Dorothy Gale in Manchester

From Angelica Carpenter, Curator Emerita at the Arne Nixon Center for the Study of Children’s Literature, comes word of this call for papers from Britain.

Returning to Oz: The Afterlife of Dorothy

Thursday 7th February 2013
Manchester, UK

Papers are sought for a one-day conference in Manchester on representations and interpretations of Dorothy and Oz in popular culture. This conference seeks to address the perennial popularity of L. Frank Baum’s creations, and to explore their most recent incarnations.

Possible themes may include (but are not limited to):
• Film, TV and animated adaptations
• Sequels and prequels (other than Baum’s series); translations, editions and revisions
• Music and musicals
• Kitsch
• ‘Friends of Dorothy’ and gay culture
• MGM and Judy Garland
• Graphic novels and visual art
• Merchandise, memorabilia and ephemera

This conference is the sister project to our Further Adventures in Wonderland: The Afterlife of Alice project. As such, papers are also welcomed that offer some comparison of the respective afterlives of Alice and Dorothy, or that deal with texts featuring both characters.

Abstracts of 250-300 words (for a 20 min paper) should be sent via email to the CONFERENCE CONVENORS by 30th September 2012.

Selected papers may be invited for inclusion in an academic collection of essays following the conference.

I have mixed feelings about this. On the one hand, it might be an opportunity to write about interpretations of Oz and to explore part of Britain that I’ve never seen, visiting Godson and his family along the way.

On the other hand, I think it’s very important to note that Dorothy has no “afterlife” because Dorothy is living in Oz where no one dies.