Popular Culture Association 2027 Annual Conference

Monsters & the Monstrous Area

Please join us in Boston, MA March 24-27 to explore the themes, influences, and impact of the monster as a cultural and historical touchstone. Across the globe and throughout the centuries, the labels of monster and monstrous have been invoked to separate the “natural” from the “unnatural” and the acceptable from the socially unacceptable. Whether referring to mythological creatures, the Victorian creations that have become standards through Universal film adaptations, or as a shorthand to denigrate othered peoples, the monster has no shortage of applications and, sometimes, reevaluations.

We specifically welcome papers or presentations that focus on the use of monsters and/or the monstrous as a teaching tool or educational lens.

As the terms monster and monstrous have a wide application, topics can be anything from Grendel to Grover and Hannibal Lecter to high rises. Topics in this area span the monstrous in form, behavior, and theory. 

Potential paper topics include:

• Children’s books, toys, or related media
• Film and television including remediations
• Literary texts
• Board games, RPGs, video games, and pinball
• Societal norms & monstrification of others
• Cryptids
• Propaganda materials
• Sideshows and oddities

 Conference Theme

This year the PCA has decided to try having a conference theme. The 2027 PCA Annual Conference theme is “Revolutions & Revisions in Popular Culture,” because we will be in Boston, home of the American Revolution. You do not have to tailor your work to this theme. However, you are invited to consider how your work might engage with questions of transformation, reinterpretation, innovation, resistance, adaptation, or cultural change. If you choose to focus a paper on this theme, we will put it on a panel with other similar papers.

Area Theme

Our area’s theme for Boston, as decided at our last area meeting, is “Witchcraft, Bitchcraft, and Lovecraft.” You do not have to focus your paper on it, but, if you would like to focus a paper on this theme, we will put it on a panel with other similar papers. This theme can easily be combined with the conference theme.

Submission Requirements

Please submit an abstract by 31 October 2026 (maximum of 300 words) through the PCA website: www.pcaaca.org

Please address any questions or concerns to the co-chairs at: MonsterStudiesPCA@gmail.com

Co-chairs: Colleen Karn, David Hansen, and Cassandra Karn