cfp.english.upenn.edu

CALL FOR PAPERS:
Collecting/Collectibles Area of the Popular Culture Association
2011 Conference – April 20-23, San Antonio, TX

The Collecting and Collectibles Area of the Popular Culture Association invites paper submissions on any topic involving collecting for the 2011 Popular Culture Association/American Culture Association Conference, to be held April 20-23 at the Marriott Rivercenter San Antonio.

Topic areas might include:

*why people collect (motives/motivations)
*particular collectors and/or collections
*social and cultural aspects of collecting
*the practice of collecting
*theories of collecting
*collecting theory vs. collecting practice
*specific types of collectibles
*the psychology of collecting
*historical changes in collecting
*collecting in/as contemporary popular culture
*collecting as a metaphor in (post)modern life
*consumerism and collecting
*collecting and/as material culture
*how the Internet has changed traditional collecting
*new forms of collecting in an online world

Papers can deal with any type of collecting -- from individual to institutional (museums, libraries, etc.) -- and/or any type of collectible -- from popular culture to fine arts to antiquities to new forms of collecting that may exist only in virtual spaces. We would especially like to encourage submissions that work to broaden and deepen our understanding of collecting across its many contexts.

Please send a 150-word abstract, with title and contact information included, either via email or ground mail to the address listed below. Emailed submissions can be sent either as a Word attachment or in the body of the email.

DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSIONS: December 15, 2010
Authors of accepted abstracts will be notified by January 7, 2011

Please don't hesitate to get in touch via email or phone if you have any questions.

Kevin M. Moist
Associate Professor of Communications
Penn State Altoona
101D Cypress
3000 Ivyside Park
Altoona, PA 16601
814-949-5779
kmm104@psu.edu