*Call for Papers –The Cinematic Geography of High School*
Proposed panel for the Cultural Studies Association Conference to be held
April 19-21st, 2007 at Portland State University in Portland, OR.
The high school is a popular scenic backdrop for American cinema with the
high school serving as the spatial twist on a range of generic narratives
(horror, sci-fi, romantic comedy). So prominent is the high school in film
that the "secondary ed movie" might best be understood as a genre in itself.
This panel will map the space of the high school as realized cinematically.
Submitted papers are invited to explore how films have produced the space of
the high school as both a place of power and a site of resistance, a place
to fear and to nostalgically desire, a location, territory, terrain, and a
situation. How do films signify the "distinct spatialized modalities" of
high school - the tedium, discipline, seeming pointlessness, and supposed
democratic functions (Pile, 1997)? What do the various spaces within the
high school (the gym, bleachers, bathroom, parking lot, hallway, locker,
cafeteria, and auditorium) represent? How do the stereotypical figures who
occupy these spaces (daft teachers, bumbling principles, creepy janitors)
exceed their scenic contexts? How are racial, ethnic, gender, and sexual
subject positions constituted and contested through the spatial iconography
of the high school? How are class tensions explored through representations
of the private school? How is knowledge constituted and queried through the
space of, for instance, biology, history, or health classrooms? How do
futuristic representations of school compare to present day or past ones?
How do representations of school compare with the "actual" space of high
school? Interested panelists should not feel limited to the above topics and
questions. Explorations of international high school films also welcome as
is a range of disciplinary approaches.
Possible films include but are not limited to the following:
*Back to the Future*
*Better Off Dead*
*Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure*
*Blackboard Jungle*
*Boyz N the Hood*
*The Breakfast Club*
*Brick*
*Bring it On*
*Carrie*
*Clueless*
*Cooley High*
*Dead Poet's Society*
*Election*
*Elephant*
*The Faculty*
*Fame*
*Fast Times at Ridgemont High*
*Ferris Bueller's Day Off*
*Footloose*
*Grease*
*Gregory's Girl*
*Heathers*
Fred Wiseman's *High School*
*High School High*
*High School Musical*
*High School U.S.A.*
*Home Room*
*Lucas*
*My Body Guard*
*Napoleon Dynamite*
*Never Been Kissed*
*Over the Edge*
*Peggy Sue Got Married*
*Pleasantville*
*Rebel Without A Cause*
*Rock and Roll High School*
*Rushmore*
*Save the Last Dance*
*Say Anything*
*Sixteen Candles*
*Some Kind of Wonderful*
*Splendor in the Grass*
*Stand and Deliver*
*Starship Troopers*
*Strangers with Candy*
*Suicide Circle (Suicide Club)*
*Take the Lead*
*To Sir, With Love*
*The Virgin Suicides*
*WaSanGo (Volcano High)*
*Welcome to the Dollhouse*
*Whatever It Takes*
* *
Proposals should be sent via email as a Word attachment to Kathleen
McConnell: kfmcconn@xxxxxxxxxxx
Please send your proposals no later than Oct. 10th.
Please include:
a. Your name, email address, phone number, and department and institutional
affiliation.
b. A 500-word abstract of your proposed paper.
c. A request for any needed audio-visual equipment
thank you,
Kathleen McConnell
--
Ph.D. Candidate, Communication and Culture
Indiana University
Mottier Hall, 1780 E. 10th St.
Bloomington, IN 47405
Proposed panel for the Cultural Studies Association Conference to be held
April 19-21st, 2007 at Portland State University in Portland, OR.
The high school is a popular scenic backdrop for American cinema with the
high school serving as the spatial twist on a range of generic narratives
(horror, sci-fi, romantic comedy). So prominent is the high school in film
that the "secondary ed movie" might best be understood as a genre in itself.
This panel will map the space of the high school as realized cinematically.
Submitted papers are invited to explore how films have produced the space of
the high school as both a place of power and a site of resistance, a place
to fear and to nostalgically desire, a location, territory, terrain, and a
situation. How do films signify the "distinct spatialized modalities" of
high school - the tedium, discipline, seeming pointlessness, and supposed
democratic functions (Pile, 1997)? What do the various spaces within the
high school (the gym, bleachers, bathroom, parking lot, hallway, locker,
cafeteria, and auditorium) represent? How do the stereotypical figures who
occupy these spaces (daft teachers, bumbling principles, creepy janitors)
exceed their scenic contexts? How are racial, ethnic, gender, and sexual
subject positions constituted and contested through the spatial iconography
of the high school? How are class tensions explored through representations
of the private school? How is knowledge constituted and queried through the
space of, for instance, biology, history, or health classrooms? How do
futuristic representations of school compare to present day or past ones?
How do representations of school compare with the "actual" space of high
school? Interested panelists should not feel limited to the above topics and
questions. Explorations of international high school films also welcome as
is a range of disciplinary approaches.
Possible films include but are not limited to the following:
*Back to the Future*
*Better Off Dead*
*Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure*
*Blackboard Jungle*
*Boyz N the Hood*
*The Breakfast Club*
*Brick*
*Bring it On*
*Carrie*
*Clueless*
*Cooley High*
*Dead Poet's Society*
*Election*
*Elephant*
*The Faculty*
*Fame*
*Fast Times at Ridgemont High*
*Ferris Bueller's Day Off*
*Footloose*
*Grease*
*Gregory's Girl*
*Heathers*
Fred Wiseman's *High School*
*High School High*
*High School Musical*
*High School U.S.A.*
*Home Room*
*Lucas*
*My Body Guard*
*Napoleon Dynamite*
*Never Been Kissed*
*Over the Edge*
*Peggy Sue Got Married*
*Pleasantville*
*Rebel Without A Cause*
*Rock and Roll High School*
*Rushmore*
*Save the Last Dance*
*Say Anything*
*Sixteen Candles*
*Some Kind of Wonderful*
*Splendor in the Grass*
*Stand and Deliver*
*Starship Troopers*
*Strangers with Candy*
*Suicide Circle (Suicide Club)*
*Take the Lead*
*To Sir, With Love*
*The Virgin Suicides*
*WaSanGo (Volcano High)*
*Welcome to the Dollhouse*
*Whatever It Takes*
* *
Proposals should be sent via email as a Word attachment to Kathleen
McConnell: kfmcconn@xxxxxxxxxxx
Please send your proposals no later than Oct. 10th.
Please include:
a. Your name, email address, phone number, and department and institutional
affiliation.
b. A 500-word abstract of your proposed paper.
c. A request for any needed audio-visual equipment
thank you,
Kathleen McConnell
--
Ph.D. Candidate, Communication and Culture
Indiana University
Mottier Hall, 1780 E. 10th St.
Bloomington, IN 47405