popular culture

Mysteries and Mayhem is our fourth conference theme. Why do we continue to crave mystery stories?  What do they tell us about our need for suspense and our desire to solve riddles,  including the most famous of all:Whodunnit?  What do these stories of murder and mayhem teach us about the nature of evil, ideas of sin, and the essence of a villain? What do we hope to see in the survivors of these threats?  –And what do we expect from the detectives and heroes who reveal the truth in these stories? We seek papers and creative projects that explore these and related questions. 

YSLS (Young Scholars Literary Sympsium) welcomes your undergraduate,  graduate,  educator,  and independent scholar proposals! 

 *Imaginations - Journal of Cross-Cultural Image Studies (open access and peer-reviewed)*

 <https://imaginationsjournal.ca/index.php/imaginations>

Generally, the notion of identity is misinterpreted to be something concrete or even an inherited attribute and hence resistant to changes. However, as we delve deeper into the idea of self and the factors that constitute it, a fact becomes evident: that an individual’s identity is in fact not very rigid but rather fluid and dynamic in nature. A number of societal factors influence the construction of the character that an individual identifies themselves with. Through a close textual analysis of The Last White Man (2022) by Mohsin Hamid, this paper aims to explore the concept of identity in contrast to its conventional definition of something unalterable, and rather look at it as an idea that is constantly in motion.

The peer-reviewed e-journal Otherness: Essays and Studies is now accepting submissions for its 2026 general issue.

Otherness: Essays and Studies publishes research articles from and across different scholarly disciplines that examine, in as many ways as possible, the concepts of otherness and alterity.  We particularly appreciate dynamic cross-disciplinary study.

We are happy to announce that the Department of English Studies at the University of Zadar is organizing an international scientific conference titled Contemporary Horizons in English Studies (CHES). The conference theme, Contemporary Horizons in English Studies, casts a wide net, encompassing diverse areas and perspectives within the field. As we reflect on decades of growth in English studies and the 70-year history of our department, we also look toward the new horizons that continue to expand the boundaries of our discipline. Inspired by our department’s interdisciplinary spirit, the theme highlights a variety of research, teaching, and creative work taking place across English studies.

This interdisciplinary conference aims to bring together scholars, writers, filmmakers, and students to share the interest and passion for the fictional criminal genre through their participation in panels, roundtables, workshops, film screenings, and curated cultural events in historic Salem.

Topics of interest include but are not limited to:

Workshop: “From Alienation to Affinities”

Organizers: Isabel Osuna Montilla and Klara Tolic, University of Tübingen, Germany

Call for Papers

PCA True Crime CFP 2026

UPDATED: Abstract Submission Deadline: Officially Friday, December 5th, 2026 with an additional week for late submissions at the discretion of the Area Chairs by Friday, December 12th, 2026. Please note if you have trouble submitting after December 5th, you should contact Samantha or Lauren directly.

PCA/ACA will be held from April 8-11th, 2026 in Atlanta, GA

CFP: The Medieval Comic

MEST Symposium, Indiana University Bloomington

March 6-8

Keynote from Dr. Albrecht Classen: "Laughter on the Stage, Laughter at Court, and Laughter in Public Spaces During the Middle Ages and Early Modern Time."

The Comic is a multivalent concept, which can pull or push scholarship in many directions. It  has been at times described as a social balm, binding agent, and lubricant. This call for papers asks for submissions considering the various ways in which the Comic manifests in the medieval and medievalism, its implications, and importance.

Potential panels might consider:

This workshop of the annual conference of the French Society of Anglophone Studies aims to tackle the topic of emancipation in audiovisual productions of the English-speaking world. Emancipation, as a film subject, refers to narratives of liberation or liberating struggles against forms of oppression, beginning with historical films that depict the liberation of a people or identity group(s). In the U.S.

After supportive discussions with Routledge, we are pleased to share the call for contributions to a proposed new edited collection. Planned for publication by Routledge in 2027, this new book is intended as a companion volume to Time and Performer Training (published by Routledge in 2019). 

The book will be co-edited by Mark Evans, Libby Worth and Ranjana Dave.

The Asian Studies section is currently accepting paper and panel proposals for the 68th Annual Conference of the World Social Science Association. The conference will be held at the Clyde Hotel in Albuquerque, New Mexico, from March 25th through 28th, 2026.

The Asian Studies section welcomes research on the historical, cultural, social, and political aspects of the Middle East, South Asia, Southeast Asia, Pacific, and East Asia. Previous panels have explored Asian immigrant women’s participation management, governance in China, contemporary Japanese digital culture, and feminist readings of the Bhāgavata Purāṇa. We encourage innovative and critical approaches that address contemporary and historical issues.

Special Issue Call for Papers

Special Issue: 'Moving Violations: Asian Crime Films'

Special Issue Editors: Victor Fan, Kristof Van den Troost, and Earl Jackson

The Medievalism in Popular Culture Area (including Early to Later Middle Ages, Robin Hood, Arthurian Legend, Chaucer, Norse, and other materials connected to medieval studies) accepts papers on all topics that explore either popular culture during the Middle Ages or transcribe some aspect of the Middle Ages into the popular culture of later periods. These representations can occur in any genre, including film, television, novels, graphic novels, gaming, advertising, art, etc. For this year’s conference, I would like to encourage submissions on some of the following topics: