Call for papers
Fastitocalon: Studies in Fantasticism Ancient to Modern volume IV (2013)
Published by Wissenschaftlicher Verlag Trier (WVT)
http://fastitocalon.kolbitar.de


Crime and the Fantastic


If there is one thread that consistently runs through all forms of the fantastic from the antiquity to the present it is a preoccupation with crime and harm – and with the obligations to make things right which these violations place on individuals and communities alike. Although definitions of crime and justice in The Epic of Gilgamesh will be different from those in Odyssey, Beowulf, Peter Pan or The Graveyard Book, the spectrum of the fantastic—from classical myths to literary fantasy—has always been fascinated by issues of crime, punishment and justice. From betrayed rulers and spouses avenging their wrongs or culture heroes defending their families and communities, through orphan boys or girls exposing oppressive regimes and defeating evil Wizard conspiracies, to talking animals or other non-human species who assert their minority status, many of the proponents of the fantastic in their textual and filmic forms are predicated on the search for the most appropriate response to crime, inequality and violation. The protagonists are mostly rebels rather than the empire, outlaws rather than the establishment. The stories of their struggles define various facets of crime, punishment and justice and transpose these concepts from abstract principles to specific representations.

Our goal in Volume IV of Fastitocalon: Studies in Fantasticism Ancient to Modern is to offer a sustained reflection upon the nexus of crime and the fantastic. We encourage submissions that explore manifestations of crime, punishment and justice in and through the frame of the fantastic in all its current and historical media. Contributions to our Crime and the Fantastic issue may focus on individual works, authors, genres, series or adaptations. They may discuss the development and transformations of the various crime topoi or explore the literary-theoretical aspects connected with them in the context of, among others, class structures, social inequalities, war and international conflicts, representations of criminal justice or legal systems, ecology, politics, imperialism, sexuality, ethnicity and gender.

Abstracts (300-450 words) accompanied by a brief biographical note (100-150 words) must be sent in to the editors electronically at ddh2@psu.edu and mco1@psu.edu by December 31, 2012.

Essays accepted for inclusion in the volume must range between 6000 and 8000 words and will be due on April 30, 2013.

Fastitocalon: Studies in Fantasticism Ancient to Modern is a peer-reviewed journal. Abstracts and/or full papers submitted will be reviewed by the editors and members of the advisory board.

The editors:
Dr. Daniel D. Hade, The Pennsylvania State University, ddh2@psu.edu
Dr. Marek Oziewicz, The University of Wroclaw, Poland, marekoziewicz@uni.wroc.pl
and The Pennsylvania State University, mco1@psu.edu