Among the topic areas for which individual papers and panels are encouraged is “The American West As Metaphor,” i.e., how films and television programs have used history as a metaphor for portraying contemporary events and situations. For example, the television series “M*A*S*H*” has been described as a program about the Vietnam War set in the context of the Korean War. Among other films and television programs that are suggestive are: High Noon (McCarthyism); The Alamo (The Cold War); They Died With Their Boots On (World War II); and The Wild Bunch, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Little Big Man (1960s), Who Shot Liberty Valance, The Unforgiven, Gunsmoke, etc.

Interested faculty, graduate students and independent scholars are invited to submit proposals for individual papers or entire panels.

For individual papers please mail, fax, or e-mail (preferred) a 250-word proposal, a brief biographical note, and a brief bibliography for the paper.

For panels please mail, fax, or e-mail (preferred) a proposal with the session’s title, the titles of each paper or presentation, a brief (100-word) description of each paper/presentation, each author/presenter’s name and affiliation plus a brief biographical note.