Fear 2000: Horror Unbound (Online)

Sheffield Hallam University, 10-12 September 2021

Submission Deadline: 31 May 2021

We invite proposals for 20-minute papers and 80-minute panels to be presented at the fifth Fear 2000 conference, Fear 2000: Horror Unbound. Hosted by staff in the Department of Media Arts and Communication at Sheffield Hallam University, this online conference will investigate the increasingly transmedial nature of horror in the twenty-first century.

Established in 2016, Fear 2000 is dedicated to championing work on contemporary horror. Previous events have showcased research from established scholars, early-career researchers and postgraduates focused on cinema, television, animation, video games, music and digital literature. But this has provided only a limited sense of horror’s increasing presence in all aspects of popular culture; for our fifth conference, we aim to broaden our scope further and encourage papers that discuss and theorise horror across a wide range of media, including (but not limited to) film, television, theatre, performance, animation, art, photography, music, radio, podcasts, video games, digital media, comic books and literature.

We particularly welcome papers that take a transmedia approach to the horror genre by considering cross-media themes or engaging with issues of adaptation, intertextuality, seriality, franchising or transmedia storytelling. We would also be interested to receive proposals that focus on transmedia consumption of horror media via, for example, virtual film festivals, boutique Blu-ray labels, streaming platforms and video-on-demand services.

Our first keynote speaker for this event will be Thomas Joseph Watson (Teesside University), who will discuss the intersections between horror cinema and punk subcultures. Further keynote speakers will be announced via our website and social media channels. The programme will also include a number of industry events.

This three-day conference will take place on 10-12 September 2021. The deadline for proposals is 31 May 2021. For individual papers, please send an abstract (maximum 300 words) and bio (maximum 75 words) to Craig Ian Mann (c.mann@shu.ac.uk) and Chris Cooke (c.cooke@shu.ac.uk). Your submission should include your name, the title of your paper and your institutional affiliation (if appropriate; independent scholars are welcomed).

We also seek proposals for 80-minute panels comprising three speakers; if you would like to propose a panel, please keep submissions to a maximum of 1000 words and include abstracts, institutional affiliations and contact information for all speakers and a chair (if applicable). Panels should run to no more than 80 minutes and should accommodate time for questions.

Please direct any informal enquiries to the organisers via the emails listed above.

You can also find information via the following channels: