Call for Papers, Abstracts, and Panel Proposals:
PEDAGOGY & POPULAR CULTURE AREA
2018 Midwest Popular Culture Association/American Culture Association Annual Conference
Indianapolis, IN
(Extended) Proposal Submission Deadline: MAY 15, 2018

Main Conference: Thursday – Sunday, October 4-7, 2018
Hyatt Regency, 1 S Capitol Ave, Indianapolis IN 46204 Phone: (317) 632-1234

The Pedagogy & Popular Culture Area of the MPCA/MACA requests 175-250 word proposals for papers to be presented at the 2018 Midwest Popular Culture Association Annual Conference. Proposals for co-authored papers, complete panels (3-4 presenters), or nontraditional formats such as workshops, roundtables, open forums, and/or visual/artistic/creative approaches are also welcomed. Please upload proposals to the Pedagogy & Popular Culture area, http://submissions.mpcaaca.org/.

Please submit proposals on any aspect of pedagogy and popular culture; any/all disciplinary approaches are welcome. Suggested topics and approaches include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Representations or discussions of pedagogy, education, and/or academia in popular/American/mass culture;
• Pedagogical approaches to teaching about/with historical or contemporary popular culture texts;
• Theoretical underpinnings of cultural studies, critical pedagogies, and/or praxis;
• Theoretical and/or practical discussions of “public pedagogy” (in the sense of hegemonic narrative and/or the sense of deliberate academic/student participation in the creation of publicly disseminated information and projects—see Henry Giroux) and knowledge production;
• Integrating popular culture texts into more traditionally-oriented courses and disciplines;
• Interrogation and exploration of pedagogical problems or concerns, including discussions of political, racial, and/or nationalist pedagogy in relationship to current political events;
• Discussions about the intersections of race, ethnicity, gender, popular culture, and academia, including pedagogy; and/or
• “Best practices” presentations on teaching tools; lesson plan, syllabus, and/or assignment construction; and/or using new media technologies.

Individuals may submit only one paper to the conference; please do not submit the same paper to more than one area or multiple papers to any areas. Please include name, affiliation, and e-mail address of each author/participant with the abstract.

Please plan to attend the entire conference. Panels will run at the following approximate times: Thursday 9:00 am-6:00 pm, Friday 9:00 am-6:00 pm, Saturday 9:00 am -5:30 pm, and Sunday 9:00 am-2:00 pm. Special events will include game night on Thursday evening, featured speakers and awards ceremony on Friday evening, and a keynote speaker on Saturday evening. These events will be free for conference registrants. A preliminary version of the schedule will be posted on our website around August 2018.

More information about the conference can be found at http://mpcaaca.org/indy-2018/. Attendees are financially responsible for all costs related to their participation in the conference, e.g., transportation, lodging, meals, registration, membership, etc. Graduate students are invited to apply for competitively awarded travel grants from MPCA/MACA. Details are available at http://mpcaaca.org/conference/travel-grants/.

Special Notes Regarding Proposal Submissions: (1) AV equipment will be rented from the hotel by the Association. The Association does not provide laptops, cords, or speakers. (2) If necessary, indicate and submit potential scheduling conflicts along with your proposal. (3) If you wish your presentation to be listed as MACA (rather than MPCA), please include this request with your proposal.

Questions? Contact Jessica Birch at jessica.elizabeth.birch@gmail.com.