Hi to all,

perhaps of interest.

Best,
Roberto

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3rd Global Conference

Urban Fantasies: Magic and the Supernatural

15th March - 17th March 2012

Prague, Czech Republic

Call for Papers:

Jimmy Paz. Harry Dresden. Matthew Swift. Felix Castor. Sookie
Stackhouse and Bill Compton.

These are among the more recent characters that fill the shelves of
“Urban Fantasy” in local or online bookshops. The novels that
constitute the genre are set in cities or gritty inner-cities and
contain one or more fantastic elements. Alien races, mythological
characters, paranormal beings, and the manipulation of magical forces
all appear in these novels. Self-esteem issues and tragic pasts often
color or shape the principal characters. Although most often
“contemporary,” the tales are sometimes set in the past or future
as well. The books and stories demonstrate how magic or the
supernatural interact with everyday quotidian life, either changing it
forever (as in the *Shadow Saga*) or remaining a hidden force that
protects the unknowing residents of the city (as in *The Chamber of
Ten*).

This “Urban Fantasy” thread is part of a larger project concerned
with Magic and the Supernatural in all its myriad forms. The
fascination and appeal of magic and supernatural entities pervades
societies and cultures. The continuing appeal of these characters is a
testimony to how they shape our daydreams and our nightmares, as well
as how we yearn for something that is “more” or “beyond” what
we can see-touch-taste-feel. Children still avoid stepping on cracks,
lovers pluck petals from a daisy, cards are dealt and tea leaves read.

A belief in magic as a means of influencing the world seems to have
been common in all cultures. Some of these beliefs crossed over into
nascent religions, influencing rites and religious celebrations. Over
time, religiously-based supernatural events (”miracles”) acquired
their own flavour, separating themselves from standard magic. Some
modern religions such as the Neopaganisms embrace connections to
magic, while others retain only echoes of their distant origins.

Papers from any discipline are welcome on any aspect of the Urban
Fantasy genre as well as those concerned with Magic and the
Supernatural in more general terms or other subheadings. Possible
subjects include, but are not limited to, these:

* Gender and sexual stereotypes/roles in UF stories

* Updating and rewriting of traditional mythologies in UF

* Role of / interaction of magic/philosophy/religion in UF

* Magical practice as religion in UF

* Changes in UF as reflections of /opposition to contemporary
culture

* Cultural and racial stereotypes in UF

* Comparison of UF and other fantasy sub-genres

* Importance of geographic location (ex. London, Salzburg, Venice)
in UF

* Importance of historical accuracy and fidelity in UF

* Explanations for how “magic” functions/operates in varying UF
stories

* Magic as “paranormal,” anything alleged to exist that is not
explainable by any present laws of science

* the distinctions between “magic” and “religion” and
“science”

* Magical thinking and the equation of coincidence with causality

* Folk magic and “traditional” systems of magic

* “Magick” and “Wicca” as religious systems in modern
society

* Witchcraft in the European context

* “Witchcraft” and animism in African or Asian contexts

* Magic as illusion, stagecraft, sleight-of-hand

* Magic in modern literature (ex. Harry Potter, Harry Dresden, the
saga of Middle Earth, the Chronicles of Narnia, etc.) and in
traditional literatures (folk or fairy tales, legends, mythologies,
etc.)

* Magic in art and the depiction of magical creatures, practices or
practitioners

* the associations of magic with the “monstrous” or “evil;”
does one imply the presence of the other?

* the portrayal of magic, magical creatures, and magical practices
or practitioners on television and in film

* the roles or uses of magic in video games, on-line communities,
role-playing games, subcultural formations and identities

* the similarities and differences of magical creatures across
societies and time periods

* the interplay of “magic” and “religion” as well as
“science”

* the “sciences” of demonology and angelology

* the role of divination or prophecy in societies or religions

* the use of “natural” vs. “supernatural” explanations for
world events

* Magic and the supernatural as coping mechanisms for individuals
and societies

The Steering Group also welcomes the submission of pre-formed panel
proposals. 300 word abstracts should be submitted by Friday 30th
September 2011. All submissions are minimally double blind peer
reviewed where appropriate. If an abstract is accepted for the
conference, a full draft paper should be submitted by Friday 27th
January 2012. Abstracts should be submitted simultaneously to the
Organising Chairs; abstracts may be in Word, WordPerfect, or RTF
formats with the following information and in this order:

a) author(s), b) affiliation, c) email address, d) title of abstract,
e) body of abstract

Please use plain text (Times Roman 12) and abstain from using
footnotes and any special formatting, characters or emphasis (such as
bold, italics or underline). We acknowledge receipt and answer to all
paper proposals submitted. If you do not receive a reply from us in a
week you should assume we did not receive your proposal; it might be
lost in cyberspace! We suggest, then, to look for an alternative
electronic route or resend.

Organising Chairs

Stephen Morris

Hub Leader (Evil)

Independent Scholar

New York, USA

Email: [log in to unmask]

Rob Fisher

Network Founder and Network Leader

Inter-Disciplinary.Net,

Freeland, Oxfordshire, UK

Email: [log in to unmask]

The conference is part of the ‘At the Interface’ programme of
research projects. It aims to bring together people from different
areas and interests to share ideas and explore various discussions
which are innovative and exciting.

All papers accepted for and presented at this conference will be
eligible for publication in an ISBN eBook. Selected papers maybe
invited for development for publication in a themed hard copy
volume(s) or for inclusion in the Perspectives on Evil journal
(relaunching 2011).

For further details of the project, please visit:

http://www.inter-disciplinary.net/at-the-interface/evil/magic-and-the-supernatural/

For further details of the conference, please visit:

http://www.inter-disciplinary.net/at-the-interface/evil/magic-and-the-supernatural/call-for-papers/

Please note: Inter-Disciplinary.Net is a not-for-profit network and
we are not in a position to be able to assist with conference travel
or subsistence.
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