41st Annual Conference
Southwest Popular / American Culture Association (SWPACA)
February 19-22, 2020
Hyatt Regency Hotel & Conference Center
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Proposals for papers and panels are now being accepted for the 41st annual 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/
As popular genres, Steampunk and Neo-Victorian fiction reflect a complex set of changes in contemporary society. At the same time, they link with classic traditions in science fiction and Victorian history. Submissions are welcome that address Steampunk and Neo-Victorian fiction from a variety of potential perspectives.
Some possibilities:
- Research addressing or applying theoretical or structural topics to the genre.
- Work focusing on any aspects of Steampunk such as technology, fashion, history, popularity, or anything else you deem worthy of close examination.
- Work applying theoretical perspectives to representations of characters in any particular Steampunk or Neo-Victorian book, or novel series. This might include a wide range of racial, ethnic, gender, and sexual identities.
- Work on international writers of Steampunk and/or Neo-Victorian literature
- Analysis of television and film adaptations of the genre.
- Analysis of the relevance of Steampunk to Disability studies
All proposals must be submitted through the conference’s database at http://register.southwestpca.org/southwestpca
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/
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 31, 2019.
SWPACA offers monetary awards for the best graduate student papers in a variety of categories. Submissions of accepted, full papers are due January 1, 2020. 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/conference-registration-information/
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/
If you have any questions about the area, Steampunk/Neo-Victorian Lit please contact its Area Chair, Matthew H. Kelley, PhD University of Alabama, English, mhkelley@ua.edu