Dear Hugo and all, 
In case you missed it



Call for Papers: Edited Collection, "Ethics in Screenwriting"

Dear SRN Colleagues,

Building on the recent discussion of the ethics of screenwriting on the
SRN list I would like to invite expressions of interest for an edited book
collection on this topic, with the intention of submitting a proposal to
Palgrave Macmillan for inclusion in their Palgrave Studies in
Screenwriting Series. While I am a co-editor of this book series, the
acceptance of this proposal would be subject to standard, independent
editorial decisions. The editors would be looking for high quality
scholarly engagement with the topic that advances the field of
screenwriting research, as per their guidelines. So this call to the SRN
is in the first instance a chance to see what is out there, and whether
there is a collection emerging. It will be interesting to see! After
taking stock of what we have I would then widen the call to other scholars
and associations. I would take the responsibility of crafting a proposal
to Palgrave with a view of obtaining a commission and work towards
publication in late 2015. I would write the introduction and possibly one
other chapter.
 
Although I am perhaps best known as the author of Screenwriting: History,
Theory, Practice (Wallflower/Columbia UP 2009) I also teach media ethics
and am author of Objectivity in Journalism (Polity, 2013), so I hope to
bring expertise in screenwriting and media ethics to the successful
realisation of this project. I have presented on the topic of ethics of
screenwriting to SRN conferences in 2012 (Sydney) and 2013 (Madison). I am
currently working on a project on Jimmy McGovern and the Australian TV
Series Redfern Now.
 
For the moment I wish to invite members of the SRN list to consider
submitting abstracts for chapters of between 7,000 and 10,000 words for
consideration. A project description follows.
 
Ethics in Screenwriting
Project Description: This collection seeks to open up different approaches
and perspectives on the complex relationship between ethics and
screenwriting, raising compelling new questions for an under-examined but
culturally significant area of media practice. At the same time, it seeks
new perspectives on ethics‹ going beyond moralising, as well as simple
demands for censorship and regulation. The collection will seek to explore
the myriad judgements and decisions underpinning screenwriting practice in
order to examine the place of screenwriting and role of screenwriters in
relation to contemporary ethics.

Against the backdrop of decades of thinking about media and journalism
ethics, research into the ethics of screenwriting is at a nascent stage.
Early work includes the work of Beker, and Chalvon-Demersey, as well as
work on negotiating Hollywood codes. This lack of attention is surprising
given the central role writers play in the realisation of story material.
Screenwriters have a unique zone of responsibility in terms of ethics.
They  have a close proximity to story material, and as such issues of
listening and the right to communicate are important. Like journalists and
documentarians, screenwriters can be said to have a strong obligation to
the sources of their stories, but unlike news reporters, they also have a
license to create compelling drama. At the same time, screenwriters also
frequently have little autonomy in the way they they can explore the
material they have. This collection seeks to provide new frameworks for
understanding the complexity of ethical screenwriting, but also explore
new perspectives on the relationship between ethics and screenwriting.

Background: 
Since the emergence of the social responsibility theory of the media in
1946, media theorists have developed complex normative theories to account
for their professional practice (See Christians et al). Practitioners have
since the 1920s sought to codify their ethical norms in codes of practice.
 Key works have sought to probe what it means to be an ethical journalist
(Harcup 2007, also Sanders ), a virtuous journalist (Klaidman and Beuchamp
), what it means to do ethics in media (Black and Roberts), storytelling
as seduction and betrayal (Malcolm) and media ethics more generally
(Keiran 1998). Documentary practice has made a significant contribution to
thinking the representational issues surrounding the telling of stories,
especially in light of the excesses of anthropological objectification of
indigenous and non-Western groups. Digital storytelling is re-negotiating
the links between stories and the communities within which they emerge.
 
Topics may include but are not limited to:


* Theories of ethics (loyalty, duty, care) and how they might apply to
screenwriting practice
* Screenwriting representations and the ethical/unethical treatment of
stereotypes and social issues
* Historical analyses of the ethics of writing in particular political or
ideological systems
* The responsibilities and /or obligations of the screenwriter
* Ethical modes of production
* The ethics of collaboration
* The ethics of writing across cultures, and in culture, including the
ethical treatment of indigenous story lines
* Queer and/or feminist perspectives on screenwriting practice
* The ethics of mediating stories and ethical treatment of narratives
* Writing moral ambiguity, transgression and taboo
* Ethical issues in non-fiction screenwriting
* The relationship between ethics and storytelling, especially depictions
of difference and conflict in contemporary societies.
* Screenwriting on topics involving historical or structural injustice
* Bias and screenwriting
* The ethical role of screenwriters
* The relationship between organisational industrial constraints and /or
regulation and ethics in screenwriting practice.
* Screenwriting and the ethical imagination


Detailed Abstracts (approx 1000-1200 words, excluding references)
elaborating on your argument, approach or structure, and conceptual
framework may be submitted until March 30th 2014 to Assoc. Prof. Steven
Maras, <[log in to unmask]>. Detailed abstracts will be required
for the book proposal process. Please remember to  include a title and
state your name, affiliation and contact information. Include a brief
statement (100 words) detailing your title, affiliations, publications
and/or screenwriting  practice.

Some Suggested References:

Beker, M. (2013). The screenwriter activist: writing social issue movies.
New York: Routledge.
Beker, M. (2004). Screenwriting with a conscience: ethics for
screenwriters. Mahwah, N.J.: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Chalvon-Demersay, S. (1999). A Thousand Screenplays: The French
Imagination in a Time of Crisis (T. L. Fagan, Trans.). Chicago & London:
The University of Chicago Press.
Couldry, N., Madianou, M., Pinchevski. (Eds) (2013) Ethics of Media.
Palgrave Macmillan.
Black, J., & Roberts, C. (2011). Doing ethics in media : theories and
practical applications. New York: Routledge.
Christians, C. G. et al (2009). Normative theories of the media :
journalism in democratic societies. Urbana: University of Illinois Press.
Christians, C. G. et al. (2012). Media ethics : cases and moral reasoning
(9th ed.). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
Craig, D. (2006). The ethics of the story : using narrative techniques
responsibly in journalism. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield.
Gardner, H., Damon, W., & Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2001). Good work : when
excellence and ethics meet. New York: Basic Books.
Harcup, T. (2007). The ethical journalist. London: SAGE.
Kieran, M. (1998). (ed) Media ethics. New York: Routledge.
Klaidman, S., & Beauchamp, T. L. (1987). The virtuous journalist. New
York: Oxford University Press.
Malcolm, J. (1998). The journalist and the murderer. London: Papermac.
Poynter.org Media Ethics Bibliography
http://www.poynter.org/uncategorized/785/media-ethics-bibliography/
Sanders, K. (2003). Ethics & journalism. London: SAGE.
Spence, E. H., Alexandra, A., Quinn, A., & Dunn, A. (2011). Media,
markets, and morals. Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell.







--
Steven Maras, PhD |
Associate Professor |
Media and Communications Department
Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
THE UNIVERSITY OF SYDNEY

Rm S207, John Woolley Building A20
NSW 2006, Australia
T +61-2-9036 7041 |   F +61-2-9351 5444
E [log in to unmask]
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u.au>









On 23/03/14 11:45 PM, "Vercauteren Hugo" <[log in to unmask]>
wrote:

>Book ethics in screenwriting.
>Someone of the network sent a mail about a book with articles he/she
>wants to publish about ethics & screenwriting (I hope I am not wrong). We
>could send proposals for contribution to this book, till the end of March
>(I hope I am not late).
>As I want to try to make a contribution, can anyone send me the mail
>again to me, I seem to have lost this mail. Sorry for this inconvenience.
>
>
>Hugo