Call for Papers

Disability Studies Area

Southwest Popular / American Culture Association (SWPACA)

45th Annual Conference, February 21-24, 2024

Marriott Albuquerque

Albuquerque, New Mexico

http://www.southwestpca.org

Submissions open on September 1, 2023

Proposal submission deadline (extended!): November 14, 2023

Proposals for papers and panels are now being accepted for the 45th annual SWPACA conference. One of the nation’s largest interdisciplinary academic conferences, SWPACA offers nearly 70 subject areas, each typically featuring multiple panels.  For a full list of subject areas, area descriptions, and Area Chairs, please visit http://southwestpca.org/conference/call-for-papers/

Submissions are welcomed that apply disability studies, including specific areas such as Deaf Studies, in any area of cultural, historical, literary, or pedagogical research, or that apply disability studies in conjunction with another theoretical approach, such as queer studies, feminist or gender studies, issues of diversity, and so on. Work addressing all media and cultural contexts (literature, TV, film, games, social media/web media, laws, social and cultural practices, politics, and so on) from a disability studies or combined approach is welcome.

Some possibilities include:

• Historical or cultural studies research into attitudes toward disability
• Legal, social, or cultural research into treatments of disability
• Research on the representation of disability in textual or graphic literature, drama, television, film, ephemera, games, or other cultural objects
• Work on technology and disability
• Pedagogical approaches drawing on disability studies concepts or studies of disability in relation to pedagogy

All proposals must be submitted through the conference’s database at http://register.southwestpca.org/southwestpca

For details on using the submission database and on the application process in general, please see the Proposal Submission FAQs and Tips page at http://southwestpca.org/conference/faqs-and-tips/

Individual proposals for 15-minute papers must include an abstract of approximately 200-500 words. Including a brief bio in the body of the proposal form is encouraged, but not required. 

For information on how to submit a proposal for a roundtable or a multi-paper panel, please view the above FAQs and Tips page. 

The deadline for submissions has been extended to November 14, 2023. 

SWPACA offers monetary awards for the best graduate student papers in a variety of categories. Submissions of accepted, full papers are due January 1, 2024.  SWPACA also offers travel fellowships for undergraduate and graduate students. For more information, visit http://southwestpca.org/conference/graduate-student-awards/

Registration and travel information for the conference will be available at http://southwestpca.org/conference/conference-registration-information/

For 2024, we are returning to last year’s new venue, the Marriott Albuquerque (2101 Louisiana Blvd NE, Albuquerque, NM 87110), which boasts free parking and close proximity to dining, shopping, and other delights.

In addition, please check out the organization’s peer-reviewed, scholarly journal, Dialogue: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Popular Culture and Pedagogy, at http://journaldialogue.org/

If you have any questions about the Disability Studies area, please contact its Area Chair, Dr. Lexey Bartlett, Fort Hays State University, at labartlett@fhsu.edu. If you have general questions about the conference, please contact us at support@southwestpca.org, and a member of the executive team will get back to you.

This will be a fully in-person conference. If you’re looking for an online option to present your work, keep an eye out for details about the 2024 SWPACA Summer Salon, a completely virtual conference to take place in June 2024. However, do keep in mind that the Summer Salon is a smaller conference with limited presentation slots and no student funding assistance.

We look forward to receiving your submissions!