[AIW] CFP: Constellations: Connections, Disruptions, and Imaginations in Cinema and Beyond, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA/USA, October 10-11, 2019

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Call for Papers

First Forum 2019 Graduate Student Conference

Constellations: Connections, Disruptions, and Imaginations in Cinema and
Beyond

(A Conference in Three Clusters)

Division of Cinema and Media Studies, University of Southern California, Los
Angeles, CA/USA

October 10 - 11, 2019

https://cinema.usc.edu/mediastudies/index.cfm

 

When gazing at the sky, one turns to the billions of specks occupying the
universe, an infinite space where visible and invisible galactic matter
creates multidimensional shapes and figures. Throughout history, the cosmos
has served as a site of epistemological enunciation. In connecting and
linking disparate star systems, societies have advanced knowledge and
created constellations. Constellations as metaphor moves one beyond
discussions of the universe. In this regard, cinema, media, and visual
culture have mediated our imagination on constellations. From planetariums
and large screens projecting images of the enigmatic universe, to films
imagining worlds outside of our own galaxy, to television and radio networks
sending out sound and image via wavelengths, and to transmedia organizing,
constellations are projections and imagined networks. 

 

One can add that constellations have guided people to situate themselves
within the universe; to shift their geographical and migratory positions; to
measure and keep track of time; to sync to nature; and to preserve history
and culture. Discrete points are the vital infrastructure supporting
constellations; effacing points would compromise the integrity of the figure
and radically transform its meaning and image.

 

Constellations are created when mapping and charting geographies, struggles,
and movements. This allows one to rethink how their positionality and
temporality link and relate disparate spaces, objects, and peoples. For
example, sentient and non-sentient beings have formed their own social
constellations, creating networks, circles, communities, and support
systems. One can argue that media creates its own constellations, especially
when mediums rely on other media systems: transmedia, intermedia, social
media, and "cloud" sharing devices.

 

While constellations consist of connections that create imaginary shapes,
objects, and figures, one must nuance the specificity of each point and
raise questions that help one confront the precarity of constellations.
Disruption enters the picture, threatening the integrity of the shape. 

 

Imagining new constellations is hermeneutical. The act of imagining opens
the possibility for third spaces, making room for new worlds, and forming
connections that were otherwise impossible. When imagining constellations,
one leaves open the possibility of adapting to new changes, allowing new
points to enter and emerge, and respect the existence of other
constellations in the vicinity. Cinema, media, and visual culture has been
generative in this endeavor. 

 

What happens when points are not granted their specificity? Can a point
disengage from one constellation and align itself with others to create new
constellations? What are the consequences when external forces seek to erase
points in order to undo the power of unity in constellations? What is lost
when constellations cease to exist? How is sound, moving images, and other
media implicated in the creation and disruption of constellations? 

 

The First Forum 2019 organizing committee welcomes papers, artwork, and
creative projects that expand, complicate, and reconsider the metaphor of
constellations in relation to sound and moving images. Papers outside the
field of cinema and media are strongly encouraged.

 

List of possible topics: 

*	Indigenous Media and Culture
*	Social Justice Struggles
*	Cinematic and Televisual Universes and Crossovers 
*	Soundscapes
*	Disparate Archival Material
*	Territoriality/Deterritoriality and Time and Memory
*	Nature, ecosystems, and the Anthropocene
*	Phenomenology
*	(Afro)futurisms; Speculative Futures 
*	Wayfinding and Navigation
*	Feminist Science Studies/Science and Technology Studies
(STS)/History of Science; Virtual Reality 
*	Megacinema and Planetariums 
*	The Astrological Turn 
*	Star Studies

Please e-mail an abstract of 250-300 words for a 15 to 18 minute
presentation; a biography of 150 words; and institutional affiliation to
firstforum2019 at gmail.com <mailto:firstforum2019 at gmail.com>  

 

Samples of artwork and creative projects for exhibition accompanied by a
250-300 word abstract and a biography of 150 words can be e-mailed to
firstforum2019 at gmail.com <mailto:firstforum2019 at gmail.com>  

 

Please direct queries to Michael Anthony Turcios at maturcio at usc.edu or to
the conference organizing committee at firstforum2019 at gmail.com

Deadline: Wednesday, July 31, 2019 by 11:59 p.m.

Decision notification by Wednesday, August 14, 2019

 

Cluster One: Reading Group(s) (Autumn 2019-Spring 2020).

 

Cluster Two: Exhibition (Mid-October). 

 

Cluster Three: Conference (Thursday, October 10, 2019 and Friday, October
11, 2019)

 

Contact Email: firstforum2019 at gmail.com <mailto:firstforum2019 at gmail.com> 

 

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