Call for Chapters - Kids, Inc. to Andi Mack: The Disney Channel’s Tween Programming

Call for Chapter Proposals

"Kids, Inc. to Andi Mack: The Disney Channel’s Tween Programming" is a proposed interdisciplinary, multi-contributer volume examining the nature, history, and legacy of The Disney Channel’s programming for tweens from 1984 to present.

While The Walt Disney Company and its media texts (particularly its films) have been the subject of countless books and journal articles, little if any attention has been paid specifically to the Disney Channel, and particularly to its shows aimed at the tween market. When focus has been turned to the relationship between tweens and Disney, it has been almost exclusively production and distribution-based: how Disney markets to tweens, what tweens want to consume, and so on. This volume aims to build a picture of the “Disney Tween Universe” that is constructed on the Disney channel by examining, deconstructing, and interpreting the shows themselves.

What type of people make up the Disney tween universe – who is considered important within that universe? Does it exhibit racial and gender diversity? What types of stories are being told? How has that universe shifted over time? What, if any, changes have been made in the way Disney presents to tweens? Most importantly, what has this meant and continues to mean for tween audiences over the past 30+ years?

Submissions are welcomed that contribute directly to media studies, women’s and ethnic studies, feminist studies, sociology, psychology, history or related fields. Chapters should be both historical and deconstructive/interpretive in nature.

Please note that only live-action fictional programming is being considered, not animated programming or game shows.

Recommended topics/programs include, but are not limited to:

• Disney Channel development timeline/history (moving from premium to basic cable)
• Early Disney Channel tween programming (Kids Incorporated, Good Morning Miss Bliss, etc.)
• The “Timberlake Era” (All-New Mickey Mouse Club, Flash Forward, etc.)
• Late 90s Era (The Famous Jett Jackson, So Weird, etc.)
• The “Raven Era” (Even Stevens, Lizzie McGuire, That’s So Raven, etc.)
• The “Miley Era” (Suite Life of Zach and Cody, Hannah Montana, Wizards of Waverly Place, etc.)
• Early 2000s Era (Good Luck Charlie, Jessie, Austin & Ally, etc.)
• The “Revival” (Liv and Maddie, Girl Meets World, Bunk’d, etc.)
• The “Zendeya Era” (K.C. Undercover, Stuck in the Middle, Bizaardvark, Andi Mack, etc.)

Topics could cover programs individually, or deal with an Era as a whole construct.

You are invited to submit a Word document with a brief bio of the author(s) (no more than 250 words, including titles and affiliations), the title of the proposed chapter, and an abstract (500-800 words). Proposals should be submitted via email attachment to Dr. Christopher Bell (cbell3@uccs.edu) by May 1, 2018. Invited authors will need to submit full text by October 1, 2018. Final chapter length will be 5000-6000 words, and submitted chapters should not have been previously published, as the book will be peer reviewed.