Classical Representations in Popular Culture, February 10-13, 2016

full name / name of organization: 
Southwestern Popular/American Culture Association
contact email: 

The Southwest Popular / American Culture Association (SWPACA) will once again be sponsoring sessions on CLASSICAL REPRESENTATIONS IN POPULAR CULTURE at their 37th annual conference, February 10-13, 2016 at Hyatt Regency Hotel and Conference Center in beautiful Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Papers on any aspect of Greek and Roman antiquity in contemporary culture are eligible for consideration. Potential topics include:
• Cinema directly or indirectly reflecting aspects of the ancient world in cinema: recent films involving Classical themes which you might consider include The Legend of Hercules, Pompeii, La Grande Belezza, Inside Llewyn Davis, as well as television series which engage with classical themes like Doctor Who, Game of Thrones, Spartacus, Battlestar Galactica.
• Literary or theoretical analysis of literature employing classical references or motifs, like Anne Carson's Autobiography of Red or Night.
• Analysis of representations of classical history, literature, or philosophy in science fiction movies or books, as Edward Gibbons to Asimov's Foundation Trilogy or the impact of Thucydides in Cold War cinema.
• Or, conversely, the influence of Science Fiction on representations of the ancient world in later cinema (e.g., how did George Lucas' empire of the Star Wars franchise influence later representations of the Roman Empire?)
• Intellectual history of popular culture: how has Classics in popular culture created or shaped social or intellectual currents?
• Classical themes in productions of theater, opera, ballet, music, and the visual arts.
• Paedagogical applications of classics in popular culture: how can we use contemporary films, literature in the classroom?
Other possible topics include (but are not limited to): the Classical heroic figure in modern film or literature; Greek epic or drama in popular culture; Greek and Roman women in film; Classics and the Western; and Greek and Roman mythology in children's film, television, or literature.
Submit abstracts of 500 words or fewer to the online submission database at conference2016.southwestpca.org

The deadline for submissions is November 15, 2015. Presentations are limited to 15 minutes. For questions, contact Area Chair Benjamin Haller at bhaller@vwc.edu.

A complete list of areas as well as information about the site, travel, awards (including several monetary awards for the best graduate student papers), guest speakers, special events, and other conference matters can be found on the conference website: http://southwestpca.org Also, please visit http://journaldialogue.org for information about the organization's new, peer-reviewed journal, Dialogue: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Popular Culture and Pedagogy.