Southwest Journal of Cultures: Welcome to Fall Post 1!

Welcome to Fall Post 1!

This post is the first in our Fall 10 season. As always, our book reviews cover many diverse areas of culture studies. We invite scholars to scan our Anticipated Books and Reviews section (top right of this page) for currently unassigned books that they might wish to review, and to check our Reviewer Guidelines (bottom of this page) to see how to do so. And we encourage readers to engage our reviewers in conversation by posting comments on the reviews.

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Co-Editor Brian Cowlishaw

Brian Cowlishaw, Ph.D. is Associate Professor of Languages & Literature at Northeastern State University, Oklahoma. He has published analyses of popular culture in Reading and Writing about American Popular Culture, Pop Perspectives: Readings to Critique Contemporary Culture, Warnings to the Curious: A Sheaf of Criticism on M. R. James, Intelligent Agent (see http://www.intelligentagent.com/archive/Vol4_No4_gaming_cowlishaw.htm) and Magazine Americana (see http://www.americanpopularculture.com/archive/emerging/real_virtual_combat.htm), among other venues.

Mission Statement

The Southwest Journal of Cultures is an interdisciplinary venue for culture studies. We cover all significant happenings in the study of folk culture, high culture, and popular culture of the American Southwest, past and present. Looking outward, the journal is concerned with a southwestern perspective on national and international culture and culture studies.
We will post reviews of the latest scholarly texts dealing with art, literature, music, theatre, history, geography, politics, and material culture. We invite you, our visitor, to post your responses to our reviews and participate in the on-going discussion of what's new in scholarship of the Southwest, the nation, and the world.
The SJC is a peer-reviewed venue.

SJC Reviewer Guidelines

The mission of the Southwest Journal of Cultures is to review significant books of interest to scholars of the Southwest – keeping in mind that scholars of the Southwest do not study only our region of this country, but the whole world. We are an interdisciplinary journal and therefore value scholarly writing that is as free of professional jargon as reasonably possible. Our unique format as a journal/blog provides us with a specific niche in book reviews: we are fast and lean. Our goal is to have terse (1000 words or fewer), professional scholarly reviews posted within two months of a book’s publication day. We need your help in following our guidelines and making your review as ready for the site as possible.

Deadlines
The SJC expects a book review to be written within 30 days of the reviewer’s receiving the book to ensure that the SJC is fast as befits our medium (the journal/blog). You will be notified by email when we have an estimated arrival time from the publisher who will ship the book to you. Though we expect our reviewers will plan their work so as not to run past the deadline, from time to time we realize that emergencies arise. If a deadline nears and your review is not ready, please contact us by email at cowlishb@nsuok.edu to request an extension. One 10-day extension will be approved; after that point, we reserve the right to request that you return the book to our mailing address, so that another colleague can be commissioned to provide a review.

Brian Cowlishaw, SJC Co-Editor

cowlishb@nsuok.edu
Department of Languages & Literature
Northeastern State University
609 N. Grand
Tahlequah, OK 74464-2302

We will send an email reminder to reviewers about five days prior to due dates.

Length
The SJC has a policy of a 1000-word maximum. If you send in a review that is longer than requested, it will be necessary for us to edit it. If you believe that more space than allotted is necessary for an appropriate review, contact us to request an adjustment; please do not just write an over-the-limit review and send it in.

Focus
We anticipate that reviews will not simply summarize the volume's contents, but will move beyond this to assess the work's contribution in light of collateral studies, evaluate its sources and methods, and/or discuss its implications for future research. Reviewers should avoid the ad hominem attack mode or suggesting that a different book ought to have been written. Likewise, we prefer that reviews shun listing typographical errors and other minor missteps, unless these are so frequent as to indicate very weak editing (in which case a summary statement to this effect will usually serve). Be sure you discuss both the book’s strengths and its weaknesses/limitations. The SJC will not post reviews that are entirely negative or uncritically worshipful.
It is vital to the mission of the SJC that reviewers respect popular culture. The quality of a book’s analysis is what the reviewer is to consider. If your review is dismissive of the book’s subject matter, the SJC will not post it.

Style
Please be sure you format your review in MicroSoft Word, otherwise we will return it to you for reformatting.
Review headings should include the title, author, publisher, ISBN#, publication date, and price.
We understand that disciplines have their own preferred style manual. For the sake of consistency, we ask that all reviewers refer to the MLA Style Manual (available on-line) for all matters with the following exceptions:
- single-space the text
- use Times New Roman font
- no footnotes, endnotes, and only very limited quotations (if any)
- avoid the first person singular or plural
Please send your review as a MicroSoft Word attachment by email to SJC Co-Editor Brian Cowlishaw, at: cowlishb@nsuok.edu

CFP: Paper Award for Graduate Student in Science Fiction and Fantasy Area

Richard Tuerk “Out of This World” Paper Award for Science Fiction and Fantasy

The Richard Tuerk Science Fiction and Fantasy Award recognizes an outstanding graduate student essay presented in the Science Fiction and Fantasy area. The award includes a prize of $100.
Papers should be 15-20 pages long and written in a standard citation style (MLA, APA, Chicago). Please include a cover page with paper title and your full name and contact information.

Deadline for submission: January 15, 2011. Essays may only be submitted electronically (as Microsoft Word, rich text, or pdf file). Send submissions to Tamy Burnett at: tamy.burnett@gmail.com

CFP: Science Fiction and Fantasy Area: Special Area: Doctor Who & Torchwood

Call for Papers Science Fiction and Fantasy Area: Special Area: Doctor Who & Torchwood

PCA/ACA & Southwest/Texas Popular Culture and American Culture Associations
Joint Conference
April 20-23, 2011
San Antonio, TX
http://www.swtxpca.org
Proposal submission deadline: December 15, 2010
Conference hotel: Marriott Rivercenter San Antonio
101 Bowie Street
San Antonio, Texas 78205 USA
Phone: 1-210-223-1000

CFP: Doctor Who & Torchwood SW/TX PCA/ACA (12/15/10; 4/20-23/11)

The 2011 National and Southwest/Texas Popular Culture/American Culture Association Joint Conference, The Marriott Rivercenter, San Antonio, April 20-23, 2011.

This is a special call for papers on the Doctor Who and/or Torchwood television series. The following topics are a small sampling of what might be addressed:

genre (uses of comedy, horror, mystery, science fiction, fantasy, etc.)
philosophy
regeneration(s) of the series
gender
history/historicity
music
auteur-ship
spin-off shows The Sarah Jane Adventures

All Doctor Who and/or Torchwood topics will be considered.

Please send queries and 250-word paper proposals to:

Tamy Burnett, tamy.burnett@gmail.com

Include with the submission full contact information including email, phone, snail mail, and institutional affiliation.

Deadline for proposal submissions: December 15, 2010. Earlier proposals are welcomed and will be responded to with all due haste. The registration deadline is January 7, 2011. All participants must register by that date or they will not be permitted to present or appear in the program.

For more details on the conference, please visit the Southwest/Texas Popular Culture/American Culture Association: http://www.swtxpca.org/documents/home.html.

More about the SF&F Area:
The Area was founded in 1995 by Prof. Richard Tuerk of the Texas A&M University-Commerce (formerly East Texas State University) and author of Oz in Perspective (McFarland, 2007). The Area is currently chaired by Ximena Gallardo C. of the City University of New York-LaGuardia and co-author of Alien Woman: The Making of Lt. Ellen Ripley (Continuum: 2004), Alyson Buckman of the California State University-Sacramento, Tamy Burnett of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and Brian Cowlishaw of Northeastern State University. Though the co-chairs consult on submissions, Ximena is primarily responsible for the general organization of the conference panels and coordinates special panels, Alyson and Tamy coordinate the Whedonverse panels (Buffy, Firefly, Angel, and etc.), and Brian reviews and organizes the literature panels.

Visit us at our Facebook site!
http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?topic=7322&post=37243&uid=53194657668#/group.php?gid=53194657668

With an average of 70+ presenters annually, The Science Fiction and Fantasy Area of the Southwest and Texas Popular Culture and American Culture Association is one of the most dynamic and well attended areas at the conference. Numerous book and article publications have originated from our panels.

Area Co-Chair Names: Alyson Buckman, Tamy Burnett, Brian Cowlishaw, and Ximena Gallardo
Area: Science Fiction and Fantasy
Your Email: tamy.burnett@gmail.com
http://www.swtxpca.org

CFP Science Fiction and Fantasy Area: Special Area: True Blood

Call for Papers Science Fiction and Fantasy Area: Special Area: True Blood

PCA/ACA & Southwest/Texas Popular Culture and American Culture Associations
Joint Conference
April 20-23, 2011
San Antonio, TX
http://www.swtxpca.org
Proposal submission deadline: December 15, 2010
Conference hotel: Marriott Rivercenter San Antonio
101 Bowie Street
San Antonio, Texas 78205 USA
Phone: 1-210-223-1000

CFP: True Blood SW/TX PCA/ACA (12/15/10; 4/20-23/11)

The 2011 National and Southwest/Texas Popular Culture/American Culture Association Joint Conference, The Marriott Rivercenter, San Antonio, April 20-23, 2011.

This is a special CFP on the television series True Blood.

We especially encourage presentations on:

The series’ vampire mythos in relation to other vampire archetypes/popular constructions of vampires
The construction of the American South
Socioeconomic class
Sexuality & Gender Performance
Race & Ethnicity
Violence, Sex & Eroticism
The Music of True Blood
The adaptation/transformation of the Sookie Stackhouse novels by Charlaine Harris into the television series
Fan culture

All related topics will be considered.

Please send queries and 250-word paper proposals to:

Tamy Burnett, tamy.burnett@gmail.com

Include with the submission full contact information including email, phone, snail mail, and institutional affiliation.

Deadline for proposal submissions: December 15, 2010. Earlier proposals are welcomed and will be responded to with all due haste. The registration deadline is January 7, 2011. All participants must register by that date or they will not be permitted to present or appear in the program.

For more details on the conference, please visit the Southwest/Texas Popular Culture/American Culture Association: http://www.swtxpca.org/documents/home.html.

More about the SF&F Area:
The Area was founded in 1995 by Prof. Richard Tuerk of the Texas A&M University-Commerce (formerly East Texas State University) and author of Oz in Perspective (McFarland, 2007). The Area is currently chaired by Ximena Gallardo C. of the City University of New York-LaGuardia and co-author of Alien Woman: The Making of Lt. Ellen Ripley (Continuum: 2004), Alyson Buckman of the California State University-Sacramento, Tamy Burnett of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and Brian Cowlishaw of Northeastern State University. Though the co-chairs consult on submissions, Ximena is primarily responsible for the general organization of the conference panels and coordinates special panels, Alyson and Tamy coordinate the Whedonverse panels (Buffy, Firefly, Angel, and etc.), and Brian reviews and organizes the literature panels.

Visit us at our Facebook site!
http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?topic=7322&post=37243&uid=53194657668#/group.php?gid=53194657668

With an average of 70+ presenters annually, The Science Fiction and Fantasy Area of the Southwest and Texas Popular Culture and American Culture Association is one of the most dynamic and well attended areas at the conference. Numerous book and article publications have originated from our panels.

Area Co-Chair Names: Alyson Buckman, Tamy Burnett, Brian Cowlishaw, and Ximena Gallardo
Area: Science Fiction and Fantasy
Your Email: tamy.burnett@gmail.com
http://www.swtxpca.org

CFP Science Fiction and Fantasy Area: The Works of Joss Whedon

Call for Papers Science Fiction and Fantasy Area: The Works of Joss Whedon

National PCA/ACA & Southwest/Texas Popular Culture and American Culture Associations
Joint Conference
April 20-23, 2011
San Antonio, TX
http://www.swtxpca.org
Proposal submission deadline: December 15, 2010
Conference hotel: Marriott Rivercenter San Antonio
101 Bowie Street
San Antonio, Texas 78205 USA
Phone: 1-210-223-1000

CFP: The Works of Joss Whedon, SW/TX PCA/ACA (12/15/10; 4/20-23/11)

Join us at the 2011 Southwest/Texas Popular Culture/American Culture Association 32^nd Annual Conference to be held in conjunction with the National PCA/ACA conference!

This is a special CFP on the works of Joss Whedon, including: Dollhouse, Dr. Horrible’s Sing-along Blog, Buffy, Angel, Firefly, Serenity, comics (Buffy season 8, Astonishing X-Men, Runaways, Spike, Angel, Fray, Sugarshock), and Cabin in the Woods.

We especially encourage presentations on:

Cabin in the Woods
Dollhouse
Dr. Horrible’s Sing-along Blog
Genre transformations: Buffy and Angel’s continuations and transformations into comics (Buffy season 8/Angel: After the Fall) or Firefly’s transformation into Serenity, etc.
Whedon’s work on Astonishing X-Men, Runaways, Fray, and/or Tales of the Vampires/Tales of the Slayers
The construction of place and space
The intersections of memory, identity, and consciousness
Socioeconomic class
Sexuality & gender performance
Race & ethnicity
Teaching Joss Whedon’s work
The influence and styles of writers from the “Whedon school of television writing,” such as Jane Espenson, David Greenwalt, Tim Minear, Marti Noxon, etc.

All Whedonverse topics will be considered. Please be sure to check out the essays published in Slayage: the Online Journal of Buffy Studies as well as the multiple publications on Whedon’s work prior to submitting. Familiarity with the field is expected.

Deadline for proposal submissions: December 15, 2010. Earlier proposals are welcomed and will be responded to with all due haste. The registration deadline is December 15, 2010. All participants must register by that date or will not be permitted to present or appear in the program.

Please send (preferably electronic) queries, 250 word paper proposals, and 500 word panel proposals to BOTH Alyson Buckman (abuckman@saclink.csus.edu) AND Tamy Burnett (tamy.burnett@gmail.com). Include full contact info (name, institutional affiliation if any, snail mail address, phone and fax numbers, and e-mail) for all participants, working titles for proposals, as well as current curriculum vitae.

Snail mail contact info: (if preferred)

Alyson Buckman, PhD
Department of Humanities and Religious Studies

6000 J St.

California State University, Sacramento

Sacramento, CA 95819-6083

916-278-5335

Tamy Burnett
Department of English

202 Andrews Hall
University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Lincoln, NE 68588-0333

402-310-4972

For more details on the conference, please visit the Southwest/Texas Popular Culture/American Culture Association: http://www.swtxpca.org or the Science Fiction and Fantasy Area Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?topic=7322&post=37243&uid=53194657668#/group.php?gid=53194657668

Whedonverse proposals should be submitted solely to the addresses above (abuckman@saclink.csus.edu and tamy.burnett@gmail.com). Other Science Fiction and Fantasy proposals should go to Ximena Gallardo: ximena_gallardo_c@yahoo.com

Register early for discounted cost and to reserve space at the conference hotel as discounted rooms fill quickly.

More about the SF&F Area

The Area was founded in 1995 by Prof. Richard Tuerk of the Texas A&M University-Commerce (formerly East Texas State University) and author of Oz in Perspective (McFarland, 2007). The Area is currently chaired by Ximena Gallardo C. of the City University of New York-LaGuardia, Alyson Buckman of the California State University-Sacramento, Tamy Burnett of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and Brian Cowlishaw of Northeastern State University, all of whom have published in the area of Science Fiction and Fantasy. Though the co-chairs consult on submissions, Ximena is primarily responsible for the general organization of the conference panels and coordinating special topics, Alyson and Tamy coordinate the Whedonverse panels (Buffy, Firefly, Angel, Dollhou0se, and etc.), and Brian reviews and organizes the literature panels.

With an average of 70+ presenters annually, The Science Fiction and Fantasy Area of the Southwest and Texas Popular Culture and American Culture Association is one of the most dynamic and well-attended areas at the conference; we were honored last year for our leadership within the conference. Numerous publications have originated from our panels.

Area Co-Chair Names: Alyson Buckman, Tamy Burnett, Brian Cowlishaw, and Ximena Gallardo
Area: Science Fiction and Fantasy
Your Email: abuckman@csus.edu; tamy.burnett@gmail.com
http://www.swtxpca.org

CFP Science Fiction and Fantasy Area: Twilight Series

Call for Papers Science Fiction and Fantasy Area: Twilight Series

National PCA/ACA & Southwest/Texas Popular Culture and American Culture Associations
Joint Conference
April 20-23, 2011
San Antonio, TX
http://www.swtxpca.org
Proposal submission deadline: December 15, 2010
Conference hotel: Marriott Rivercenter San Antonio
101 Bowie Street
San Antonio, Texas 78205 USA
Phone: 1-210-223-1000

This is a special call for papers on the Twilight book/movie series. The following topics are a small sampling of what might be addressed:

*sexuality and chastity in the series

*violence in the series, particularly violence against women

*translation of the books into movies

*the Twilight books as young adult literature

*Twilight fan culture including online fandom

*intersections with other vampire and werewolf mythos

*gender

Please send queries and 250-word paper proposals to:

Brian Cowlishaw, Ph. D.

cowlishb@nsuok.edu

Or, if you prefer ground mail, send proposals to Dr. Cowlishaw at:

Department of Languages and Literature

Northeastern State University

609 N. Grand Ave.

Tahlequah, Oklahoma 74464

(918) 444-3621

Include with your submission full contact information including email, phone, ground mail, and institutional affiliation.

Deadline for proposal submissions: December 15, 2010. Earlier proposals are welcomed and will be responded to with all due haste. The registration deadline is December 15, 2010. All participants must register by that date or will not be permitted to present or appear in the program.

For more details on the conference, please visit the Southwest/Texas Popular Culture/American Culture Association: http://www.swtxpca.org/documents/home.html.

More about the SF&F Area

The Area was founded in 1995 by Prof. Richard Tuerk of the Texas A&M University-Commerce (formerly East Texas State University) and author of Oz in Perspective (McFarland, 2007). The Area is currently chaired by Ximena Gallardo C. of the City University of New York-LaGuardia and co-author of Alien Woman: The Making of Lt. Ellen Ripley (Continuum: 2004), Alyson Buckman of the California State University-Sacramento, Tamy Burnett of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and Brian Cowlishaw of Northeastern State University. Though the co-chairs consult on submissions, Ximena is primarily responsible for the general organization of the conference panels and coordinates special panels, Alyson and Tamy coordinate the Whedonverse panels (Buffy, Firefly, Angel, etc.), and Brian reviews and organizes the literature panels.

Visit us at our Facebook site!

http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?topic=7322&post=37243&uid=53194657668#/group.php?gid=53194657668

With an average of 70+ presenters annually, The Science Fiction and Fantasy Area of the Southwest and Texas Popular Culture and American Culture Association is one of the most dynamic and well-attended areas at the conference. Numerous book and article publications have originated from our panels.

CFP: Mystery Science Theater 3000

Call for Essays: Academic Studies of Mystery Science Theater 3000

Seeking more submissions to a book of scholarly essays interpreting MST3K from compelling academic perspectives. We have received several excellent proposals thus far but would prefer to produce a longer book, so we are reopening the call. Some topic possibilities include:
• Narrative structure
• Literary criticism
• Recurring themes
• The show’s treatment of specific cultural or social issues and/or public figures
• Iconic episodes and their significance
• Film studies approaches

Please submit one-page essay proposal and preliminary bibliography as MS Word document to Dr. Shelley Rees at srees@usao.edu. Proposals due September 7, 2010.

CFP: Religion and Popular Culture

Call for Papers: Religion and Popular CulturePCA/ACA & Southwest/Texas Popular Culture and American Culture Associations Joint Conference

April 20-23, 2011

San Antonio, TX

http://www.swtxpca.org

Proposal submission deadline: December 15, 2010

Conference hotel: Marriott Rivercenter San Antonio

101 Bowie Street

San Antonio, Texas 78205 USA

Hotel Phone: 1-210-223-1000

The 32nd annual SW/TX PCA/ACA conference will take place jointly with the PCA/ACA national conference, occurring April 20-23, 2011, at the Marriott Rivercenter in vibrant San Antonio, Texas (just steps from the popular Riverwalk). Further conference details are available at http://www.swtxpca.org .

Panels are now forming for all SW/TX PCA/ACA 80+ individual subject areas, including the Religion and Popular Culture area. This is a great conference both for younger scholars and seasoned veterans. The papers are always interesting; the discussion is thoughtful, challenging, and fun. People are laid back and glad to talk about the various aspects of pop culture. Religion scholars often find that religion is a subject in many other areas of the conference as well.

Proposals are invited from a broad range of perspectives. Yoga, quilting, football, hot rods, hip hop, consumerism, militarism, Christianity--all forms of religion are open for discussion. Papers on religion in the Southwest would be particularly appreciated. If you’re not sure that your topic fits, just ask.

We had some great papers last year, followed by interesting and thought-provoking discussions. Let’s do it again.

Paper are welcome from graduate students as well as established scholars. We are aiming for variety and cross-disciplinary dialogue rather than narrowly focused discussions.

Please send a brief abstract with short bio to:

wesley.bergen@wichita.edu

or snailmail to:

Wes Bergen

Dept. of Religion

Wichita State University

Wichita, KS

67260-0076

Registration: http://swtxpca.org

Southwest Journal of Cultures

Welcome to Fall Post 1!

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Associated Links

Southwest Journal of Cultures Archive

SW/TX PCA/ACA Conference Coverage Archive