Call for Papers

Food and Culture

Southwest Popular / American Culture Association (SWPACA)

47th Annual Conference, February 25-28, 2026

Marriott Albuquerque

Albuquerque, New Mexico

http://www.southwestpca.org

Proposal submission deadline: October 31, 2025

Proposals for papers and panels are now being accepted for the 47th 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/.

Individual paper and panel proposals that explore topics connected to food, eating, and cooking in literature, film, and other popular and American culture are now being considered. Scholars, graduate students, teachers, foodies, and others interested in the intersection of culinary production/consumption and culture are encouraged to submit proposals.

Topics may address, but are not limited to:

• Class/economics and food
• Gender/sexuality and food
• Race/ethnicity and food
• Food in literature
• Food in film
• Food and globalization/colonization/assimilation/resistance
• Food practices and ecology

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, please see the Proposal Submission FAQs and Tips page at https://swpaca.org/submitting-a-proposal/.

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.  

The deadline for submissions is October 31, 2025.  

SWPACA offers monetary awards for the best graduate student papers in a variety of categories. For more information, visit https://swpaca.org/graduate-student-paper-awards/.

Registration and travel information for the conference will be available at https://swpaca.org/albuquerque-conference/.

If you have any questions about the Food and Culture area, please contact its Area Chair, Dr. Ami Comeford, Utah Tech University, ami.comeford@utahtech.edu. If you have general questions about the conference, please contact us at support@swpaca.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 2026 SWPACA Summer Salon, a completely virtual conference to take place in June 2026. 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!