Call For Papers:  Investigating Angel
Editor: Stacey Abbott, The University of Surrey Roehampton, UK
Publisher: IB Taurus

We are seeking proposals for a collection entitled Investigating Angel.


Following the phenomenal success of the first three seasons of Buffy the
Vampire Slayer, Joss Whedon and fellow BtVS writer and producer David
Greenwalt risked moving two of its star characters, Angel -the vampire with
a soul- and the wealthy and acerbic Cordelia Chase, to their own spin-off
series, Angel.  The removal of Angel, a peripheral character but significant
love interest for Buffy Summers, was a risk. Would the ever-brooding Angel
be of interest on his own and what would BtVS find to replace the tragic
romance between vampire and Slayer that dominated its first three years?
The result was that the move enabled significant growth for both characters,
expanded the Buffyverse beyond Sunnydale and introduced a radically new type
of series in Angel, specifically aimed at the adult audiences who were
increasingly being drawn to Buffy.

In the light of recent discussions of American Quality Television, Angel
demonstrates how the commercial convention of the spin-off, designed to
capitalise upon a successful formula, has been appropriated by the series’
creators to allow for an even more complex televisual experience.  Rather
then simply repeating the formula of BtVS, this series established its own
structure, style and themes as well enabling the writers to develop complex
narratives that span across the two shows.

Recently renewed for a fifth season and with the recent conclusion to the
series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel is expected to take centre stage in
2003-2004. BtVS’ favourite vampire Spike has been signed to Angel while
regulars from BtVS are expected to make guest appearances. As a result the
series should expect transference of loyalty in the absence of Buffy.
Furthermore, the climax to season four called into question all of the
events of the four preceding years and ended with the team of Angel
Investigations taking over the premises of their corporate nemeses, Wolfram
and Hart. These events suggest the end of one era for the show and the
beginning of a new format, distinct from previous seasons of Angel as well
as BtVS.  This makes it an ideal time for a serious critical study of the
first four years of Angel as it evolved past being an extension of the Buffy
narrative into a dynamic show in its own right.

We solicit proposals for a collection of essays exploring the series Angel
in its own right rather then simply as an extension of Buffy the Vampire
Slayer. We welcome a wide range of critical approaches from across
disciplines to engage with the series’ complexity of narrative, genre, style
and theme. Essays can examine both individual episodes as well as broader
narrative or character arcs.

The aim of the collection will be to explore themes and aspects of the
series that are specific to Angel. We would therefore particularly welcome
proposals that examine the impact of locating the series in Los Angeles, the
introduction of a corporate villain, Wolfram and Hart, and how the series
negotiates issues of masculinity in crisis. Essays focusing on other male
characters in addition to Angel are encouraged. Wherever possible, papers
should consider the series’ distinct visual style alongside discussions of
theme or representation, as this is an area that often gets overlooked in
favour of thematic readings.

We would also welcome discussion of the series within the context of
American Quality Television.  This book is part of a growing focus within
academic studies upon contemporary American television, as exemplified by
recent books on The X-Files, The Sopranos, The West Wing, as well as IB
Taurus’ Reading the Vampire Slayer: An Unofficial Critical Companion to
Buffy and Angel (Kaveney, 2002) and its upcoming Reading Sex and the City
(McCabe and Akass, forthcoming 2003).

Possible topics for discussion include, but are not limited to:

Narrative and Genre in American Quality Television
·     Narrative arcs
·     Crossovers with BtVS
·     Generic hybridity
·     Structuring narrative for television
·     Temporality and the flashback

City of Angel: The Fragmented Cultures of Los Angeles
·     Moving to LA: Angel and the legacy of urban noir/urban gothic
·     Demons as Other/Demons as Us: Exploring the racial plurality of LA
·     Making the invisible visible: Gangs, runaways and the violence of the
street
·     Vampires and Demons: Metaphors for alternative sexualities
·     Mixing the real LA with the fantasy LA in the Angelverse
·     Gender, sexuality, the femme fatale
·     Police corruption

Terrors of Family Life
·     Incest, family violence, child abuse, neglect
·     Demonic pregnancies, monstrous mothers, vampire mothers vs human mothers
·     The collapse of fatherhood
·     Vampires as alternative families
·     Inbreeding in vampire families

Genre and the Masculine Crisis
·     Construction and deconstruction of the superhero
·     Family horror: themes of incest and family violence in Angel
·     Vampire Families: Monstrous Mothers and Failed Fathers
·     Male adolescent angst and growing up
·     Life in and out of the ‘hood: The Crisis of Charles Gunn

Wolfram and Hart: Legal Vultures as the Biggest Big Bad
·     Legal and corporate corruption
·     Evils of capitalism and globalisation
·     Gender politics in the corporate world
·     Law and lawlessness in the Angelverse

We invite contributors to submit an abstract of up to 500 words by the 15th
December, 2003  to:

[log in to unmask]

Or by mail to:

Dr. Stacey Abbott
Film and Television Studies
School of Humanities and Cultural Studies
University of Surrey Roehampton
Digby Stuart College
Roehampton Lane
London SW15 5PH

Please include a brief biography.

If your proposal is accepted for the collection, you will have until the
14th May, 2004 to complete it.  The book is planned for a Spring 2005
publication.

Stacey Abbott is lecturer in Film and Television Studies at the University
of Surrey Roehampton. She has written on Buffy the Vampire Slayer and her
PhD thesis was an examination of the modern vampire in American cinema and
television.






Dr. Stacey Abbott
Film and Television Studies
School of Humanities and Cultural Studies
University of Surrey Roehampton
Digby Stuart College
Roehampton Lane
London SW15 5PH

Tel: 020 8392 3439
Fax: 020 8392 3687


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