A Celebration of Supernatural

The third annual MCS Pop Culture Symposium will be held on May 9th!

A CELEBRATION OF SUPERNATURAL
09 MAY 2015
DEPAUL UNIVERSITY - LOOP CAMPUS
#SPNDEPAUL

The third annual MCS Pop Culture Symposium will be held on May 9th!

A CELEBRATION OF SUPERNATURAL
09 MAY 2015
DEPAUL UNIVERSITY - LOOP CAMPUS
#SPNDEPAUL

Join us at DePaul University on May 09 to celebrate the tenth anniversary of Supernatural! Through smart discussion with guest speakers, screenings of key works, and fan creativity, experience the amazing Winchester brothers and their Impala in all its glory.

Special Guests to be announced!

This celebration is free of charge, so carry on my wayward son...

Keep up to date by registering on our Facebook page!

Contact us at depaulspnconference@gmail.com

CALL FOR PAPERS/TOPICS!
Now accepting submissions and ideas for the third annual Pop Culture Colloquium at DePaul University in Chicago!

The Media and Cinema Studies program, along with the College of Digital Media, the English Department, and American Studies, at DePaul University is hosting a one-day celebratory colloquium in honor the tenth anniversary of the television series Supernatural on Saturday, May 09, from 9am-6pm. This event will feature roundtable discussions from scholars and fans of Supernatural, speaking about the cultural impact of the show, as well as analyzing aspects of the episodes. The even will also feature special guests, screenings, screenwriting workshops, and (perhaps) a sing-a-long or two…

The audience for this event is both graduate and undergraduate students, both fans and scholars, and the focus should be on informed and enlightening discussion rather than formal academic papers. Speakers will have 5 minutes or so to present and then will engage in a discussion about the show. “A Celebration of Supernatural” will take place on DePaul’s Loop campus.

If you’re interested in speaking on a round table, please send a 200 word abstract of your topic and a CV or resume to Paul Booth (pbooth@depaul.edu) by Mar 01. For more information, please sign up for updates on Facebook (search “A Celebration of Supernatural”) and click here to register on Eventbrite. We hope that you will be able to join in the discussion and celebration!

JOIN US AT THIS FAN/SCHOLAR EVENT!

Special panels include:

Why fans matter!
Horror in the show!
What do the monsters mean?
Understanding the conversation between the producers and fans!
Exploring fanworks!
Learning about how Supernatural has helped people!
And many more!

Special Events include:

Special keynote speaker!
Costume contest!
Workshops!
And more!

SPEAKERS INCLUDE:

Lynn Zubernis &
Katherine Larsen
Authors of Fan Phenomena: Supernatural and Fangasm!



Mark Oshiro
Hugo-nominated creator/writer of the Mark Reads and Mark Watches series!



Leah Wilson
Editor-in-chief of BenBella Books' Smart Pop series!



Maureen Ryan
The Huffington Post TV critic, former television critic for the Chicago Tribune, board member of the Peabody Awards!



More guest announcements coming soon...

MCS Event: "Historicizing Porn Studies: From Urban Crisis to VHS, 1970-Present."

The Media and Cinema Studies program is co-sponsoring a talk by Dr. Whitney Strub entitled "Historicizing Porn Studies: From Urban Crisis to VHS, 1970-Present."

Dr. Strub is Associate Professor and Director of the Women's and Gender Studies Department at Rutgers Newark, and is the author of Perversion for Profit: The Politics of Pornography and Rise of the New Right (2011).

Her lecture takes place on Tues. February 24th, 2015 from 3:00 - 4:00 pm, DePaul University - McGowan South, Room 107.

This event is co-sponsored by History and Women and Gender Studies.

Study Abroad with MCS in Rome!

Professor Michael DeAngelis is teaching his annual MCS Study Abroad course in Rome this summer!

Rome Film Studies Program
Summer: June 22 – July 30, 2015
Application Deadline: February 1, 2015

Program Overview:
Spend your summer in Rome in this exciting and popular program, now in its 5th year!  Study how Italian culture and identity are portrayed through films from such classics as Bicycle Thieves and Roman Holiday to contemporary works like La Grande Bellezza, last year’s winner of the Academy Award for Best Foreign Film.  Visits to Roman film sets, locations, and studios illuminate how cinema uses setting to shape our experience of a city, a nation, and its culture.  Workshops and discussions with acclaimed film industry representatives provide an insider perspective on the Italian filmmaking process.  The program includes a survival Italian course, a trip to Bologna for a major film festival, a weekend excursion to Florence and Tuscany, and a day at a beach on the Mediterranean Sea.  

Courses and Credits:
Students enroll in two Media & Cinema Studies courses for a total of 8 credit hours.

Spaces of Cinema in Rome (MCS 251/DC 395, Prof. Michael DeAngelis) integrates film screenings and site visits to investigate how cinema shapes our perception of historical and cultural space.  The sites include the Coliseum, the Pantheon, the Baths of Caracalla, and several Roman neighborhoods.

Contemporary Italian Culture through Film (MCS 252, Prof. Carolina Ciampaglia) focuses upon contemporary filmmakers who use cinema to comment upon national issues such as organized crime, immigration and emigration, transformations of family structure, and the social problems facing younger generations.  The course features presentations by famous film directors, screenwriters, editors, actors, and actresses, along with guest lectures by cultural historians.

The courses fulfill Liberal Studies requirements in Junior Year Experiential Learning, Arts & Literature, and Self, Society and the Modern World.  They also count towards the new International Communication minor offered by the College of Communication.

Students elect final projects in film/video production, screenwriting, photojournalism, media analysis, or cultural studies.  All projects are tailored to students’ individual interests.

Living Arrangements:
Students are housed in comfortable apartments in a vibrant historical neighborhood in the city center.  All apartments have kitchens, televisions, and free wireless internet.

Program Costs:
Costs include a program fee of approximately $3,800 covers accommodation, several group dinners, the weekend excursions, the beach excursion, public transportation in Rome, and study abroad insurance.  Students must plan their budgets to cover tuition expenses for eight credit hours, round-trip airfare, course texts, other meals, passport fees, and personal expenses.

For more detailed information, please contact the program director:
Michael DeAngelis, Associate Professor, Media & Cinema Studies, College of Communication (mdeangel@depaul.edu) (312-362-7703)

The online application is now available at http://studyabroad.depaul.edu.

Study Abroad in Spain with MCS this Summer!

Prof. Luisela Alvaray will be teaching an MCS Study Abroad course in Spain this Summer!

Here are the details:

Study Abroad: SPAIN
Summer 2015. June 14 - July 2
Application Deadline: February 1,

Orientation 2015
Jan 21, LPC Student Center, rm. 315, 4:00pm
Jan 22, Loop, Daley, rm. 1140, 4:00pm

Come for three weeks to Madrid and Barcelona!      

Talk to filmmakers; learn of Spanish film, and use photos and social media to communicate your experiences!

This study abroad program is designed to introduce students to Spanish culture and society as they are connected to their cinema. We will also analyze the use of social media and the public role they have played in recent times.

We will visit Madrid and Barcelona, since each city represents a different side of Spanish culture. Included are visits to Plaza Mayor, Plaza del Sol, Gran Via and other places featured in past and current films. In Barcelona, we will visit the Palau of Catalan Music and the buildings by Antonio Gaudi, identified by UNESCO as part of its World Heritage list. These iconic places are featured in films like Biutiful (González Iñárritu, 2010) and Vicky, Cristina, Barcelona (Woody Allen, 2008). Students will connect their experiences to the perspectives presented through the films, to then understand the filmmakers’ choices, and process their intercultural thoughts and impressions.

This program includes meetings with film scholars, filmmakers and representatives from media institutions and organizations, through which students will learn and discuss about the distinct trends of Spanish cinema and social media. Through the visits to major points of cultural and historic interest, students will enhance their learning experience by creating an Instagram portfolio that expresses their unique impressions and explorations of Spanish culture. Students will also use social media to discuss about their intercultural experience, as much as to create their own portfolio. The program also includes a visit to an authentic flamenco show, to the Reina Sofia Museum, travel on the high-speed train from Madrid to Barcelona, and a day-trip to the enchanting city of Girona, where we will visit the Museum of Cinema.


Courses and Credits:

In the spring quarter, students register for MCS 350/523 - Topics in Global Cinema: Spanish Cinema. This course explores Spanish culture and society through cinema. It will address cultural stereotypes, notions of nationality, and representations of cities as social and symbolic spaces. By the end of the course, students will understand that Spanish cinema is linked to the country’s political, social and economic evolution. This course counts toward the International Communication minor. 4 credits.

In the summer quarter, students register for CMN 398/CMN 598 - Study Abroad: Spanish Culture through Film and Social Media. This study abroad program will introduce students to Spanish culture and society as they are connected to cinema and social media. We will meet film scholars, filmmakers and representatives from media institutions both in Madrid and Barcelona, and visit major points of cultural and historic interest. This course fulfills the Junior Year Experiential Learning (JYEL) liberal studies domain. It also counts toward the International Communication minor. 4 credits. NO LANGUAGE REQUIREMENTS


Living Arrangements:
Students will stay in shared rooms in apartments located in the central parts of the cities.

Costs:
All students participating in study abroad will be charged both tuition and a program fee. Tuition is billed at the students’ regular DePaul tuition rate based on the number of credits enrolled. Program directors will talk about program fee at orientation sessions.

Contact Info:
Programs directors: Esther Quintero Guzman EQUINTE1@depaul.edu and Luisela Alvaray lalvaray@depaul.edu

Study Abroad Office:  Erica Spilde espilde@depaul.edu

Online application studyabroad.depaul.edu

Television Studies at DePaul: Since 1947!

DePaul's Media and Cinema Studies Progam offers numerous television studies courses, but did you know that DePaul actually offered the FIRST course in TV studies back in 1947? Billboard reported on August 16th, 1947 that the course was the first of its kind in the nation, just as the new medium of television was beginning to make inroads with household audiences.

                                      DePaul and Television Studies... Since 1947!

MCS Instructor Kelli Marshall in the Chronicle of Higher Education

MCS Instructor Kelli Marshall recently published an article in the Chronicle of Higher Education entitled "How to Curate Your Digital Identity as an Academic."

Marshall asks "how might academics—particularly those without tenure, published books, or established freelance gigs—avoid having their digital identities taken over by the negative or the uncharacteristic?" Her advice is to take control of the process: "In a nutshell, if you do not have a clear online presence, you are allowing Google, Yahoo, and Bing to create your identity for you.
An online search for academics without strong digital identities almost always yields two initial results: first, the name of their institution or department, and, second, their webpage on Rate My Professors. While the latter is not inherently bad news for all academics, many will likely cringe at what’s written about them there, whether justified or not."

The best advice to "search your own name, particularly if you’re going on the job market and perhaps also if you’re going up for tenure. See what committees will see when they engage with you digitally," says Marshall.

New Publication by Prof. Blair Davis

Prof. Blair Davis has recently published a book chapter in the new anthology Recovering 1940s Horror Cinema: Traces of a Lost Decade. The chapter, entitled "Of Apes and Men (and Monsters and Girls)," examines the 1941 Paramount film The Monster and the Girl as a case study of the transition between 1930s and 1940s horror cinema. He argues that just as 1940s horror cinema remains largely undervalued, the phenomenon of the ‘Ape film’ is one symptom of why the genre is not taken as seriously in this decade when compared to the horror films of the early-to-mid 1930s like Dracula and Frankenstein. "Ape films were a regular staple of the horror genre for decades, and yet (King Kong aside) they have not enjoyed the same patterns of cyclical resurgence that many of the other monsters have enjoyed," says Davis. "If some see 1940s horror cinema as a generally less successful period in the genre’s history, then the ape film is an even more problematic entity within an already precarious cinematic phenomenon. The Monster and the Girl  - with its central premise of an executed man’s brain having been transplanted into an ape’s body - serves as a case study of the ape film phenomenon and more importantly of the difficulties affecting the reception of 1940s horror cinema," he argues.

New Publication by Prof. Paul Booth

Prof. Paul Booth recently published an article entitled "Board, game, and media: Interactive board games as multimedia convergence" with the journal Convergence. "Interactive media board games reflect a changing media culture. Converging media text and technology with game play mechanics and rules, these board games exist as a hybrid form of game and media," he argues. "In this article, I examine interactive paratextual board games – games based on media products that utilize other forms of media to produce random or immersive experiences. While previous discussions of media franchising investigates game paratexts through industrial and economic shifts, I explicate aesthetic, ludic, and textual concerns of cult franchises through an analysis of three interactive board games, namely, Isaac Asimov’s Robot VCR Mystery Game, the Star Trek: The Next Generation Interactive VCR Board Game, and the Indiana Jones DVD Adventure Game. Ultimately, I argue that these interactive paratextual board games manifest, reflect, and augment early convergence culture characteristics, revealing that interactive board games exemplify contemporary new media characteristics," says Booth.