Description: Disney as an entity has sprawled ever-larger in recent years, from its acquisition of LucasArts and Marvel, the arrival of Disney+, and the inevitable new attractions and parks that show no sign of slowing down. The area focuses on Disney as a multimedia conglomerate, incorporating subjects like fan behaviors at the parks, business aspects of the Disney corporation, transmedia strategies, how the history of the company has been (and is still being) rewritten, issues of representation in their media texts, and many more. Disney is perhaps the most popular brand in the world today, though it defies easy definition, at once a theme park operator, animation studio, toy maker, comics publisher, and a myriad of other tangentially-connected aspects. While there are certainly other expansive multinational corporations, Disney is more clearly public facing, a name known worldwide, even as it can take different meanings in different spaces. Disney Studies has a place in the discourse, one that invites fresh approaches and new voices, and will continue to grow in scope and significance in the years to come.
Scope: This new area emphasizes the creation and promotion of Disney-centric research, the interdisciplinary nature of the current state of the field, encouraging interactions between scholars specializing in Disney, and charting a new course for the study of Disney. While Disney does own a huge media empire, the focus of this area ison the traditional productions of Walt Disney Studios, programming on the Disney Channel, and the permutations of Disney comics. As 2023 will be the 100th anniversary of the founding of Disney Brothers Studio and the 40th anniversary of EPCOT, we specifically welcome presentations that deal with the park and its reception, as well as other company-wide anniversaries for specific films. Additionally, our area has been in conversations with Fairy Tales and Science Fiction/Fantasy, and there is potential for joint panels if there is sufficient interest.
Example topics:
The Disney Brand and Transmedia Storytelling
Disney in the Classroom: Folklore, Literature, and Business
Disney Merchandising from Mickey Mouse Gas Masks to the Disney Store
EPCOT at Forty
Disney on Broadway
Urban Planning and the Walt Disney Company
Queer Representations in Walt Disney Television Series
Disney and Diversity: Strategies for Inclusion and Racism in Fandom
The Disney Company’s Centennial
Disney Theme Parks and Immersive Media
The Disney Tourism Empire: From Theme Parks to Cruise Ships and Vacation Tours
Submission requirements: abstracts are acceptable, and should be roughly 250 words; full papers and pre-constituted panels are also amenable.
Contacts: Peter Cullen Bryan ([email protected]) and Sabrina Mittermeier ([email protected])
