Fwd: CFP Refocus on Amy Heckerling

From: Frances Smith <[email protected]>

Dear Colleagues,

The following call for contributions may be of interest. Abstracts are due
by January 31st 2014. If any queries, please contact
[email protected]


Refocus on the films of Amy Heckerling
Edited by Dr. Frances Smith and Prof. Timothy Shary

The films of director and screenwriter, Amy Heckerling, have enjoyed both
popular and critical success. Debut features Fast Times at Ridgemont High
(1982) and National Lampoon=92s European Vacation (1985) were blockbuster
hits at the box office, and were arguably instrumental in the development
of the nascent high school and family comedies that emerged during the
1980s. Later, Heckerling would achieve critical recognition for Clueless
(1995), her revisionist adaptation of Jane Austen=92s Emma, which led the w=
ay
for a boom in teen literary adaptations at the end of the 1990s.
Additionally, Heckerling has directed family films, notably the huge hits
Look Who=92s Talking (1989) and its follow-up Look Who=92s Talking Too (199=
0),
and created two television series =96 Baby Talk (ABC 1991-1992) and Clueles=
s
(ABC 1996-1999) =96 based on her film work. Her more recent films =96 Loser
(2000), I Could Never Be Your Woman (2007), and Vamps (2012) =96 while
 compelling in terms of theme, did not achieve the visibility of her
earlier work, suggesting that Hollywood may no longer embrace the mildly
feminist work of a middle-aged female director.
Heckerling=92s films remain relevant and well remembered, while a growing
body of academic literature acknowledges the importance of her teen films.
Nonetheless, there has to date been no scholarly volume dedicated to the
discussion of her work as a whole. This anthology seeks to address this gap
in scholarship, and will be published by Edinburgh University Press in 2015
as part of the Refocus Series. Edited by Dr. Gary D Rhodes and Dr. Robert
Singer, this series is dedicated to examining the work of overlooked
directors.
We are seeking proposals of 500 words, plus a biography of 50 words for
essays to be included in the book. Completed essays should be between 6500
and 8000 words and follow the Chicago endnote referencing style.
We are open to proposals on all aspects of Amy Heckerling=92s work in both
film and television. Essays may focus on individual works, or on themes and
topics that pervade her body of work. Contributions are particularly
welcome, but are by no means limited to, the following areas:
Heckerling and teen cinema and/or teen television
Analysis of individual films, or television series
Gender and teen comedy
Heckerling and family films, such as Look Who=92s Talking (1989)
The American family in Heckerling=92s films
Heckerling and Jewish comedy
Feminist themes in Heckerling=92s work
The place of female directors in genre history
Audience studies =96 growing up with Heckerling=92s films
Heckerling=92s role in the 1980s teen movie cycle
Issues of medium specificity working across film and television
Proposals should be sent to [email protected] January 31,
2014. Both editors will review all proposals and provide a response by
February 28, 2014. Essays will need to be completed by September 30, 2014.
Please send any queries to [email protected]
Thanks and regards

Frances Smith

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