REOPENED CFP: We are happy to report that the Encyclopedia is now live on the Springer website (see attached link). We are open to accepting a few more articles for the Cultural Studies section: if interested, please send in your proposals by June 1, 2023. Your proposed article may focus on any topic of your choice that examines populism through a Cultural Studies methodology. 

Springer Encyclopaedia of New Populism and Responses of the 21st Century

Populism has become a prominent issue in recent times. The UK's The Guardian published about 300 articles in 1998 that used the term "populism" or "populist," and by 2016, its use had skyrocketed to over 2,000 instances. Probably the single greatest catalyst to date that injected populism into the world's Internet common discourse, that infused it into journalism and awakened populist political activism, was the Great Recession of 2007-08 and the subsequent global deprivations it engendered. In today's world, populism promises to remain and renew its intensity due to the COVID-19 pandemic's deleterious effects on most nations' middle and low-income groups, especially minorities and marginalized communities.

Populism contains multitudes, dating back centuries before it was identified with its modern name. 19th- and 20th-century populism lost its appeal in the post-war world; however, changing ideologies, beliefs, and human conditions in the world have catapulted populism once again into our lives. It is time for populism to be relocated, identified, and given refreshed 21st-century understandings. It has a shifting nature among people, events, and causes that constantly demand fresh studies: it is a social and cultural phenomenon that is both universal and particular. 

We invite encyclopaedia entries that engage with these issues of populism in the 21st century. These entries could range from the conceptualization of new populism to specific instances of populism at global and local scales.

Currently, we seek ten long essays (3,000 words) and twenty short essays (1,500 words) on topics including, but not limited to, the following:

Long Essay:

1. Arts

2. Food

3. Women's rights and gender-related issues

4. Youth culture

5. Class

6. Malls and shopping centers

7. Social networking

8. Popular music

9. Fandom and celebrity cultures

10. Cultural anthropology

Short Essay:

1. Museums (Interpreting the past and the present; historiography; how the past isn't what it used to be)

2. Popular culture

3. Higher education

4. Education (especially in relation to the social sciences)

5. Film

6. Populism and social customs

7. The bestseller

8. Fast food

9. Ethnicities and social customs

10. Populism and nationalism

11. Images of the outdoors 

12. Comics and graphic novels

13. Populism and promised land

14. Populism and the myth of innocence

15. Populist images of work

16. Success and ambition in popular culture

17. Pacifism and culture

18. The myth of progress

19. Free enterprise

20. Ingenuity

We seek incisive proposals focused on specific areas of critical engagement in contemporary cultural studies. Please send 250-word proposals with a 100-word author bio by March 13, 2023, to english.bgr@christuniversity.in. Complete articles will be due approximately four weeks after acceptance (i.e., April 20, 2023). Those interested in sending proposals are encouraged to do so at the earliest. Please note that a maximum of two authors is permissible, with at least one author who holds a PhD.

Website: https://npe.christuniversity.in/ and https://link.springer.com/referencework/10.1007/978-981-16-9859-0

Inquiries: meghna.mudaliar@christuniversity.in