This is October 2015 news from MAPACA. The next conference is November 5-7, 2015 (Philadelphia, PA).
Questions for Terry Gross Q&A
Join us November 5th at 6:30 p.m. for a Q&A with this year’s Divine Impact Award recipient, Terry Gross, during the conference reception. Have a question for Terry Gross? Send it to mapaca@mapaca.net now and your question might be used at the reception. Deadline: October 23, 2015.
Make Reservations Now
Don’t forget to make your reservation for the Philadelphia Museum of Art Decorative Arts and Design tour and the Philly Food Tour.
Online Schedule
If you haven’t recently, please check the online schedule for the latest updates.
Conference Hotel Rate Deadline
Reminder: The conference hotel rate ends October 14, 2015.
Special Session - Call for Proposals
2nd Annual High-Density Popular Culture Crash Course
Following last year’s successful popular culture crash course, we’ve decided to do this special session again and are seeking proposals for this year’s conference. (Please note that due to the nature of this special session, presenters are allowed to participate in both this session and other conventional panels.)
Panel Overview: This high-density session will feature several 5-minute micro-presentations about current popular culture topics in a “crash course” about new and interesting phenomena. Since many attendees often spend the majority of their conference time attending presentations related to only one or a few areas, this special session will offer a chance to learn about a diverse range of topics meant to inform popular culture scholars beyond their specific research interests.
Proposals will be selected based on merit and diversity of topics.
Topics: An ideal topic will be current, significant, interesting, and the sort of thing people talk about before class/at parties/on social media. For instance:
- Doctor Who
- Spotify
- Snapchat
- The “Caitlyn Jenner effect”
- Bronies
- “Cups”
- Smartphones as checks-on-police (or smartphones and privacy questions)
- Lena Dunham
- Netflix
- Twerking
- Hunger Games
- Grindr
- The changes/non-changes in the late-night TV landscape
- The rise of reality TV singing competitions
How to Submit: Email a brief biography and a 75-word proposal that includes a presentation title, explanation of the topic, and identification of significance for contemporary popular culture research. (Please include this information in the body of your email, not as an attachment.) Email to Dr. Tom Grochowski: tgrochowski@sjcny.edu Deadline: October 7, 2015