We are looking for chapter proposals for an edited collection on Kevin Costner examining the role of/potential of Costner in educational settings domestically and abroad.

Costner’s career is a myriad of successes and failures. In the past 35 years, his movies grossed 2 billion dollars in ticket sales worldwide and he has he won/been nominated for several Academy Awards; he also experienced critical and box office failures with Waterworld and the Postman. However, in the past 20 years Costner has been able to reinvent himself as a versatile character actor appearing in leading roles in films as well as on cable (Hatfields & McCoys, Yellowstone) and streaming (The Highwaymen) television platforms. He has also become a quiet, but notable, philanthropist, giving both his time and money.

Through the films in his oeuvre, Kevin Costner has been teaching audiences around the world about the United States — its history, people and culture. Some viewers and scholars recognize this as positive, others as problematic.  This book will serve as a place for teachers and scholars to explore ways in which Costner may be tapped for research and teaching purposes at all levels of education.

There are several themes worth exploring when analyzing Costner’s work utilizing any number of theoretical frameworks. Contributions to this scholarly volume may include (but are not limited to) the following topics:

  • Portrayals of Americana: Baseball (Bull Durham, Field of Dreams, For Love of the Game), The Cowboy (Silverado, Wyatt Earp, Open Range), The West (Silverado, Wyatt Earp, Open Range, Yellowstone), Politics (Swing Vote, Thirteen Days, JFK), etc.
  • Portrayals of U.S. History: JFK, The Untouchables, Thirteen Days, Hidden Figures
  • Portrayals of America’s pastimes: Draft Day, McFarland USA, Tin Cup, Molly’s Game
  • Representations of Indigenous/Native Americans: Dances with Wolves, Yellowstone
  • Race and Racism: Black and White, Hidden Figures, Dances with Wolves
  • Masculinity/Costner as American Tough Guy: Jack Ryan Shadow Recruit, Bull Durham, The Bodyguard, Robin Hood
  • American role models: the Athlete (Tin Cup, For Love of the Game, Bull Durham, American Flyers), the Executive (Draft Day), the Mentor/Father figure (The Guardian, Man of Steel, Hatfields and McCoys, McFarland USA, The War)
  • Death and Dying: Yellowstone, Hatfields and McCoys, Dragonfly
  • Crime and Redemption/Law and Order: Yellowstone, The Untouchables, 3 Days to Kill, The Highwaymen, Molly’s Game, Robin Hood, Mr. Brooks, 3000 Miles to Graceland
  • Environmentalism: Yellowstone, Dances with Wolves
  • Utopia/Dystopia: The Postman, Waterworld
  • Sense of Duty: Dances with Wolves, The Postman
  • Costner as Director: Dances with Wolves, Waterworld, The Postman
  • Costner as television actor: Hatfields & McCoys, Yellowstone, The Highwaymen
  • Costner as dramatic actor: The Company Men, Black and White, McFarland, USA
  • Costner the Philanthropist (work on oil separation following BP oil spill in Gulf of Mexico)

Proposals:

We invite scholars to submit the following to both of the editors:

  • An abstract of 500 words (excluding sources cited) providing an overview of the chapter in its entirety;
  • A list of tentative sources cited/data points; and
  • Brief (1-2 page) curriculum vitae of each contributor including affiliation/position, educational history, and any relevant publication history.

Please note:  Graduate students, K-12 teachers and independent scholars are all highly encouraged to submit. When possible, we encourage collaboration with a university faculty member.

Submissions:

If accepted, contributors will be responsible for producing manuscripts that meet the following criteria:

  • be relevant to the field and further the conversation;
  • be a minimum of 5,000 words (20 pages) in length;
  • follow all formatting and style guidelines from the Chicago Manual of Style;
  • contain all original material (not have been previously published); and
  • not contain any copyrighted material (images, lengthy passages, etc).

Important Deadlines and Dates:

  • Submission of abstracts to editors:  August 30, 2020
  • Notification of decisions to contributors: September 15, 2020
  • Submission of proposal to interested press: September 2020
  • Chapter submission to editors: December 1, 2020
  • Revision/redraft of chapters from editors:February 1, 2020
  • Revision re-submission from contributors: March 1 2021
  • Submission to press: April 2021
  • Tentative publication date: July 2021

 

Please share this CFP with any and all you believe might be interested.  Thank you.

 

Editor Information:

All enquiries should be directed to:

  • Dr. Ludovic A. Sourdot, Associate Professor, Curriculum & Instruction,Department of Teacher Education, Texas Woman’s University, P.O. Box 425769,Denton, TX 76204-5769
    Phone:(940) 898-2216 — Email: Lsourdot@mail.twu.edu
  • Dr. Edward Janak, Chair, Department of Educational Studies, Judith Herb College of Education, University of Toledo, 5000-C Gillham Hall, Mail Stop 921, 2801 West Bancroft Street, Toledo, OH  43606-3390
    Phone: (419) 530-4114 — Email: edward.janak@utoledo.edu