*[Updated with proper web address at the end] Call for Submissions: First
Annual Ray Browne Conference on Popular Culture*

The Department of Popular Culture of Bowling Green State University, one of
the nation’s preeminent academic departments focusing on popular culture
studies, is closing in on some impressive landmarks. 2012 marks the 40th
anniversary of the first Master’s Degrees given in Popular Culture and in
2013 the Department of Popular Culture will celebrate 40 years in
existence. With these milestones on the horizon, it is appropriate that the
Department of Popular Culture has recently founded the Popular Culture
Scholars Association, a student organization for undergraduate and graduate
students dedicated to examining the prominent subjects, concerns and ideas
of 21st century popular culture.

To celebrate the Department of Popular Culture’s anniversaries and the
formation of the PCSA, we would like to invite any and all students
(undergraduate and graduate), scholars, critics, former members of the POPC
program and friends of the department to join us for the first ever Ray
Browne Conference on Popular Culture on March 31st through April 1st 2012.
The conference will be held on the Bowling Green State University campus.
We are pleased to announce that Dr. Gary Hoppenstand will be the keynote
speaker. Dr. Hoppenstand received his Ph.D. in American Culture Studies and
his M.A. in Popular Culture from Bowling Green State University.  Currently
he is the Editor-in-Chief for the Journal of Popular Culture and University
Distinguished Faculty at Michigan State University.

Dr. Ray Browne founded the Department of Popular Culture to give students
an opportunity to intelligently consider the cultural forms of their
everyday lives. Nearly 40 years later, our everyday lives are much
different. New mediums, genres and industries have been introduced into the
complex world of popular culture and innovative perspectives, methods and
models have presented new ways in which to investigate popular culture.

In light of these changes, potential topics for paper, panel and roundtable
proposals include, but are not limited to:

·         How have these additions and shifts altered popular culture, and
how do we explore them?
·         What are the most pressing issues for popular culture scholars in
the 21st century?
·         What are the texts, genres, individuals and theoretical
approaches that will define popular culture in the years to come?
·         Which new media, texts, genres, etc. deserve attention from
academics and scholars?
·         Are there individual popular culture texts, genres or individuals
that embody the important shifts and changes in popular culture as a whole?
·         Explorations of specific 21st century popular culture texts,
genres, trends and approaches

In short, the Ray Browne Conference on Popular Culture hopes to address
this question: what is popular culture in the 21st century and how must we
study it?

Again, we welcome proposals and participation from any interested
undergraduate and graduate students, as well as any scholars, critics,
former members of the POPC program and friends of the department.

The deadline for proposals is Friday, February 3, 2012. Individual paper
proposals should be between 300-400 words. Full roundtable and panel theme
proposals can be longer, but should include as much prospective information
about the topic and number of possible participants as possible. Please
email your abstract and a short biography to [log in to unmask] The subject
line should contain the writer’s surname followed by “BCPC12” Abstract.
Notifications for decisions will be sent by Friday, February 17, 2012.
Please contact the PCSA if you have any questions or concerns
[log in to unmask] or via our website at http://bgsu.orgsync.com/org/pcsa.

--
Cory Barker
Graduate Student
Department of Popular Culture
Bowling Green State University
twitter.com/corybarker
(765) 499-0080
[log in to unmask]
TVSurveillance.com

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