CFP: Slacker: Answering the True Call - Essays on Linklater’s Cult Classic (Working Title)

Richard Linklater’s Slacker (1991) is a cult classic with a crucial role in the history of American cinema. The movie is unusual in many ways. It does not have a traditional narrative; it follows 100 characters around the UT Austin area in a way that seems completely random. There is no protagonist, no story, no thread to the individual events, yet somehow it is a completely coherent and engaging movie that sparks as many reflections as the number of scenes it has.

We are looking for chapter proposals in the form of abstracts. Topics already included are work, capitalism, Buddhism, film as a dream, narrative, episodic views of life, and absurdity. Possible topics for new chapters include:

●Importance of the movie Slacker for Gen X

●Role of Slacker in Independent Film

●Oblique Strategies in the movie

●Possible worlds in the opening of Slacker

●Narrativity and anti-narrativity in Slacker

●The coffee shop as the Agora of Austin

●Non-Conformity in Slacker

●Slacker and embracing the absurd

●Individualism vs. Communitarianism

●Capitalism and Commodification

●Conspiracy Theories

●The Society of Spectacle

●Idleness and Creativity

●Other topics are also welcome; please send your proposal!

Submission Guidelines:

●Abstracts: 300–500 words outlining the central argument, theoretical framework, and relevance to the volume.

●Author Bio: 100 words. Include affiliation and other relevant information.

●Deadline for Abstracts: May 1, 2026

●Notification of Acceptance: Sept 1, 2026

●Full Chapter Length: 3,500–7,000 words (final chapters)

This volume will be comprised of a mix of scholarly articles and articles that are more personal/casual in tone. We are accepting submissions from an array of research fields, including philosophy, film studies, politics, cultural studies, sociology, psychology, etc. The volume should appeal to both academic and non-academic audiences.

Please send abstracts and inquiries to:

[email protected] and [email protected]