“… And yet it moves!”, was the response of Galileo Galilei, a former professor at the University of Padova, after he was forced to reject the idea of an Earth spinning around an unmoving Sun.
In 2017, more than 380 years later, those words will come back to title the 29th Annual Conference of the SAS-Society for Animation Studies, held at the same institution where Galileo taught: one of the most ancient universities in Italy and in the whole world, founded in 1222.
The Department of Cultural Heritage of the University of Padova is one of the very few academic centers in Italy where History of Animation is taught. In 2014, it hosted the first Italian academic conference on animation, “Il cinema d’animazione e l’Italia” (Italy and the Animated Film), endorsed by the SAS. A mere 40 km (25 miles) from Venice, the Department of Cultural Heritage is a place where the Italian traditions of the arts and humanities meet the newest researches and expressive forms. Animation is primarily engaged in this interchange, which benefits also from the collaboration with institutions like the International School of Comics.
CALL FOR PAPERS
The “… And Yet It Moves!” theme invites delegates to focus on the nature of animation, by suggesting that movement alone is not enough to define this medium, even if movement still retains a crucial importance to animation.
Papers on other topics, falling into the area of the Animation Studies in the broadest possible sense, are also welcome.
20-minute paper presentations, as well as to 5-minute micro talks will be accepted.
Animation scholars, researchers and professionals can send their proposals, which will be blind reviewed by a panel of SAS members. However, in order to participate, it will be necessary to be a member of the SAS for 2017. The submission guidelines will be provided soon at this same webpage; a schedule and further details on the conference will follow in due course.
