Call for Papers

Stardom and Fandom

Southwest Popular / American Culture Association (SWPACA)

46th Annual Conference, February 19-22, 2025

Marriott Albuquerque

Albuquerque, New Mexico

https://www.southwestpca.org

Proposal submission deadline: October 31, 2024

Proposals for papers and panels are now being accepted for the 46th 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 https://swpaca.org/subject-areas/

 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 or 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
• Intersection of celebrities and fans in virtual and physical spaces
• Celebrity and the construction of persona
• Impact of AI in canon and fanworks
• Fandom and politics/politics as fandom
• Pedagogical approaches to teaching stardom and fandom
• Anti-fandom, trolls/haters, purity culture and fandom policing
• Gendered constructions of stars and fans
• Historical studies of fandom and fan/celebrity interaction

All proposals must be submitted through the conference’s database at https://swpaca.org/app

 For details on using the submission database and on the application process in general (including submitting proposals for roundtables and preformed panels), please see the FAQS & Resources tab on https://swpaca.org/

 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 is October 31, 2024.  

 SWPACA offers monetary awards for the best graduate student papers in a variety of categories. Submissions of accepted, full papers are due January 1, 2025. More details are here: https://swpaca.org/graduate-student-paper-awards/  SWPACA also offers travel fellowships for undergraduate and graduate students as well as contingent faculty: https://swpaca.org/travel-awards-students-faculty/

 Registration and travel information for the conference is available at https://swpaca.org/albuquerque-conference/  For 2025, we will be returning to 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 https://journaldialogue.org/

 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.

 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 2025 SWPACA Summer Salon, a completely virtual conference to take place in June 2025.

 We look forward to receiving your submissions!