Issues of war have played a prominent role in Joss Whedon’s work across various media, from the progressively militarized later seasons of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel, to the later seasons in comic book format and its offshoot, Fray. This continues throughout the television and comic book iterations of Firefly and Serenity, in Dollhouse, in Whedon’s work with Marvel Studios both behind the scenes and as writer/director of the first two Avengers films, as well as his independent projects such as Dr. Horrible’s Sing Along Blog and even in his critically acclaimed rendition of Much Ado About Nothing. Despite the prevalence of warfare in Whedon’s work, a collection of sustained critical examination has yet to be published and is the gap this book seeks to address.
Possible topics might include:
- Military Leadership in Whedon’s Work
- Past and Present Cultural Histories of Wars
- War and Gender
- PTSD and Combat Stress
- Whedon and Empire
- Narratives of the Good War and Humanitarian Intervention
- Trauma and Destruction
- Private Military Companies and Armed Individuals
- Corporate Ideology and Warfare
- Disability and War
- Military Science and Invention
Please respond with any questions or abstracts of 300-500 words by September 30, 2016 to warinthewhedonverses@gmail.com. Proposals should be for original essays that have not been published previously (including in conference proceedings) and that are not currently under consideration for another edited collection or journal. Final pieces must adhere to the MLA style of citations and be approximately 8,000 words, inclusive of endnotes and bibliography. These are due April 1, 2017.