What happens next : the mechanics of serialization

La « sérialisation », le fait de concevoir des productions destinées à ne pas donner lieu à un seul film, livre ou jeu : voici le concept sur lequel deux chercheurs d’une université néerlandaise (Amsterdam) nous invitent à réfléchir. Spirou, Asterix, Thorgal… La France publie des séries très anciennes (plus de 70 ans pour Spirou, 50 ans pour Astérix) et prolifiques : les évoquer retiendrait certainement l’attention des organisateurs, surtout si le chercheur parvient à mettre en évidence les mécanismes d’écriture ou de publication cachés derrière ces créations. La lecture du livre d’Hugues Dayez (Le duel Tintin-Spirou, éditions Luc Pire) fournit pour ce faire un matériau des plus intéressant. Date limite : 24 janvier 2011.

The recent explosion of popular serialized forms, from Lost and Battlestar Galactica to computer game expansion packs, has provoked renewed interest in the economics and mechanics of serialization as well as the impact of this cultural form on readers, viewers and gamers. How do contemporary serials relate to earlier forms of serialization, and how do they affect our understanding of the concept of serialization? What are the economic, narratological, and social effects of contemporary serials? And where does the form go from here?

This conference is intended to give graduate students from different fields of study the opportunity to present and exchange ideas on the concept and mechanics of serialization. It is hoped that interaction and discussion will allow graduate students to both share their knowledge and gain new expertise in this exciting area of research. Moreover, it is hoped that this conference will be able to help form ideas about how serialization can be conceptualized across disciplines as diverse as literary history, economics, narratology, television studies and cultural analysis.

We invite proposals for twenty-minute research papers addressing any aspect of serialization; and collaborative panels of two to three papers. Possible subjects include, but are not limited to, the impact of serialization in 19th century literature, the relationship between serialization and notions of authorship, webserials, the mechanics or economics of serials, the effect of serialization on science fiction, newspapers, comics and downloadable game content. Graduate students are encouraged to approach serialization from the perspective of their particular field to give the conference an interdisciplinary character.

Conference dates: 25 – 26 March, 2011.

Keynote speakers: Dr. Joyce Goggin and Dr. Mark Turner.

Deadline for abstracts: 24 January 2011.

Please send your abstracts and inquiries to uvaserialization@gmail.com, and watch http://www.hum.uva.nl/serialization/ for updates.

Rob Allen and Thijs v.d. Berg

University of Amsterdam, Institute for Culture and History

Spuistraat 210, room 5.01

1012 VT Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Email: uvaserialization@gmail.com

Visit the website at http://www.hum.uva.nl/serialization/

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