CONFERENCE: CALL FOR PAPERS

FILM AND HISTORY CONFERENCE, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, Cape
Town, South Africa, 6-8 July, 2002.

Organisers:
Lesley Marx, Department of English Language and Literature 
Richard Mendelsohn, Department of Historical Studies 
Vivian Bickford-Smith, Department of Historical Studies 

This conference aims to stimulate research in the field of film and
history in Africa by bringing together scholars from within and beyond
the continent. The organisers particularly invite papers within the
following areas:

1) Africa in film. We would hope that there would be panels on, for
example, the representation of Francophone Africa's past; Apartheid
South Africa in documentary or docudrama; Postcolonial Africa/the New
South Africa in documentary.

2) The problem of historical representation on film, whether
documentary or feature film.

3) Hollywood's historical controversies. Papers would be welcome on
Hollywood's treatment of the past in such films as Gladiators, U571,
The Patriot or any of their predecessors.

4)Alternatives to Hollywood history. We invite papers which deal
either with the treatment of the past in national cinemas other than
the American, or on films which challenge Hollywood representations of
the past in form or content, or both.

5)The question of representing the Holocaust on film.

6) The city/urban in film. Papers would be welcome which deal either
with the representation of the urban in general in film, or which deal
with particular cities.

7) Biographical films. Papers on either feature films or documentaries
would be welcome.

8) Television histories whether documentaries or docudramas.

9) Postcoloniality in film beyond Africa.


Proposals/abstracts for papers (maximum 200 words) should be sent to
one of the following by 1 July, 2001.

Richard Mendelsohn (rmend@beattie.uct.ac.za) [away until end-June] / Vivian Bickford-Smith (vbs@beattie.uct.ac.za)