at the new
●      News culture: 24-hour news cycle, Twitter, blogging, etc.
●      Changes in documentary filmmaking
●      Stardom/Celebrity: inventing the star, star scandals, star comeback,
etc.
●      Hollywood’s fetishization of the new
●      Theories of new/old
●      Selling the new: billboards, shop windows, ads, fashion, the “TV
pilot” etc.
●      Theories of historiography
●      New methodologies for cinema and media studies
●      The value of new
●      The future of new
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*Guidelines*

*Submissions for single presentations*
Please submit proposals of 250 words or less, including bibliographic
references, to [email protected] by *January 28, 2013*. Presentations
will be no more than 20 minutes (7-10 pages, double spaced) including use
of A/V material. Please include your name, presentation title, institution,
major or department affiliation, and student level (BA, MA, PhD, etc) with
your submission.

*Submissions for full panels*
Students who wish to form their own 3-student panels on a topic may submit
possible proposals with a sponsoring professor or ABD PhD student as
moderator. Submissions should be e-mailed to [email protected] and
should include a 250-word (max.) abstract for each presentation, a brief
description of the panel topic, and the name and contact information for
the sponsoring moderator. Please also include each presenter’s name,
presentation title, institution, major, or department affiliation, student
level (BA, MA, PhD, etc), and e-mail address. Time slots for the full
panel, including discussion, are limited to 75 minutes. Full-panel
submissions will have preference for inclusion in the conference and are
due by *January 21, 2013*. If selected, you will be notified as soon as
possible, at which time each participant will be required to submit his or
her entire paper.

Katherine Johnson, Chair
NYU Cinema Studies Student Conference Committee