Hyatt Regency Hotel & Conference Center, Albuquerque
February 7 - 10, 2018
Proposals for papers and panels are now being accepted for the 39th annual Southwest Popular / American Culture Association (SWPACA) conference. One of the nation’s largest interdisciplinary academic conferences, SWPACA offers nearly 70 subject areas, each typically featuring multiple panels. For a full list of subject areas, area descriptions, and Area Chairs, please visit http://southwestpca.org/conference/call-for-papers/.
The Children’s/Young Adult Literature and Culture 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, and 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.
Topics may include, but are not limited to:
- Diversity in Children’s and YA literature (gender, race/ethnicity, disability, body image, sexual identity)
- Use of innovative formats for both children’s and YA literature
- The next “big” thing in children’s and YA literature
- Film adaptation issues
- Historical approaches to children’s and YA literature and culture
- New readings of children’s and YA literature and culture
- Re-imaginings of myth, fairy tale, and other traditional stories
- Explorations of specific authors in the children’s and YA areas
- Fan fiction and fan followings of books, films, and authors
- Beyond books and films
- Awards for children’s and YA literature (issues and controversies)
Proposals on other topics related to Children’s and Young Adult Literature and Culture will be read with interest. For ongoing information about the Children’s/Young Adult Literature and Culture Area, please visit our Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/childYAlitcult/. For details on using the submission database and on the application process in general, please see the Proposal Submission FAQs and Tips page at: http://southwestpca.org/conference/faqs-and-tips/proposal-submission-faqs-and-tips/. Individual proposals for 15 minute papers must include an abstract of approximately 200-500 words. Including a brief bio in the body of the proposal form is encouraged, but not required. For information on how to submit a proposal for a roundtable or a multi-paper panel, please view the above FAQs and Tips page.
The deadline for submissions is October 22, 2017. SWPACA offers monetary awards for the best graduate student papers in a variety of categories. Submissions of accepted, full papers are due December 1. For more information, visit http://southwestpca.org/conference/graduate-student-awards/. Registration and travel information for the conference is available at http://southwestpca.org/conference/registration/. In addition, please check out the organization’s peer-reviewed, scholarly journal, Dialogue: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Popular Culture and Pedagogy, at http://journaldialogue.org. For questions, or if you encounter problems with submitting proposals to the database, please contact Diana Dominguez, Area Chair, and Renae L. Mitchell, SWPACA Leadership Institute Fellow / Assistant Area Chair. Please put SWPACA in the subject line so we can filter the messages effectively.
We look forward to receiving your submissions.
Contact Info:
Diana Dominguez
Area Chair: Children’s and Young Adult Literature and Culture
The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
One West University Boulevard
Brownsville, Texas 78520
956-882-8853
Renae L. Mitchell
SWPACA Michael K. Schoenecke Leadership Institute Fellow
Assistant Area Chair: Children’s and Young Adult Literature and Culture
University of New Mexico
rmitchell@unm.edu