CALL – for papers for Networking Knowledge: Journal of the MeCCSA-PGN

The Biographical Narrative in Popular Culture, Media and Communication 

Deadline for abstracts: 1 May 2012 
Deadline for completed articles: 1 September 2012

In the past decade biographical narratives – personalised histories of the recent and distant past –have taken on an increasingly central role in contemporary culture. The longstanding film and television genre of the ‘Biopic’ has become more commercially and critically successful than ever before. For example, in 2010 Biopic The Kings Speech won the Best Picturing and Director ‘Oscars’ and, as a testament to the genres acting prestige, three of the four acting Academy awards were also awarded for performances in The Kings Speech and sports Biopic, The Fighter.

Television schedules have also begun to be dominated by documentaries and ‘reality TV’ programming documenting the lives of celebrities and ‘ordinary people’ and American cable network HBO continues to produce prestigious mini-series based on biographical narratives, such as The Pacific (2010) and John Adams (2008). Meanwhile, the growth of social media forums and blogging applications has made it easier for individuals to create their own personal biographies online.

Abstracts (500 words max) for papers of between 6,000 and 8,000 words, which consider the place of the biographical narrative in popular culture, media or communication are invited from postgraduate students and early career researchers across the humanities and social sciences.  Accepted papers will be published in a special issue of Networking Knowledge: Journal of the MeCCSA-PGN.  Possible topics might include, but are not limited to:

•       The genre of the biopic in film and television fictions

•       Biographical narratives in the creation of and star and celebrity personas

•       Biographical narratives and issues of gender, ethnicity and sexuality

•       Biographical narratives as created through social media

•       Biographies as created in ‘reality’ and documentary television

•       The presentation of biographical profiles in journalistic publications

Abstracts and enquiries should be directed to the issue’s guest editor Victoria Kearley at vlk204@soton.ac.uk. For any further information, please contact Victoria or NK general editor, Tom Phillips, at knowledge.networking257@gmail.com.