Call for Papers: Masks: The online journal of law and theatre

Posted by on June 8, 2009

Masks: The online journal of law and theatre
CALL FOR PAPERS
http://masksjournal.com

Masks welcomes paper submissions to be published in the upcoming, second issue.

Masks: the online journal of law and theatre is a multi-disciplinary, peer-reviewed online journal based at the University of British Columbia Faculty of Law.  The journal’s focus is on the intersections of law and theatre.  Diverse scholarship exists on some of these intersections, including: courtroom as theatre; historical connections between theatre and the Inns of Court; lawyer playwrights; images of lawyers in popular culture; law in literature studies of plays; and legislative theatre.  Masks seeks to bring together continuing scholarship in these areas and to provide a forum for discussions of new areas of research.

In the first issue the following four articles were published (entire text available on the website):

“Embodied Law: Theatre of the Oppressed in the law school classroom”
– Gillian Calder

“Staging the Virtual Courtroom: An Argument for Standardizing Camera Angles in Canadian Criminal Courts”
– Jeff Locke

“The Theatre of Memory in Northern Ireland”
– Eugene McNamee

““It’s Dramatic”: Metatheatre, legal performance, and broadcasting on Boston Legal”
– Sarah Swan

For the second issue, Masks hopes to expand the range of potential scholarship in this field, and encourages submissions on:
•    Legislative theatre and other forms of participatory lawmaking (theory and application)
•    Potential and current applications of sociodrama to law
•    Use of theatrical tools to elucidate and/or transform power (political, economic, social, etc)
•    Theatrical tools in legal pedagogy (beyond role playing)
•    Improvisation and the law (including connections between improvisation and negotiation)
•    Playback in legal contexts
•    Theatre of the Oppressed and social justice
•    Studies of legal drama, particularly new dramas exploring developing legal themes

Submissions are solicited from all scholars – not only those working in the fields of Law or Theatre.  Scholarship from the areas of sociology, psychology, social work, communication studies, literature, business and other fields which focus on the nexus of law and theatre is highly encouraged.  As well, Masks encourages the submission of papers by graduate students (including LL.B. students) and plans to include one student paper per issue.  Student papers will be included in the peer review process.

Finally, in the second issue, Masks will be creating a new submissions category specifically designed for those involved in the theatre industry. Masks is seeking submissions from theatre practitioners interested in submitting articles that consider law in relation to theatrical works. This category is intended for theatre personnel interested in writing pieces that will not be subjected to an editorial process as rigorous as peer review, while still affording a venue for public exchange of well-developed ideas on the interplay of law and theatre. There is a separate Call for Submissions for this category and for more detail interested parties may contact the editor or visit the website.

Please send your submissions or any questions to [email protected]

Important Dates:

June 1, 2009: Submission of abstracts for consideration and feedback. This is not required, but if you want feedback from the editorial board before preparing your submission, it will be available.

July 15, 2008: Submission of papers. Notice of acceptance will be given before September 1, 2009.