The global animation industries are now one of the world’s most significant, with Nasdaq’s newswire citing animation and video games as a $244 billion global industry in 2017. As this suggests, animation is found everywhere and takes myriad forms, creating flows of animation that traverse the globe. We are seeking papers that reveal the journeys that animated texts go on – from inception to dissemination – in order to think across and between subject-specific discourses on animation. We define animation very broadly, seeing it as a pervasive cultural force that appears everywhere from live action films to video games and social media platforms (Buchan 2013).

Planned as the first Media Journeys Symposium to be held by the Media Consumption Research Group at UEA, Animation in Transcultural Contexts will investigate what is particular and what is universal in the production, distribution and consumption of animated texts. This symposium therefore seeks to bring together debates about animation from across media studies in order to investigate the transnational and transcultural connections between the global animation industries.

Animation in Transcultural Contexts aims to discuss how animation is becoming an increasingly important global (trans)cultural force. From the US animation industry through to Japanese anime and everything in between, we seek papers that address:

  • The transcultural flows of particular texts and animators’ work, including under-represented or marginal groups;
  • The transnational production of animation, including transcultural work in animation out-sourcing;
  • Transnational co-productions of animation;
  • Textual analysis of animation, video games and/or special effects;
  • Transnational and transcultural fan communities and their creative work
  • Animation’s transcultural textuality;
  • Industrial uses of animation; e.g., medical, architectural and other forms of hidden/under-recognised animation flows;
  • Adaptation, translation and cultural localization of animation;
  • Transnational distribution of animation from film festivals to streaming;
  • Audiences and fans in transcultural contexts.

If you have any questions or would like to submit a paper proposal for consideration, please contact r.denison@uea.ac.uk.

Paper proposals should be a maximum of 250 words and should include your name, institutional affiliation, contact details and a description of the paper. Potential panels will also be considered (maximum 4 speakers) – for these please provide the chair’s name, a 100-word overview and 250-word proposals for all papers, including the speaker information requested above. We are also planning some innovative shorter sessions (e.g. poster presentations), so if you would consider taking part in these, please let us know when you send your proposal.