Confirmed Keynotes:

  • Dr Dima Ayoub, Assistant Professor of Arabic and Middle East Studies, Middlebury College.
  • Dr Golnar Nabizadeh, Lecturer in Comics Studies, Dundee University.
  • Kenny Glenaan, BAFTA Scotland winning theatre, television and film director: cstonline.netwww.kennyglenaan.com/

For the 2021 edition of the Association of Adaptation Studies conference, we are seeking proposals on the topic of Journeys: Memory and Migration. We welcome all variations and interpretations of these terms, as they apply to the contents of papers, as well adaptation as a mode and methodology. We are particularly keen that the 2021 conference should reflect and contribute to the increasingly diverse range of methods, perspectives, texts and mediated and cultural forms evident in global and local cultures, and in academic and artistic practices. Please find below a list of suggested areas for the submission of abstracts, though, as always, this is non-exhaustive:

  • Journeys between different media and/or non-media forms (e.g. theme parks, merchandise).
  • Journeys of adaptations: the journeys adaptations may take between prior and future forms, e.g. book – screenplay – film, with explorations of all the different variations of that journey encouraged.
  • Journeying through adaptations: exploring the relationship between adaptations/franchises and tourism, e.g. Outlander and Scotland; LoTR and New Zealand, etc.
  • Memories of or in adaptations – this may, for example, be the invoking or calling-back through adaptations to antecedent texts; or an audience-focused look at the audience’s memory of beloved or powerful texts and its influence on adaptations.
  • Memorialising through adaptation: recent television adaptations such as Watchmen and The Plot Against America, mingle fiction and non-fiction to invoke often difficult and forgotten memories of past times and events.
  • Migration: journeys through geographical spaces: adaptation and re-location of narratives; or adaptations that highlight migratory journeys of any kind.

As well as individual submissions, we welcome proposals for round-table discussions or thematically aligned panels of speakers. We will also be very glad to see practice-oriented submissions.

Abstracts (max 250 words) and brief biographical note (max 150 words) should be sent to Michael Stewart (MStewart@qmu.ac.uk) and Robert Munro (RMunro@qmu.ac.uk) by no later than 26 November 2020. We will respond to applications by no later than 14 January 2021.

Please note 1: Our current plan and great hope is that the conference will take place in Edinburgh. However, if necessary, it will be run as a virtual, online conference. We will confirm which of these it will be as soon as possible.

Please Note 2: You do not need to be a member of AAS to submit a conference proposal, but you must be a paid-up member in order to attend the conference or to be included on the final programme. For information about joining AAS, see (http://www.adaptation.uk.com/join-the-association/). The AAS offers travel bursaries for postgraduate students and for early career researchers.

Graduate Mentoring Workshop June 9, 2021

The AAS is sponsoring a workshop for up to seven graduate students on the afternoon before the conference. Graduate students are invited to submit proposals for this workshop based on their doctoral work. The application form and further details are available here.

Travel bursaries

The AAS offers conference travel bursaries of £250 (UK/Europe) and £500 (outside UK/Europe): two for graduate students and two for early career researchers. More details and the application forms are available below: