Panel: Fan Cultures in the Palm of Your Hand: Cult TV in the Age of Podcasts
Society for Cinema And Media Studies Conference (SCMS)
Chicago Hilton, Chicago, IL
March 8-11, 2007
Deadline: August 10, 2006
Proposals are being sought for a panel entitled "Fan Cultures in the Palm of Your Hand: Cult TV in the Age of Podcasts." Besides exploring the subject of cult television from a variety of thematic perspectives, this panel will examine the ways in which consumption patterns and fan cultures have changed over the past three years due to the increased viability of podcasts as both method and content of multimedia delivery. How have mobile viewing technologies (or vodcasts) transformed fans' relationships to televisual texts that can now be downloaded from the Internet onto personal video players and consumed in public spaces? What role has the Internet played in strengthening and diversifying "interpretative communities" made up of fans who communicate daily, share files, and actively contribute to the cultivation of particular television shows? How have producers of cult TV series such as DOCTOR WHO, LOST, and BATTLESTAR GALACTICA utilized the digital podcasting platform to expand the textual universe of their programs? And how might the audio commentaries being authored by participatory audience
members filter into and inform that universe in a meaningful, interactive way?
I welcome submissions that explore any of the above questions. Panelists might also consider any of the following topics:
** Particular cult programs that began online and have since gone on to
broadcast television (HAPPY TREE FRIENDS, QUEER DUCK, etc.)
** Adult Swim programing (ROBOT CHICKEN, SEALAB 2021, etc.)
** Podcasting and "textual poaching"
** Podcasting and "subcultural" sensibilities
** Podcast forms and aesthetics
** The cult of I-Pod
** Fan podcasts for particular TV series (including but not limited to):
***** GILMORE GIRLS (Stars Hollow)
***** ALIAS (Previously on Alias)
***** VERONICA MARS (V for Veronica Mars)
***** DOCTOR WHO (Podshock; The WhoCast)
***** LOST (The Lost Experience)
***** BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER (Buffcast)
***** ANGEL (Angel Investigations)
***** FIREFLY (The Signal)
***** STAR TREK (Starship Exeter)
***** BATTLESTAR GALACTICA (Galactica Actual)
***** XENA: WARRIOR PRINCESS (XenaCast)
***** BABYLON 5 (The Babylon Podcast)
***** FARSCAPE (The ScapeCast)
Information about the conference can be found at
http://www.cmstudies.org/
Send proposals of 250-350 words and a short bio via email to David Scott
Diffrient (sdiffrient@msn.com) by August 10, 2006 for consideration.
David Scott Diffrient
University of Washington in St. Louis
Mallinckrodt Center
Room 310
Campus Box 1174
One Brookings Drive
St. Louis, MO 63130
