The Organizing Committee of the International Conference Comics in Dialogue / Conversaciones en torno al cómic: activisms, adaptations, languages and translation, to be held at the Universidad Complutense (Madrid), April 14-17, 2020, opens an official Call for Papers and Posters (deadline, September 30, 2019).

In recent years, comic studies have experienced a remarkable boost in Spain. This has been motivated by the recognition of their value as cultural artifacts, as means of artistic expression, and as sources of study in their own right. As a consequence, an increasing number of conferences, seminars and courses approaching this medium are being held.

The International Conference Comics in Dialogue / Conversaciones en torno al comics tries to be a space for dialogue in which Spanish and foreign creators occupy a prominent position in round tables, keynote speeches, interviews and tributes. At the same time, it aims at becoming a meeting point for researchers of different areas (literary and cultural studies, comparative literature, art history, communication, translation studies, history, education, gender studies…) working on comic studies.

We invite researchers to submit proposals based on their own work on the following thematic axes:

Line 1: Languages

• Abstraction and formal experimentation
• Visual languages and semiotic analyses
• Transmedial and multimedia experiments
• Graphic humour

Line 2: Literature and Adaptation

• Comics to literature and literature to comic
• The Renaissance and other literary and artistic movements in comics
• Literary genres in comics
• Other narrative genres in comics: graphic journalism, graphic biographies, historiographies, travel narratives…

Line 3: Translation

• Challenges and distinctive features in the translation of comics
• Publishing sector and translation
• Professionalization in the translation of comics

Line 4: Feminisms and Activisms

• Comics and feminisms
• Comics and minorities
• Comics and sustainability

The Conference will be held in English, French, and Spanish. Panel sessions will be 90 minutes long, with four presenters per session. Presentations should not exceed 15 minutes plus 5 minutes for questions and discussion.

Proposals must include:

• Paper title, format (communication, poster, online communication), contact information, speaker’s institutional affiliation (if any), abstract (500 words), including references and 3-5 keywords, technical requirements and a 150 words bioprofile.
• Proposals would undergo a peer-reviewing process.
• Relevance, quality, methodology and adaptation to the conference lines will be taken into consideration.

Proposals must be sent to María Porras and Juan A. Sánchez (comicsindialogue@gmail.com). Full papers will be sent in advance by February 2020 to facilitate peer-reviewing for possible publication.

The selection of papers will be published in the following journals and monographs:

• A publication in Spanish by a prestigious publisher.
• A book monograph at the Complit-InterArt collection (https://www.ucm.es/siim/complit-interart-book-series)
• A thematic issue (English) at Complutense Journal of English Studies (https://revistas.ucm.es/index.php/CJES)
• A thematic issue (English) at Journal of Comparative Literature & Aesthetics(http://jcla.in/).
• A thematic issue (English) at Acta Universitatis Sapientiae, Film and Media Studies The Journal of Sapientia Hungarian University of Transylvania (https://content.sciendo.com/view/journals/ausfm/ausfm-overview.xml)
• A bilingual thematic issue (French-English) at the Journal of the European Society of Comparative Literature (https://classiques-garnier.com/)

Key dates:

• Abstract submission deadline: September 30, 2019
• Notification of acceptance: November 15, 2019
• Early bird registration: November 16, 2019 – February 1, 2020 (via website)
• Full article submission: February 1, 2020
• Late registration deadline: April 1, 2020
• Conference dates: April 14, 15, 16, 17, 2020

Registration fees:

• Early-birdregistration: 100 €
• Early-bird registration (students UCM): 30 €
• Early-birdregistration (rest of students, independent and retired researchers): 50 €
• Late registration – after February 1 (researchers): 150 €
• Late registration – after February 1 (students UCM): 50 €
• Late registration – after February 1 (rest of students, independent and retired researchers): 75 €
• Attendees (UCM students): free and ECTS credits.

Further information about guest creators and speakers would be available soon at the Conference website: https://www.ucm.es/siim/comics-in-dialogue