Call for papers: 34th annual Southwest/Texas Popular Culture/American Culture Association Conference

Call for Papers

The 34th annual Southwest/Texas Popular Culture/American Culture Association (SW/TX PCA/ACA) Conference, to be held in Albuquerque, NM,  is accepting proposals for the Young Adult Literature and Culture Area.

Conference dates: February 13 – 16, 2013

Proposal submission deadline: November 16, 2012
Submit proposals to: http://conference2013.swtxpca.org

Conference hotel:
Hyatt Regency Albuquerque
300 Tijeras Avenue NW
Albuquerque, NM 87102
Further conference details are available at http://www.swtxpca.org

Conference theme:

This year, our 34th, we are “Celebrating Popular/American Culture(s) in a Global Context.”  In keeping with this conference theme, the Children’s and Young Adult Literature and Culture area solicits proposals dealing with journeys, quests, voyages, and globetrotting activities in children’s and young adult literature and culture.  Papers may address these ideas from literal, physical, metaphorical, psychological, spiritual, or ideological perspectives.  We highly encourage “thinking outside the box” with this theme.  While papers addressing the conference or area theme will be given preference, papers addressing other aspects in children’s and young adult literature and culture will be read with interest.

Scholars, researchers, professionals, teachers, graduate students and others interested in this area are encouraged to submit an abstract. Graduate students are especially encouraged and will be assisted in accessing any and all award opportunities the conference and/or associations provide.  Award categories can be found here: http://www.swtxpca.org/documents/48.html.  Upon acceptance of a proposal, I send out information on which awards would be most suited to the subject matter of the presentation.

Again, given our conference theme this year, we would like to encourage scholars and students outside of the United States to submit proposals.  However, all potential presenters need to be aware that our conference rules state that participants must present their papers in person at the
conference.  Given the more complex nature of international travel these days, we encourage international proposals be submitted as early as possible so as to provide enough time to make those travel arrangements.

This area covers a wide variety of possible mediums: traditional book/literature culture, but also comics, graphic novels, film, television, music, video games, toys, Internet environment, fan fiction, advertising, marketing tie-ins to books and films, just to name a few.  Proposals on fiction, non-fiction, poetry, or cross-genre topics are welcome.  Interdisciplinary approaches are especially welcome, as are presentations that go beyond the traditional scholarly paper format.

Please submit proposals of 250 words and a brief bio (100 words) for individual presentations or 500 words for full panels (3-4 people on a panel – please submit contact and brief bio for each person on the panel) to our conference database at http://conference2013.swtxpca.org.

Proposal submission deadline: November 16, 2012.
All accepted presenters will have to register for the conference by December 31, 2012.

For questions or if you encounter problems with submitting proposals to the database, please contact Diana Dominguez, Area Chair.  Please put SWTX in the subject line so I can filter the messages effectively.  Contact info:

Diana Dominguez
Area Chair: Children’s and Young Adult Literature and Culture
gypsyscholar@rgv.rr.com
The University of Texas at Brownsville

Please visit the Conference website for information on registration, accommodations, transportation options, graduate student paper awards, and audio-visual arrangements. http://www.swtxpca.org

(FYI: They have a variety of subject areas, including a Science Fiction/Fantasy Area, for those whose interests cross into that realm.)