In 2011, I went to a conference in Ithaca, NY at Ithaca College called "Pippi to Ripley: Heroines of Fantasy and Science Fiction" and took lots of notes.
It's being held again in May 2013 (under a slightly different name); the keynote speaker will be Tamora Pierce. Here's the call for papers as a Word file, or I reproduce the text behind the cut.
Call for Papers
Pippi to Ripley: The Female Figure in Fantasy and Science Fiction
May 4-5, 2013
Ithaca College
Ithaca, NY
Keynote speaker: Tamora Pierce
The first day, Friday, May 4 features panel discussions on using Children’s and YA Science Fiction and Fantasy, Graphic Novels/Comics and films in classroom, libraries and community events. There will also be Fantasy and Science Fiction creative workshops and academic panels for middle and high school students. We invite librarians, middle school and high school teachers, reading specialists and teacher educators to send 300-500 word presentation proposals on teaching or programming with Fantasy and Science Fiction texts to Elizabeth Bleicher (ebleicher@ithaca.edu) by January 15, 2013.
The second day, Saturday, May 5 is an academic conference featuring presentations of papers submitted individually and assembled into panels by topic. We welcome paper proposals on all aspects of female representation within an imaginative context, including but not limited to:
- Child-heroines in folktales from multiple cultures.
- The evolution of characters such as Buffy (The Vampire Slayer), Cat Woman, and Red Sonja as they are presented in television, film, graphic novels/comics, or literature.
- Female characters in video games such as Tomb Raider, Metroid, and Mass Effect.
- Female characters featured in Shonen and Shojo manga as well as other images of female characters in anime films and television.
- Robot, cyborg, and psychically-enhanced girls and women.
- Female heroes and villains in comic books and graphic novels.
- YA heroines in the works of Madeleine L’Engle, Tamora Pierce, and Suzanne Collins.
- Depictions of goddesses, Amazons, and fierce female entities from western and non-western traditions.
Please send a 300-500 word abstract by January 15, 2013, to Katharine Kittredge (kkittredge@ithaca.edu).
Pippi to Ripley is intended to foster intellectual engagement between the college community and local students, teachers, writers, readers and artists; and to provide an affordable venue for undergraduates, graduate students and professors to present their work. Towards these ends, the presenter’s registration fee is $35; all other participants are invited to attend for free. Direct questions to Katharine Kittredge, kkittredge@ithaca.edu.
I'm planning to go and thinking about submitting a proposal myself. The prior post's rant might work, actually, though I think it might be more useful for me to do something about fanfic fandom or about race, I just can't quite think of what. Maybe Korra tomorrow will give me an idea? Or, ooooh, what about an introduction to Mary Sue?
Anyway, I'm happy to take suggestions. What would you propose, were you able to be in Ithaca next May?