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Call for Papers for the edited collection Neoliberalism and Affect in Twenty-First Century Culture - British Association for American Studies

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Call for Papers for the edited collection Neoliberalism and Affect in Twenty-First Century Culture

call-for-papers

Editors: Dr Holly Parker, University of Lincoln; Dr Tommaso Villa, University of Lincoln

Abstract: This interdisciplinary collection seeks to draw connections across contemporary culture, neoliberalism and affect. It will address representations of the self-management of emotions in the workplace, in the personal sphere, and in relation to aesthetic experiences such as sports and the arts.

Brief description of book: This interdisciplinary collection seeks to draw connections across contemporary culture, neoliberalism and affect. One of the most salient aspects of neoliberalism is the way its pervasiveness extends to the personal sphere, subjecting it to market logics. This omnipresence trains individuals to view themselves as competitive entrepreneurs in all facets of life including private emotions, which become commodities to be administered and owned. Thus, this collection will address representations of the self-management of emotions in the workplace, in the personal sphere, and in relation to aesthetic experiences such as sports and the arts. Shows like Severance, novels like The Corrections, and exhibitions like MOCAK’s Contemporary Models of Realism illustrate, via different media and from different ideological perspectives, vividly illustrate the centrality these points have come to retain in the arts.

We are keen to encourage chapters from a broad range of fields including digital humanities, social sciences, politics, visual arts, performance arts, popular culture, psychology, philosophy, and economics. Topics include: The Neoliberal Workplace; Career-Centricity; The Neoliberal Success Narrative; Affect Theory; Spaces of Performance; The Ways Emotions are Managed Under Neoliberalism; Interdisciplinary Studies; Politics, Ideologies and Revolution; Flow and Gamification; Playbour; Bodily self-management and healthism; and Mindfulness and Self-Help.

Expertise: Both Holly and Tommaso completed PhDs researching affect and neoliberalism in contemporary literature. Holly Parker is an Associate Lecturer and researcher at the University of Lincoln. She also works as a guest editor for Alluvium. She recently published a book chapter on affect, Minecraft and neoliberalism in Keith Stuart’s A Boy Made of Blocks (2016) in Ready Reader One: The Stories We Tell About, With, And Around Video Games (2024). Her article on Stardew Valley will feature in a special issue of Futuri and her chapter on affect and neoliberalism in Stardew Valley will feature in “Future Spaces of Power: The Cultural Politics of Digital and Outer Spaces”, under contract with Lexington Books. She completed her PhD at the University of Lincoln in 2024, which examined affect and performance in twenty-first century fiction, forming an interdisciplinary study across affect theory and performance studies that rests on the cultural backdrop of neoliberalism and postmillennial digital culture.

Tommaso Villa is also an Associate Lecturer and researcher at the University of Lincoln. His article ‘Threats Without and Within: The Limits of Riskless Risk in the Neoliberal Sports Novel’ has been accepted by C21: Journal of 21st Century Writings, while his article ‘‘His Face Looked Bland, Almost Bored, like That of a Virtuoso Practicing Scales’: Neoliberal Idealizations in Chad Harbach’s The Art of Fielding’ has been accepted by Arizona Quarterly (both pending revisions). He completed his PhD at the University of Lincoln in 2024. His thesis examined the depiction of hyper-professional athletes in contemporary American fiction, focusing on the phenomenological and ideological outcomes of incessant training in the neoliberal era.

Audience: This edited collection will appeal to undergraduate students, and due to its interdisciplinary nature, can feature on the course reading for multiple subjects including the humanities, social sciences and digital culture courses. Due to the inclusion of popular culture texts such as the TV show Severance, alongside bestselling authors such as Sally Rooney, this collection has a broader appeal to lay-readers interested in the texts included in the collection.

Length: The collection will be approximately 90’000-100’000 words. Format: 12-point type on double-spaced 8 1/2” by 11” pages.

Timeline: Considering an appropriate timeline for contributors and required edits, we would ask aim for late 2025.

Deadline for expression of interest: November 15, 2024.

Contact e-mail: neoliberalismandaffect@gmail.com