CFP: Horrors of War: The Living, the Undead, and the Battlefield (Edited Collection. Abstracts 12/20/13)

From: Cynthia Miller <[email protected]>

Call for Contributors  (Abstracts 12/20/13; Essays 6/15/14)

Horrors of War: The Living, the Undead, and the Battlefield

War is hell, we tell ourselves, and battlefields are places where the =
spirits of the dead linger. Supernatural language and imagery=97sacred =
and secular alike=97pervades modern depictions of warfare, from Julia =
Ward Howe=92s =93Battle Hymn of the Republic=94 to the opening scenes of =
Gladiator, in which a Roman general commands his men to =93unleash =
Hell.=94 The =93honored dead=94 of past wars are routinely marshaled, in =
both pro- and anti-war rhetoric, to pass judgment on the conflicts of =
the present.

Popular culture, however, routinely makes these metaphors concrete. =
Supernatural tales of war told in print, on screen, and in other media =
depict angels, demons, and legions of the undead fighting against=97or =
alongside=97human soldiers on the field of battle.  Ghostly warships and =
phantom aircraft carry on their never-to-be-completed missions, and =
horrors deadlier than any bullet or bomb linger in the dark corners of =
abandoned fortifications. The spirits, and sometimes the corpses, of =
dead soldiers return to confront the enemies who killed them, the =
comrades who betrayed then, or the leaders who sacrificed them without =
reason.

This volume is intended to explore the deeper significance of such =
stories: The ways in which they reflect (or challenge) the popular =
memory of particular wars, and engage with cultural attitudes toward war =
in general and associated issues such as battlefield heroism, military =
ethics, and the politics of sacrifice. It will encompass works that take =
place during wartime (such as the 1943 film A Guy Named Joe, the =
role-playing game Weird War II, or the graphic novel Graveyard of =
Empires) as well as those that explore the lingering traces of the past =
in the present (such James Lee Burke=92s In The Electric Mist with =
Confederate Dead, Steve Barker=92s 2007 film Outpost,  or the Twilight =
Zone episode =93The Thirty-Fathom Grave=94). We seek proposals for =
intelligent, accessible chapters that explore and critically analyze the =
intersection of the war and the horror genres in a broad range of media: =
literature, film, television, comics, graphic novels, gaming, and new =
media.  Proposals for both topical essays and close readings of a single =
text are welcome.

Please note that this volume is focused on fictional, or explicitly =
fictionalized, narratives. Essays that treat =93real=94 supernatural =
apparitions in the history of warfare (such as Drake=92s Drum or the =
=93Angel of Mons=94), or the culture of ghost stories and =93ghost =
tours=94 associated with real-world battlefields, are outside the scope =
of this project.

Some questions to consider: =20

* How does the presence of unearthly forces on fictional battlefield =
intersect with twentieth and twenty-first century anxieties over weapons =
of mass destruction?
*  How do stories of the supernatural fit into the larger pattern of =
cultural memories specific wars, especially when=97as in the Civil War =
and Vietnam=97those memories are sharply contested?
*  What are some of the complexities that these hybrid texts must =
address and overcome in order to be effective as cultural commentary?
*  In what ways do the dead, in these texts, reinforce (or challenge) =
traditional ideas about concepts such as honor, heroism, ethical =
leadership, and just war?
*  In what ways do these hybrids revitalize historical narratives for a =
new generation of audiences, for whom such texts play on other, more =
familiar synergies and hybrids in their media worlds?

Please send your 500-word abstract to both co-editors, Cindy Miller =
([email protected]) and Bow Van Riper ([email protected]). =20=


Publication timetable:

December 20, 2013 =96 Deadline for Abstracts
January 6, 2014 =96 Notification of Acceptance Decisions
June 15, 2014 =96 Chapter Drafts Due
July 31, 2014 =96 Chapter Revisions Due
September 1, 2014 =96Delivery to Publisher

Acceptance will be contingent upon the contributors' ability to meet =
these deadlines, and to deliver professional-quality work. =20

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