CALL FOR PAPERS, ABSTRACTS, AND PANEL PROPOSALS

Television Area | Midwest Popular Culture Association/Midwest American Culture Association Annual Conference

Friday-Sunday, October 4-6, 2024

DePaul University, Chicago, IL

Address: DePaul Center, 1 E. Jackson Blvd. Chicago, IL 60604 | Phone: (312) 362-8000

The Television area of the Midwest Popular Culture Association/Midwest American Culture Association is now accepting proposals for its 2024 conference in Chicago on the campus of DePaul University.

We are looking for papers that examine any aspect of television, from any period and using any number of methods. Potential topics for paper or panel proposals include, but are not limited to: 

• The recent upheaval experienced by streaming portals, from the rash of canceled original series to the removal of library content
• The impact of online distribution and the rise of streaming platforms as producers of original programming
• The representations of gender and sexuality, race and ethnicity, and class and economics in television programming
• The erosion and consolidation of networks and channels as organizing structures in television
• The impact of varied distribution methods, including all-at-once drops, weekly release strategies, and everything in between
• The intersections between television and social media
• The role of remakes, spin-offs, adaptations, and franchises
• The trends in less “quality” genres and formats: talk shows, soap operas, morning TV 
• Respective analyses of series celebrating significant anniversaries (i.e., debuts or finales from 1994, 2004, or 2004)

Submit paper, abstract, or panel proposals (including the title of the presentation) to the appropriate Area on the Submissions website: https://www.mpcaaca.org/submit-panels. 

Individuals may only submit one paper, and please do not submit the same paper to more than one Area. 

The deadline for receipt of proposals is May 15, 2024.

Please include your name, affiliation, and e-mail address of each author/participant. A preliminary version of the schedule will be posted on our website around August 2024. The final version will be distributed in hard copy at the conference. 

New this year: Virtual panels will be running concurrently with in-person panels. No in-person panels will be offered virtually, but all who register will have access to the virtual panels. Please indicate when submitting if you prefer to deliver your presentation in person, virtually, or no preference. Virtual panels are available on a first-come, first-served basis. (Zoom is the planned platform and panels will be scheduled in the Central Time Zone.) If you have any questions about virtual panels, please email president@mpcaaca.org.

Special notes regarding proposal submissions: (1) AV equipment will be provided. The Association does not provide laptops, cords, or speakers. (2) If necessary, indicate and submit potential scheduling conflicts along with your proposal. (3) If you wish your presentation to be listed as MACA (rather than MPCA), please include this request with your proposal. 

Conference attendance: Please plan to attend the entire conference. Panels will run at the following approximate times: Friday 9:00 am-6:00 pm, Saturday 9:00 am -5:30 pm, and Sunday 9:00 am-2:00 pm. Special events may include a game night on Thursday evening, featured speakers and awards ceremony on Friday evening, and a keynote speaker on Saturday evening. These events will be free for conference registrants. Area Chairs are strongly encouraged to attend the Annual Meeting.

Membership dues and registration fees: Membership renewal forms for the 2024 calendar year and 2024 conference registration forms are available on the MPCA website. All participants must register for the conference. Day passes will be available for guests of the conference who are not presenting a paper. Attendees are financially responsible for all costs related to their participation in the conference, e.g., transportation, lodging, meals, registration, membership, etc.

Graduate students are invited to apply for competitively awarded travel grants from MPCA. Details on these grants are available here.

Cancellation Policy: If you submit a proposal (or if you accept an invitation to appear on a panel), you are promising to attend the conference if your proposal is accepted, and you are promising to pay the conference registration fee, the Association membership fee, and a late fee of $15 if applicable. If your proposal is accepted and you do not attend the conference, it is expected that you will (1) notify all members of your panel, your Area Chair, and the MPCA President (Julia Largent Kuttler) of your cancellation; (2) provide such notification as early as possible; (3) arrange to have your paper distributed at the panel; (4) arrange for somebody else to carry out any other duties you may have; and (5) pay your membership and registration fees (plus late fee if applicable). If conditions 1-5 are met, you may file a written request, after the conference, for a refund of half your registration fee. For co-authored papers, all authors are welcome and encouraged to attend, but only one author is required to attend.

COVID-19: The Midwest Popular Culture Association continues to monitor the COVID-19 situation closely. At this point, we intend for the conference to go ahead as planned in person in October 2024. Please note that the deadline for registration is September 15, 2024. If the conference is moved into a virtual setting, postponed, or canceled, we will notify you and provide you with information as to how the organization will respond as soon as possible. Please check the MPCA website or follow MPCA on Twitter or Facebook for the latest information.