Elon University, Elon, NC
October 1st – 3rd 2026
As famously recognized by Benedict Anderson in his work Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism, “Nation, nationality, nationalism—all have proved notoriously difficult to define, let alone to analyze.” Nevertheless, Anderson argues that nations are established by their imagined social bonds as well as conceived by their fraternity as a perceived community (3, 6-7). Regardless of actual connection, he asserts that the concept of “nation-ness is virtually inseparable from political consciousness,” and the reality of “attachment that peoples feel for the inventions of their imaginations” ignite their dedication to their nations (135, 141).
As vehicles for creating and sustaining these imagined communities through storytelling, adaptations—artifacts which are similarly mired in questions of imagined borders, contested identities, and emotional fidelity—provide unique ways to track the ever-changing notion of nation as it travels through time, space, and ideology. Here, in a year which marks the 250th anniversary of the formation of the United States and which also bears witness to ongoing global conflicts, the need to examine the formation, alteration, and interaction of (inter)national communities through their art could not be more urgent.
While we welcome papers on any aspect of film and media studies, we are especially interested in papers that explore the following topics concerning notions of nation, national identity, and/or community:
Adaptations or appropriations of “national” myths (literary or otherwise)
Reading adaptations as nations (or vice-versa)
Adaptations that act as a bridge between nations, communities, generations, etc.
Transnational adaptations, or texts that move beyond the boundaries of nation states
Repurposed propaganda or propagandized narratives of resistance
Texts which emphasize resilience and survivance of indigenous and diasporic nations
Adaptations which theorize or problematize the notion of “nation”
Political or social science methodologies applied to adaptation studies (or vice-versa)
The polities, policies, and policing of fandoms as imagined communities
Adaptations that explore nationhood beyond territorial sovereignty through twenty-first century discourses such as globalization, cosmopolitanism, and planetarity
Adaptations that examine the relationship between race, place, and legal subjectivity
As a multidisciplinary conference, we welcome studies of American and international cinema, film and technology, television, new media, and other cultural or political issues connected to the moving image as well as studies of “texts” broadly conceived, including artworks, history, music, and dramatic performances. In addition to academic papers and pre-constituted panels, presentation proposals about pedagogy or from creative writers, artists, video essayists, and filmmakers are also welcome.
Please submit your proposal, which will consist of a title, 250-word abstract, and keywords, via this Google Form by May 15, 2026. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Christina Parker-Flynn at litfilmconference@gmail.com.
