Call for Papers

Stardom & Fandom

Southwest Popular / American Culture Association (SWPACA)

2026 SWPACA Summer Salon

June 25-27, 2026

Virtual Conference

https://swpaca.org/

Submissions open on March 30, 2026

Proposal submission deadline: April 27, 2026

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://swpaca.org/subject-areas/

The Area Chair for Stardom and Fandom invites paper 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 and parasocial relationships 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, please see the Summer Salon FAQs and Tips page at https://swpaca.org/faq-summer-salon/

Registration information for the conference will be available at https://swpaca.org/summer-salon/

Unfortunately, we are not able to offer any financial assistance for the Summer Salon.

Individual proposals for 15-minute papers must include an abstract of approximately 200-500 words. Only one proposal per person, please; unfortunately, we cannot accommodate roundtables for the Summer Salon.  

If you have any questions about the Stardom & Fandom area, please contact its Area Chair, Dr. Lynn Zubernis, West Chester University, West Chester PA 19380 at 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!