This is the early November MAPACA newsletter. Our next conference is November 10-13, 2021 and will be held online.
In This Newsletter, We Have:
Need to Know: Tech and #MAPACA2021
Special Events at #MAPACA2021
Crash Course
Graduate Student Social Event
Academic Publishing Q&A, featuring The University Press of Kentucky and McFarland
Special Conference Discount from McFarland (ad)
Need to Know: Tech and #MAPACA2021
Using Your Personal Schedule
There can be a lot to keep up with during a virtual conference, including panel descriptions, times, and the links to get to each Zoom meeting. The easiest way to keep track of panels you’d like to attend is via your Personal Schedule!
You can add panels and other events to your MAPACA Personal Schedule via the online conference schedule. From mapaca.net, click on the orange “View Schedule” button. As you browse the schedule, you will see a link at the bottom of each panel and/or event description that says +Add to Personal Schedule. Click that, and the event is automatically added! You can access your Personal Schedule via your MAPACA profile under “Conference Links.”
How to Attend a Zoom Meeting When You Have the Link
First, make sure you have Zoom installed and you have signed up for a Zoom account if you do not already have one (we have linked to a video below that describes how to do that). Sign in to Zoom. Then, from your Personal Schedule on mapaca.net, simply click on the link for the meeting. A new tab should open on your browser (If this doesn’t happen, you may need to allow MAPACA’s website to have pop ups.) You will be asked for permission to open Zoom. Click “Open Zoom” and the application will automatically open your meeting.
Zoom Help
Each of these videos were made by Zoom and are only about two minutes long (or less!).
How to Download and Sign Up for Zoom (for free!): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qsy2Ph6kSf8
How to Join a Meeting: https://youtu.be/hIkCmbvAHQQ
How to Configure Zoom Audio/Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-s76QHshQnY
How to Use Zoom Meeting Controls: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygZ96J_z4AY
How to Share Your Screen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YA6SGQlVmcA
If you prefer written instructions, here’s a great set of step-by-step instructions on how to attend a meeting on Zoom by the Jewish Genealogical Society of Greater Boston. This is by far the clearest set of instructions we have found! https://www.jgsgb.org/zoom-help/
Zoom Tips
Mute Yourself
If you are attending a panel and are not speaking, make sure you mute yourself by clicking the microphone icon on the left hand side of the Zoom meeting control bar. You’ll know you are muted when the microphone icon has a red slash through it. Zoom picks up every noise around you and can be distracting in a panel. You can unmute yourself when it’s your turn to speak by clicking the button microphone icon again.
Camera Settings
Turning your camera on during panels can work well to help us feel more “present” and connected during the conference. It’s wonderful to see familiar faces and make new friends! However, you may wish to turn your camera off during the panels for privacy or if your wifi isn’t super fast. Turning off your camera can save bandwidth and make the video and audio of the speakers higher quality. You can turn your camera on and off via the camera icon on the Zoom meeting control bar.
Gallery View vs Speaker View
On the top right corner of your Zoom screen, you’ll see the words “Gallery View” and “Speaker View.” You can click on these to get the meeting experience you prefer. Gallery View will show you everyone who is at the meeting (if there are many attendees, you may have to hit the arrows on the side of the screen to see everyone). Speaker View will highlight the person speaking and put them in a larger “box” than everyone else.
Special Events at #MAPACA2021
Crash Course
Please join us on Saturday, November 13 from 11:45-1:15 in the Earthsea room for this year’s Crash Course! 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.
We encourage you to bring some snacks and join us for some informative fun!
Graduate Student Social Event
Join us for the Grad Student Social on Thursday evening from 8pm to 10pm in the Earthsea Zoom Room! Graduate students are invited to come for chatting and networking, sharing our conference experiences, and playing games (MAPACA Bingo, anyone?). Reach out to Samantha Przybylowicz if you have any questions prior to the session.
Special Panel: Academic Publishing Q&A, featuring The University Press of Kentucky and McFarland
Please join us for our special roundtable Q&A about academic publishing. Do you have questions about how to write a great book proposal? Do you want to know more about how long it takes for your publication to go to press? Come ask academic publishing professionals from several publishers, including The University Press of Kentucky and McFarland! This special panel will be open to all registered participants at this year’s conference. For more information about the panel, please see https://mapaca.net/conference/2021/academic-publishing-discussion-and-q. For more information about The University Press of Kentucky, please see https://www.kentuckypress.com/. For more information about McFarland, please see https://mcfarlandbooks.com/
Special Conference Discount from McFarland (ad)
During #MAPACA2021, you can visit McFarland’s virtual book room, where you can browse our books and learn more about book proposals and submitting your manuscript. You can use the special conference discount code MAPACA30 for a discount on all purchases.
Mid-Atlantic Popular & American Culture Association (MAPACA)
PO Box 1358, Lansdowne, PA 19050