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<html><head><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8"></head><body style="font-family:Arial;font-size:14px"><p>Dear colleagues,<br>
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We are pleased to announce a Call for Papers for an interdisciplinary international conference <em>Film and History: The Korean Example i</em>n November 2015. The date for the conference is 5-6 November 2015. We are particularly delighted that this conference will be held within the London Korean Film Festival 2015 (2.- 14. November) which is set to celebrate its tenth anniversary, and that a number of renowned Korean film directors and practitioners will be joining the conference.<br>
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<strong>Call for Papers<br>
<u><span style="font-size:16px;">Film and History: The Korean Example</span></u></strong><br>
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<strong><span style="font-size:14px;">Centre of Korean Studies & Centre for Film Studies, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London<br>
In support of The London Korean Film Festival in London/Korean Cultural Centre UK</span><br>
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Dates:</strong> <strong> 5-6 November 2015<br>
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Venue: SOAS</strong> (School of Oriental and African Studies), University of London, Russell Square, Thornhaugh Street, London WC1B 5 DN and Korean Cultural Centre UK, Grand Buildings, 1-3 Strand London WC2N 5BW (TBC)<br>
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Cinema has become a battle ground upon which history is made – a major mass medium of the twentieth century dealing with history. Films with historical incidents include not only historical drama and documentary but also other genres such as melodrama, modern political drama, thrillers, martial arts and war films. The social functions of these films are also diverse: from remembering, writing or inventing national histories to educating and transporting spectators to enable them to deal with experienced or future catastrophes.<br>
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The re-enactments of historical events in film straddle reality and fantasy, documentary and fiction, representation and performance, entertainment and education. The filmic forms of collective cultural memory offer wide-ranging research possibilities in the fields of history, film, media and cultural studies.<br>
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In recent years, research on film and history, particularly war films, has noticeably increased. Several film theorists have already raised questions such as; can film make a positive contribution to the explanation of history? Can filmic depictions function as historical source material? Can film offer particular knowledge which other media cannot provide? These questions are increasingly relevant as our multimedia society continues to evolve.<br>
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The following conference aims to explore the changing modes, impacts and functions of screen images dealing with history with the case study of Korean cinema. As with all national film industries, observing North and South Korean film histories, Korean cinema functions as a mass medium of inventing national identity, national history and also establishing their legitimacy – both in forgetting the past and remembering history. Korean films also play a part in forging cultural national memory. Korea as a colonized and divided nation clearly adopted different approaches to the filmic depiction of history compared to colonial powers such as Western or Japanese cinema. The Korean War (1950-53) draws particular attention as this has been a major topic shaping the narrative of nation in North and South Korean films.<br>
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Why does film need history, and history film? Why has film become an important medium to interpret history, correct or even invent it? In what way are independent single author films different from recent blockbuster historical dramas? Which historical figures, battles and events became filmic myths? In which way, and with what kind of film- and genre aesthetics (compared to other media), have the characters of the mythic figures, for example General Yi Sun Shin, continued or changed? Why are they popular? With which theoretical tools can we describe the historical re-enactment in each film in the appropriate way?<br>
This interdisciplinary conference will examine the relationship between film and history and the links between historical research and filmic presentations of history with special reference to North and South Korean cinema. The above questions will be explored. Papers on other aspects of Film and History will also be considered.<br>
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<u>Call for Papers</u><br>
Proposals for individual papers (presentations will be limited to 20 Minutes) and/or 90-minute panel sessions should include an abstract of 300 words and the name, institutional affiliation, a 100 word biography of the author, and the title of the paper. Please send proposals in a WORD file by <strong>Monday, 3 August 2015</strong> to Dr. Hyunseon Lee <a href="mailto:hs53@soas.ac.uk">hs53@soas.ac.uk</a><br>
We aim to notify successful applicants by 14 August 2015. Participants are encouraged to send the complete paper of 5,500 - 6,000 words by October 15th, 2015. Please note that selected papers from the conference will be considered for publication. For all enquiries, please contact Dr. Hyunseon Lee <a href="mailto:hs53@soas.ac.uk">hs53@soas.ac.uk</a><br>
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<u>Reimbursements</u><br>
This is a non-profit event which is free and open to the public. We therefore encourage successful applicants to apply for funding from their own university. The organizers will make an effort to secure funding for accommodation and economy travel expenses to presenters (from outside London) whose papers have been accepted. Further details will be confirmed when the paper has been accepted.<br>
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Best wishes<br>
Hyunseon Lee<br>
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........................................<br>
Hyunseon Lee, PhD. habil.<br>
Centre of Korean Studies & Centre for Film Studies<br>
SOAS, University of London<br>
Russell Square, Thornhaugh Street, London WC1B 5 DN, UK</p></body></html>