This is the early April MAPACA newsletter. Our next conference is November 10-13, 2021 and will be held online.
In this newsletter, we have:
Announcement of Our 2021 Virtual Conference #MAPACA2021
Our 2021 Call for Papers
Introduction of our VP of Diversity and Inclusion, Dr. Brian Johnson
Join Us On LinkedIn
Announcement of our 2021 Virtual Conference
Due to the continuing pandemic, the MAPACA Board has voted to hold our 2021 conference completely online. The COVID-19 pandemic continues to affect just about every area of our lives, and we know that many schools have eliminated conference travel budgets this year. At the same time, we still want to meet with everyone to share our knowledge and love for popular and American culture. While we will miss being able to meet in person, we believe an online conference is the best decision for all of us this year — and we think we can have a great conference!
We will release more information about the format of our online conference soon, so keep an eye out for the next issues of this newsletter and check out mapaca.net.
We are so excited for you to join us for #MAPACA2021!
Our 2021 Call for Papers
Mid-Atlantic Popular & American Culture Association (MAPACA) 2021 Virtual Conference November 10-13, 2021 Online
Call for papers:
Proposals are welcome on all aspects of popular and American culture for inclusion in the 2021 Mid-Atlantic Popular & American Culture Association (MAPACA) virtual conference. Single papers, panels, roundtables, and alternative formats are welcome. This conference will be held completely online.
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@mapaca.net. The deadline for submission is Thursday July 15, 2021.
MAPACA’s membership is comprised of college and university faculty, independent scholars and artists, and graduate and undergraduate students. MAPACA is an inclusive professional organization dedicated to the study of popular and American culture in all their multi-disciplinary manifestations. It is a regional division of the Popular Culture and American Culture Association, which, in the words of Popular Culture Association founder Ray Browne, is a “multi-disciplinary association interested in new approaches to the expressions, mass media and all other phenomena of everyday life.”
For more information, visit mapaca.net.
MAPACA Welcomes Our First Vice President of Diversity and Inclusion
The Board of MAPACA is pleased to welcome our first Vice President of Diversity and Inclusion, Dr. Brian C. Johnson, who joined us in 2020.
Dr. Brian C. Johnson honors the struggles and accomplishments of the ordinary citizens who launched the Civil Rights Movement by committing himself personally and professionally to the advancement of multicultural and inclusive education.
He is currently a part time instructor of interpersonal communication at Luzerne County Community College.
Dr. Johnson earned both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in English from California University of Pennsylvania, and a Ph.D. in communications media and instructional technology at Indiana University of Pennsylvania in December 2016. He is the co-author of Reel Diversity: A Teacher’s Sourcebook (2008), winner of the 2009 Philip Chinn Book Award by the National Association for Multicultural Education and a revised edition in 2015, and We’ve Scene It All Before: Using Film Clips in Diversity Awareness Training (2009).
Dr. Johnson serves on the ministry team at Revival Tabernacle in Watsontown, PA where he is the youth pastor. He is a gifted teacher and enjoys sharing hope and joy with those to whom he ministers. In August 2009, he authored Sintimacy: The Christian’s Love Affair with Secret Sin which was published by Revival Nation Publishing.
An avid writer and novelist, Dr. Johnson’s Reel Diversity: A Teacher’s Sourcebook was awarded the highest book honor by the National Association for Multicultural Education. Johnson’s historical novel Send Judah First: The Erased Life of an Enslaved Soul just celebrated its first anniversary. Finding God in the Bathroom: Enter the Throne Room debuted during COVID-19 in April 2020.
We are excited to have Dr. Johnson as part of the MAPACA Board.
Join Us On LinkedIn
MAPACA is now on LinkedIn! Please join us there to make professional connections and add to your network: https://www.linkedin.com/company/mapaca
Mid-Atlantic Popular & American Culture Association (MAPACA)
PO Box 1358, Lansdowne, PA 19050