Chapters for The Myriad Faces of Heroes and Heroines: Folkloric Tradition and Modern Contemporaries
We are inviting chapter proposals for the edited book The Myriad Faces of Heroes and Heroines: Folkloric Tradition and Modern Contemporaries. It is a collection of academic essays that scrutinizes the representation, dynamics, transformation and/or adaptation of various heroes and heroines in different folkloric traditions and narratives and in the context of Asia. Contributors can explore relevant notions in the topics of mythologies, folktales, literature, theatre performance and any other forms of arts/genres etc.
The publication of the folklorist Joseph Campbell (1904-1987)’s legendary work The Hero with a Thousand Faces in 1949 played a significant role in narratology, particularly in its suggestion of the universal monomythic concept. In relating the quests of fictional characters with individual growth, Campbell wrote “Art, literature, myth and cult, philosophy, and ascetic disciplines are instruments to help the individual past his limiting horizons into spheres of ever-expanding realization” (163). Inspired by this stance and with the goal of anatomizing the contemporary journeys of heroes and heroines through their changes within, the volume serves more than a discussion over the pragmatic and aesthetic representation of men and women in the mythic world and the contemporary setting. It aims at a contemporary theorization of Asian heroes and heroines beyond their mythic structure and folkloric limits.
We welcome submissions that include, but are not limited to, the following topics:
1. Representation of heroes and heroines in the Asian folkloric tradition
2. Comparative studies of heroes and heroines between Asian and Western contexts
3. Connections between characters from myths and folktales and those found in contemporary narratives
4. The adaptation and transformation of heroes and heroines as revealed in a variety of literary works
5. Gendering of social roles in modern literature and other art forms
6. The gender politics of mythologies and folktales and their significance
7. Literary voices of heroes and heroines
8. Gendered traditions and resilience via different genres
9. The rebirth of folkloric conventions in modern narratives
The volume will be co-edited by Dr Julian Ward (University of Edinburgh), Dr Kelly Kar Yue Chan (Hong Kong Metropolitan University) and Dr Chi Sum Garfield Lau (Hong Kong Metropolitan University). Dr Ward, former Associate Editor of the Journal of Chinese Cinemas, has published widely in Chinese cinema and Chinese culture. The edited books of Dr Chan and Dr Lau include Chinese Culture in the 21st Century and its Global Dimensions: Comparative and Interdisciplinary Perspectives (Springer, 2020), Cross-Cultural Encounters in Modern and Premodern China: Global Networks, Mediation, and Intertextuality (Springer, 2022), and Conjugal Relationships in Chinese Culture: Sino / Western Discourse and Aesthetics on Marriage (Springer, 2023).
Interested authors should send an abstract (no more than 250 words) and a short biography (no more than 150 words) to the editors (kkychan@hkmu.edu.hk and cslau@hkmu.edu.hk) by 10 November 2023. Authors will be notified of the decision made by the editorial team by 15 December 2023. Only papers that have not been submitted to any other publishers before will be considered for acceptance.
For details and enquiries, please write to kkychan@hkmu.edu.hk and cslau@hkmu.edu.hk.
Full Paper Submission Guideline:
The submission should be between 6,000 and 10,000 words (excluding references) and it should follow the attached full paper style guide.
Submission Channels:
Please send your full paper prepared in APA style to kkychan@hkmu.edu.hk and cslau@hkmu.edu.hk by 15 March 2024. All received abstracts and papers will go through the process of internal review and language editing before they are included in the proposal to potential publishers.
Important Dates:
10 November 2023 (Fri) Deadline of abstract submission
15 December 2023 (Fri) Notification of acceptance
15 March 2024 (Fri) Deadline of full paper submission
Dr Kelly Chan