Call for Papers: “Love at the End of Life”
November 18, 2009
Call for Papers
“Love at the End of Life”
2010 Film & History Conference: Representations of Love in Film and Television
November 11-14, 2010
Hyatt Regency Milwaukee
Extended Deadline: March 1, 2010
How does the understanding of love change with the death and dying experience? This area explores films that deal with love in the end of life experience for the dying, caregivers and their loved ones. Love at the End of Life can explore many themes related to love, including love for oneself in the face of existential suffering, or a new understanding of love in the face of one’s mortality. There are a wide range of films to explore in this area in a cross-section of genres, ranging from successful box office films such as Love Story (1970) and Whose Life is it, Anyway? (1982) to documentaries such as to more recent films such as The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (2007).
This area, comprising multiple panels, welcomes papers and panel proposals that examine all forms and genres of films featuring love at the end of life. Possibilities include, but are not limited to, the following topics:
*Â Â Love and Sacrifice in Pediatric End of Life (e.g. Lorenzo’s Oil)
*Â Â Love and Family at the End of Life (e.g. Marvin’s Room, My Life, Philadelphia)
*Â Â Closure and Forgiveness at the End of Life (e.g. Magnolia, Truly, Madly, Deeply)
*Â Â Love and Existential Suffering in the film, “Wit:
*Â Â Love and the End of Life Experience in “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
*Â Â The Dying Friend: (e.g. Silverlake Life, The Doctor, Fried Green Tomatoes; Amadeus)
*Â Â Assisted Suicide Requests and Euthanasia: (e.g. Arsenic and Old Lace, Dax’s Case, The Sea Inside? Million Dollar Baby)
*Â Â Love and Death in times of War (Schindler’s List; Apocalypse Now, M*A*S*H)
*Â Â Documentary Films About End of Life (e.g. Silverlake Life: The View From Here (1993)
Please send your 200-word proposal by e-mail only to the area chair:
M. Sara Rosenthal, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Bioethics
Director, Program for Bioethics
University of Kentucky
Email: msrose2@email.uky.edu
Panel proposals for up to four presenters are also welcome, but each presenter must submit his or her own paper proposal. For updates and registration information about the upcoming meeting, see the Film & History website (www.uwosh.edu/filmandhistory).