Call For Papers:  2018 MAPACA Conference

Lord Baltimore Hotel, Baltimore, Maryland

November 8th, 9th, and 10th, 2018.

Area: Children and Childhood Studies

Area co-chairs: Ryan Bunch, Rutgers University; Kacey Doran, Rutgers University

Due date for proposals: June 30, 2018

Children and Childhood Studies (CCS) focuses on the societal, cultural, and political forces that shape the lives of children and the concept of childhood contemporaneously and throughout history. CCS research may originate in any discipline including the humanities, the behavioral and social sciences, or the hard sciences. We especially encourage multidisciplinary or interdisciplinary research.

Papers for this area may examine, but are not limited to, the impact of popular culture on children and/or childhood, representations of children/childhood in popular culture, and the roles of children and youth as consumers or producers of popular culture. Paper and presentation topics should address the convergence of popular culture and American childhood in some regard. Single papers, panels, roundtables, and alternative formats are welcome.

Examples of previous presentations include:

• Representations of children/childhood in popular texts, images, or media
• The relationships between children’s identities and popular culture (race, gender, disabilities, sexuality, ethnicity, class, etc.)
• Discussions of youth subcultures or youth agencies in relation to popular culture
• Children’s digital lives
• Children’s health and popular culture
• The role/use of children’s popular culture in education
• Contested and conflicting values of childhood in popular culture

To submit a proposal visit: https://mapaca.net/conference

Contact the area chairs at: ryan@ryanbunch.com or kaceyd7@gmail.com.