This is MAPACA’s early April 2017 newsletter. The next conference is November 8-11, 2017 (Philadelphia, PA).
2016 AWARDS ANNOUNCEMENT
MAPACA is happy to announce the 2016 Donald Award and Walden Award recipients!
The Ralph Donald Award recognizes an outstanding paper and presentation delivered at MAPACA’s annual conference. The Donald Award is named in honor of Ralph Donald, who joined the MAPACA board in 1990 and served as The Almanack’s founding editor. Award recipients receive recognition and complimentary registration to the upcoming conference. This year’s Donald Award goes to Meredith Mowder (CUNY) for “Art After Dark: The Rise of Night Club Performances in Downtown New York 1978-1988.”
The Walden Prize for Graduate and Undergraduate Papers is awarded annually to an outstanding emerging scholar in popular culture studies. Walden Prize awardees receive recognition, an honorarium, and complimentary registration for the upcoming conference. This year’s Graduate Walden Prize has been awarded to Urszula Pruchniewska (Temple University) for “Producing ‘Sneaky Feminism’ in Online Cultural Content,” and the Undergraduate Walden Prize has been awarded to Alyssa Rodriguez (Ithaca College) for “She Contains Multitudes: Debunking the Myth of the Manic Pixie Dream Girl in Paper Towns.”
2017 CALL FOR PAPERS
Proposals are welcome on all aspects of popular and American culture for inclusion in the 2017 Mid-Atlantic Popular & American Culture Association (MAPACA) conference in Philadelphia, PA. Single papers, panels, roundtables, and alternative formats are welcome.
Proposals should take the form of 300-word abstracts, and may only be submitted to one appropriate area. For a list of areas and area chair contact information, visit mapaca.net/areas. General questions can be directed to mapaca at mapaca dot net. The deadline for submission is Friday, June 30, 2017. For more info, visit mapaca.net.
2017 DIVINE IMPACT AWARD WINNER: CHEF JOSE GARCES
MAPACA is proud to announce the 2017 Divine Impact Award winner Chef Jose Garces. Chef Garces is an award winning chef, author, and restaurateur with a strong connection to the Philadelphia area. Chef Garces’ culinary success as a James Beard Award winner and his work on the hit Food Network show Iron Chef America are complemented by his work with the Garces Foundation, a nonprofit that provides health and educational services to Philadelphia’s immigrant community.
Chef Garces will receive the 2017 DIA and participate in a Q&A at the conference on Thursday November 9th. A reception will follow.