Call for Papers

Stardom & Fandom

Southwest Popular / American Culture Association (SWPACA)

2024 SWPACA Summer Salon

June 20-22, 2024

Virtual Conference

https://www.southwestpca.org

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 for Stardom and Fandom invites paper or panel proposals on any aspect of stardom or fandom. The list of ideas below is limited, so if you have an idea that is not listed, please suggest the new topic. We are an interdisciplinary area and encourage submissions from multiple perspectives and disciplines.

Topics might include:

• Studies of individual celebrities and their fans
• Studies focused on specific fandoms
• The reciprocal relationship between stars and fans
• Impact of celebrity and fame on identity construction, reconstruction and sense of self
• Reality television, TikTok, YouTube and the changing definition of ‘stardom’
• The impact of social media on celebrity/fan interaction
• Celebrity/fame addiction as cultural change
• The intersection of stars and fans in virtual and physical spaces
• Celebrity and the construction of persona
• Pedagogical approaches to teaching stardom and fandom
• Anti-fans and ‘haters’
• Fan shame, wank, purity culture and fandom policing
• Gendered constructions of stars and fans
• Shipping, anti-shipping and representation
• Historical studies of fandom and fan/celebrity interaction

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 Stardom and Fandom area, please contact its Area Chair, Dr. Lynn Zubernis, Professor, West Chester University, lzubernis@wcupa.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!