OUT NOW: Unraveling Resident Evil: Essays on the Complex Universe of the Games and Films, ed. by Nadine Farghaly (McFarland, 2014)

About the book:

Resident Evil is a multidimensional as well as multimedia universe: Various books, graphic novels, games and movies (the fifth one came out in 2012) all contribute to this enormous universe. The new essays written for this volume focus on this particular zombie manifestation and its significance in popular culture. The essayists come from very different fields, so it was possible to cover a wide range and discuss numerous issues regarding this universe. Among them are game theory, the idea of silence as well as memory, the connection to iconic stories such as Alice in Wonderland, posthumanism and much more. A lot of ground is covered that will facilitate further discussions not only among Resident Evil interested persons but also among other zombie universes and zombies in general. Most of these essays focus on the female figure Alice, a character revered by many as a feminist warrior.

Contents:

Introduction: Unraveling the Resident Evil Universe
Nadine Farghaly

From Necromancy to the Necrotrophic: Resident Evil's Influence on the Zombie Origin Shift from Supernatural to Science
Tanya Carinae Pell Jones

Survival and System in Resident Evil (2002): Remembering, Repeating and Working-Through
David Müller

Why They Keep Coming Back: The Allure of Incongruity
Adam M. Crowley

Opening Doors: Art-Horror and Agency
Stephen Cadwell

Survival Horror, Metaculture and the Fluidity of Video Game Genres
Broc Holmquest

The Strong, Silent Type: Alice's Use of Rhetorical Silence as Feminist Strategy
Suzan E. Aiken

'My name is Alice and I remember everything!': Surviving Sexual Abuse in the Resident Evil Films
James Stone

The Woman in the Red Dress: Sexuality, Femmes Fatales, the Gaze and Ada Wong
Jenny Platz

Chris Redfield and the Curious Case of Wesker's Sunglasses
Nicolas J. Lalone

Through the Looking-Glass: Interrogating the 'Alice-ness' of Alice
Hannah Priest

Thank You for Making Me Human Again: Alice and the Teaching of Scientific Ethics
Kristine Larsen

Zombies, Cyborgs and Wheelchairs: The Question of Normalcy Within Diseased and Disabled Bodies
J.L. Schatz

'I barely feel human anymore': Project Alice and the Posthuman in the Films
Margo Collins

'Six impossible things before breakfast': Living Memory and Undead History
Simon Bacon

For more information about the book, please visit the publisher's website.

Contributors Wanted for Two Academic Collections

So, some of you may have seen Twitter. Two contributors have recently withdrawn from a collection I'm putting together, and I thought I'd put out a more general request to make contact with interested writers. I would appreciate it if people could pass this information on to colleagues who might be interested/available to contribute to the collections.

A couple of things to mention: these are academic collections, and I am looking to hear from people whose research interests mesh with the collections' focus. The collections are at the proposal stage, and will be pitched to an established UK academic publisher once the contents are finalized (details to follow). The majority of the collections' contents are already finalized, so it may be that I already have a chapter on your proposed subject. If you have any questions, it's best just to get in touch with me.

Afterlife of Alice edited collection

A collection of essays exploring interpretations and adaptations of Lewis Carroll's Alice novels. This collection is inspired by the Hic Dragones Afterlife of Alice conference, which ran in December 2011. 

What I'm looking for: essays on adaptations, interpretations or the use of elements from Carroll's novels in 'popular' or 'high' culture. For instance, John Logan's Peter and Alice, psychedelic Alices, Alice merchandise and collectibles, Fifty Shades of Alice in Wonderland, fan fic, non-Anglophone Alices (except Japanese).
What I'm not looking for: essays on Carroll's novels or translations, essays on adaptation theory (though more than happy for essays to use this as a framework), essays on Charles Dodgson and Alice Liddell, essays on Gothic subcultures and fashions, essays on Disney.
Timescale: I'll need an abstract of 300-500 words ASAP, and then deadline for full chapter (7000 words) can be negotiated.

Afterlife of Dorothy edited collection

A collection of essays exploring interpretations and adaptations of L. Frank Baum's Oz novels. This collection is inspired by the Hic Dragones Afterlife of Dorothy conference, which ran in February 2013.

What I'm looking for: essays on adaptations, interpretations, revisions or the use of elements from Baum's novels in 'popular' or 'high' culture. For instance, The Wiz (I would really like a chapter on this!) , fan fic, graphic novels, non-Anglophone Dorothys.
What I'm not looking for: essays on Baum's novels, essays on the MGM film adaptation, essays on Gregory Maguire's Wicked novels and the musical adaptation, essays on Return to Oz or Oz: The Great and Powerful.
Timescale: I'll need an abstract of 300-500 words ASAP, and then deadline for full chapter (7000 words) can be negotiated.

If you're interested in contributing to either collection, please email me (Hannah Priest) in the first instance. Just introduce yourself, give me an idea of your research background/interests and let me know what your proposed chapter would focus on. We can take it from there.

CFP: Returning to Oz: The Afterlife of Dorothy

Thursday 7th February 2013
Manchester, UK

CALL FOR PAPERS

Papers are sought for a one-day conference in Manchester on representations and interpretations of Dorothy and Oz in popular culture. This conference seeks to address the perennial popularity of L. Frank Baum’s creations, and to explore their most recent incarnations.

Possible themes may include (but are not limited to):
• Film, TV and animated adaptations
• Sequels and prequels (other than Baum’s series); translations, editions and revisions
• Music and musicals
• Kitsch
• ‘Friends of Dorothy’ and gay culture
• MGM and Judy Garland
• Graphic novels and visual art
• Merchandise, memorabilia and ephemera

This conference is the sister project to our Further Adventures in Wonderland: The Afterlife of Alice project. As such, papers are also welcomed that offer some comparison of the respective afterlives of Alice and Dorothy, or that deal with texts featuring both characters. For more information on our Afterlife of Alice conference, please click here.

Abstracts of 250-300 words (for a 20 min paper) should be sent via email to the conference convenors by 30th September 2012.

Selected papers may be invited for inclusion in an academic collection of essays following the conference.

For information, please click here.

Further Adventures in Wonderland: The Afterlife of Alice

Registration is now open for the Hic Dragones Further Adventures in Wonderland: The Afterlife of Alice conference. See here for more details.

This one-day inter-disciplinary conference in Manchester, UK, explores the influence, interpretation and representation of Alice in Wonderland in contemporary popular culture. Dress and style, music and film - Alice is out of the rabbit hole and into our collective psyche. This conference seeks to address the perennial popularity of Lewis Carroll's creation, and to explore her most recent incarnations.

Venue: The International Anthony Burgess Foundation, Manchester

Date: Thursday 1st December 2011

Programme:

9.30-10.00 Registration

10.00-11.00 Plenary Paper
Dr. Will Brooker (Kingston University): The Further Adventures of Alice

11.00-11.30 Coffee

11.30-1.00 Panel 1: Adaptation and Literature

Laura-Jane Maher (Monash University): Taking Liberties: Adaptation and Transmedia Narrative in Frank Beddor’s The Looking Glass Wars

Hannah Priest (University of Manchester): Steampunk, Cyberpunk, Whimsy: Genre Definition and Jeff Noon’s The Automated Alice

Deidre Flynn (Mary Immaculate College, Limerick): Adventures in the Postmodern Wonderland

1.00-2.00 Lunch

2.00-4.00 Panel 2: Performing Alice

Michael Goddard (University of Salford): Alice in Radioland: Radio Alice and the Movement of 77 Through the Looking Glass

Justine Houyaux and Neil Elliott Beisson (UMONS, Belgium): Waltz in Wonderland – Tom Waits and Alice

Guilia Sandelewski (Shakespeare Institute, University of Birmingham): Behind Bars and yet in Wonderland – Alice Refracts Hamlet, Reflects Italy’s Fractured Identity

Alexander Sergeant (King’s College London): Twas Brillig! Nonsense, Play and Inconsequentiality in Paramount’s Alice in Wonderland (1933)

4.00-4.30 Coffee

4.30-6.00 Panel 3: Alice at Play

David Allen (Midland Actors Theatre): Alice In Wonderland – The Disneyland Dark Ride

Franziska Kohlt (University of Sheffield): Into the X-Box and what Alice Found There: American McGee's Alice: Madness Returns

Jennifer Hardy Williams (Calvin College): Alice Meets Lolita: Quinrose’s Alice in the Country of Hearts

To register, visit the website or email the conference convenors.

A Journey Through Wonderland: Alice in Multi-Media

An exhibition of books, pictures, videos and more

The Portico Library, Manchester M2 3HY
7th October - 30th November 2011
Preview on Thursday 6th October

Lewis Carroll created, in Alice, one of the most enduring and endearing characters in literature. An escape from boredom plunges this easily distracted child into a surreal and fantastical Wonderland at once exciting and frightening as she meets, along the way, such whimsical, yet sinister, characters as the White Rabbit, the Mad Hatter and the Duchess. Carroll had already imagined their appearance and John Tenniel, already an established illustrator, was given clear instructions on their depiction for the first edition of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland followed by her return to a dream-land in Through the Looking Glass.

Since its first publication in 1867 Alice has continued to inspire illustration, theatre, films, cartoons, toys and more. Walt Disney, Salvador Dali, Jonathan Miller are just three of the innumerable people who got the Alice bug and were inspired to produce their interpretation of one of the most fascinating and mind-boggling children’s stories ever.

This exhibition, curated by Emma Marigliano and Lynne Allan, for The Portico Library, seeks to capture some of the magic of the tale through a range of books, comics, pop-ups, artworks, film and other media along with a programme of events throughout October and November.

• The exhibition will launch at the preview on 6th October and will be opened by none other than Vanessa St Clair, great-granddaughter of Alice Liddell, the real little girl who was Carroll’s inspiration for his made-up Alice

• Leah Moore and John Reppion will delight graphic novel fans with a talk on their production of The Complete Alice on 12th of October

• From Hat Works Hat Museum, Stockport, Howard Green, will reveal the reason behind the Mad-Hatter’s insanity in his talk, Top Hats and Mercury on 25th October
This event is part of Manchester Science Festival; a programme of over 150 events, shows, debates, installations and more across Greater Manchester from 22 – 30 October 2011.

• Disney fans will be enchanted with Robin Allan’s talk, on 12th November, about Europe’s influence on Walt Disney

• Alan Shelston will talk about the grotesque in the Alice illustrations near the end of the exhibition on 29th November.

• In between there will be film/video showings, children’s activities and more. Look out for the full programme on our website and our Portico Quarterly newsletter.

All events begin at 6.30 and cost £7 per person, including wine and nibbles and may be booked by email, telephone or post.

Alice has been enjoying attention throughout the year in exhibitions and performances in the UK. The Portico will be linking in to some of those that will be taking place in the North West.

• Tate Liverpool launches a major exhibition of Alice with Lewis Carroll manuscripts and drawings as well as paintings and drawings from well-known artists and illustrators - from 4th November to 4th January

• A one-day inter-disciplinary conference - Further Adventures in Wonderland; the Afterlife of Alice - will be held at the International Anthony Burgess Foundation, Manchester, on 1st December. The conference is organised by Dr Hannah Priest, founder of Hic Dragones, a creative writing and literature organisation based in Manchester.

We are most grateful for permission to use illustrations for publicity and promotion and for loans of books and artworks to the exhibition from the following (placed in no particular order):

Bryan Talbot, Manchester Metropolitan University Library Special Collections, Leah Moore and John Reppion, David Blamires, Walker Books for Anthony Browne’s illustrations, Rodney Matthews for his illustrations, Chris Beetles Gallery, Bryan Haworth, Robin Allan, Viv Doyle and the two curators Lynne Allan and Emma Marigliano

We are also grateful for the support of (in no particular order):

The Lewis Carroll Society, Vanessa St Clair, Manchester Science Festival, Manchester Children’s Book Festival, The Portico Library Trust, Dr Hannah Priest

For further information please contact Emma Marigliano, Librarian, telephone 0161-236 6785

CFP: Further Adventures in Wonderland: The Afterlife of Alice

Thursday 1st December 2011

A one-day inter-disciplinary conference in Manchester, UK, exploring the influence, interpretation and representation of Alice in Wonderland in contemporary popular culture. Dress and style, music and film - Alice is out of the rabbit hole and into our collective psyche. This conference seeks to address the perennial popularity of Lewis Carroll's creation, and to explore her most recent incarnations.

CALL FOR PAPERS

Papers are sought for this one-day conference in Manchester on representations and interpretations of Alice in Wonderland in popular culture. Possible themes may include (but are not limited to):

• Film, TV and animated adaptations
• Musical adaptations
• Music - pop, punk, rock and metal
• Fashion - from alice bands to stripy tights
• Psychedelia and drug culture
• Gothic Alices - subcultures, dress, artwork
• Disney's Alice
• Merchandise, ephemera, collectibles

Abstracts of 250-300 words (for a 20 minute paper) should be sent via email to the conference convenors by Thursday 1st September 2011.

Selected papers may be invited for inclusion in an academic collection of essays following the conference.

For more information, please click here.