Cormac McCarthy Studies
Call for Papers
Cormac McCarthy Area
Southwest Popular / American Culture Association (SWPACA)
2024 SWPACA Summer Salon
June 20-22, 2024
Virtual Conference
Submissions open on March 25, 2024
Proposal submission deadline: April 15, 2024
Proposals for papers are now being accepted for the SWPACA Summer Salon. SWPACA offers nearly 70 subject areas in a variety of categories encompassing the following: Film, Television, Music, & Visual Media; Historic & Contemporary Cultures; Identities & Cultures; Language & Literature; Science Fiction & Fantasy; and Pedagogy & Popular Culture. For a full list of subject areas, area descriptions, and Area Chairs, please visit https://southwestpca.org/conference/call-for-papers/
The Area Chair of the Cormac McCarthy Area of the SWPACA conference is seeking paper proposals on any aspect of the work of Cormac McCarthy, including novels, plays, and television and film scripts and adaptations. We invite presentations about all facets of McCarthy’s work in forms ranging from critical essays to analyses employing recognized research methodologies. The chair also welcomes pre-formed panels, but will need submissions to be uploaded individually as required by the SWPACA. Paper presentations should be 15 minutes and should present an arguable thesis or develop a compelling question.
Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:
- McCarthy and science (especially in the new novels)
- McCarthy and the West
- McCarthy and apocalypse
- Narration and historical imaginaries in McCarthy’s work
- Narrative theory approaches to McCarthy’s writing
- Gender and sexuality studies approaches to McCarthy’s work
- McCarthy and Hollywood or issues in film adaptation
- Neoliberal discourse and/in McCarthy
- Southern gothic and its meaning now
- Horror and McCarthy
- Religion and philosophy in McCarthy’s work
- Teaching McCarthy
All proposals must be submitted through the conference’s database at https://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 https://southwestpca.org/conference/faqs-and-tips/ Registration information for the conference will be available at https://southwestpca.org/conference/conference-registration-information/
Individual proposals for 15-minute papers must include an abstract of approximately 200-500 words. Only one proposal per person, please; no roundtables.
If you have any questions about the Cormac McCarthy area, please contact its Area Chair, Dr. Rachel Griffis, Associate Professor of English at Spring Arbor University at Rachel.Griffis@arbor.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.
We look forward to receiving your submissions!