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Call for Papers for the 36th Annual Conference of the German Studies Association Kansas City, Missouri, September 18-21, 2014 Deadline: January 24, 2014 DEFA and America. Screening the Cold War in East and West. We invite abstracts (200-300 words) of papers for a series of panels exploring the multiple relationships between film-making in the former GDR and the USA during the Cold War (and its aftermath). While many studies of DEFA to date have focused on East German Cinema as a primarily national phenomenon, the aim of these panels is to situate East German film production within a broader transnational context, and to consider DEFA’s changing role in the culture of the Cold War not only in terms of European art-house cinema, but also in the light of developments in popular and genre cinema in the USA (including Hollywood). We welcome proposals for papers that analyze some of the many different ways in which the USA and its role in the Cold War are mediated in East German cinema (in both documentary and feature films). We are particularly interested in submissions that seek to widen current critical debates by considering the impact of contrasting models of industrial film production in East and West, and which address such issues as technology, distribution, marketing, import/export, mise-en-scene, music, color, and the management of the star system to name but some. In what ways did DEFA seek to respond to developments in film production in the USA (including both popular and genre cinema)? In this context we also welcome proposals for papers that explore the impact of television on the representation of the USA in East German film-making. Finally we are keen to solicit proposals that consider what might loosely be described as the ‘American discovery of Eastern Europe’, and that explore the ways in which filmmakers and actors from the USA working within both popular and art-house cinema have engaged with the GDR and its role during the Cold War. Our intention is to publish a selection of these papers (in English) in an edited volume for which final versions would be required by 1 May 2015 Please note two important GSA rules: 1. All panel participants including the commentator and moderator must be registered GSA members by February 17, 2014. No individual at the GSA Conference may give more than one paper/participate in a seminar or participate in more than two separate capacities. Please send abstracts, plus a brief cv (in the form of a paragraph), and a specific request of AV needs, if applicable, before January 24 to both: • Carol Anne Costabile Heming (University of North Texas) at [log in to unmask] • Seán Allan (University of Warwick, UK) at [log in to unmask] Successful applicants will be informed by February 7, 2014. Posted by: Carol Anne Costabile Heming and Seán Allan