Baroque Tragedy: Intersections of Literature and Cinema
A special issue of Humanities (ISSN 2076-0787).
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 1 July 2026 | Viewed by 53
Special Issue Editor
Interests: cinema and literature; brecht and the baroque; shakespeare and film; black american expatriates in Paris
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Baroque tragedy is a vibrant scholarly field that entered the interdisciplinary realm in the mid-to-late 20th century once scholars began to concentrate on its affinities with the illusory tactics of cinema. Indeed, cinema affords space for overlaying metaphors and the trompe l'œil effect that is central to Baroque practice. Walter Benjamin, Bertolt Brecht, Wlad Godzich, Nicholas Spadaccini, and Gilles Deleuze were exceptional in exploring these connections, while filmmakers such as Raúl Ruiz equally articulated the role of mnemonics in Baroque tragedy and cinema.
For this Special Issue, we invite exploratory papers on select Baroque tragedies, Baroque literature, and the stylistic particulars that distinguish them from Renaissance works, as well as films or filmmakers whose style can be read as Baroque. We also welcome studies on scholars who have contributed to the crucial linking of Baroque aesthetics with cinematic theory and practice and on how cinematic practice has renewed interest in Baroque tragedy and literature.
You are invited to contribute papers on topics including, but not limited to, the following:
- The relation between historical Baroque literature and cinema’s adoption of Baroque aesthetics.
- The influence of Baroque tragedy and literary forms on Baroque cinema.
- Theoretical discussions on the intersection of Baroque literature and Baroque cinema.
- The relation between the historical Baroque and the contemporary Baroque style in cinema.
- Authors’ critical analyses of films often cited as Baroque.
- Critiques of films not typically recognized as Baroque, but that exhibit Baroque aesthetics.
- Close analysis of theorists who have written on Baroque literature and cinema (e.g., Merleau-Ponty, Guy Scarpetta, Heinrich Wölfflin, and Deleuze).
Abstracts (200-300 words) are also welcome and should be sent to the Editor, Alice Mikal (acraven@aup.edu) by Sep. 30th, 2025. Full papers (6,500-8,000 words) will be required by Jul. 1st, 2026. and will undergo peer review.
Dr. Alice Mikal Craven
Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Humanities is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- Baroque tragedy
- cinema
- literature
- illusion
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