Title: 2018 popular culture association & american culture association (pca/aca) national conference
When: march 28-31, 2018
where: indianapolis, indiana
deadline: october 1, 2017
The study of material culture offers an exciting area for interdisciplinary research and conversation, as it brings together those engaged in scholarly inquiry in areas as diverse as history, art history, design, decorative arts, cultural studies, consumer studies, literature, communications, anthropology, sociology, and beyond. Of particular interest are papers that address human-made material objects as primary source material for anthropological, geographical, sociological, historical, or area studies; papers that refer to contexts of various sorts in order to determine the origins, functions, or uses of human- made material objects; or methodological papers that theorize and critique “material culture” as a discipline for humanistic inquiry.
Past presentations in this area have focused on decorative arts and the construction of literary characters; the material culture of poverty; commemorative items; historic and modern furnishings; fashion, branding, and marketing trends; manufactured homes and representations of the translocal… even the design of airport shopping “malls”! Professional academics, graduate students, museum professionals, and independent scholars are all encouraged to apply.
Considering proposals for sessions organized around a theme, special panels, and/or individual papers. Sessions are scheduled in 1½ hour slots, typically with four papers or speakers per standard session.
Presentations should not exceed 15 minutes. Proposals should take the form of an abstract of up to 250 words and must be submitted electronically by 1 October 2017. To submit your proposal, go to https://conference.pcaaca.org / and follow the instructions for creating an account. All submissions must be made through the conference submission site.
For additional information about the PCA/ACA and its annual conference, visit http://pcaaca.org/national-conference/. Please be sure to select “Material Culture” as the area to which you submit your abstract.
Questions or concerns may be sent via email to the Area Chair for Material Culture, Dr. Heidi C. Nickisher at hcnfaa@rit.edu.
Heidi C. Nickisher, Ph.D. School of Art — Art History
College of Imaging Arts & Sciences | RIT 73 Lomb Memorial Drive
Rochester, NY 14623-5603
Office: 585.475.4996 | fax: 585.475-6447