HISTORY OF THE POPULAR CULTURE MOVEMENT

The Popular Culture Association was founded as a spin-off of the American Studies movement in the late 1960s. Many members of the ASA felt that the organization had lost its holistic approach to cultural studies. Tiresome and repetitive studies of Melville, Hawthorne, and Whitman were followed by further tiresome and repetitive studies of Whitman, Hawthorne, and Melville. There was little room for material culture, popular music, movies, and comics.

Begun by Professors Ray Browne (Bowling Green State University) and Russell Nye (Michigan State University), the Association's first meeting was in East Lansing, Michigan at Michigan State University in 1971. Aiding the efforts of Browne and Nye were early pioneers such as Jane Bakerman, Carl Bode, Pat Browne, John G. Cawelti, George N. Dove, Marshall W. Fishwick, M. Thomas Inge, Susan Koppelman, Peter C. Rollins, Fred E. H. Schroeder, Emily Toth, Tom Towers, Daniel Walden, and many others. {Note: Names came from the Pioneer Book}

In 1979, the American Culture Association became a partner in the study of Popular Culture and the two organizations have held joint conferences since that time. Under the tutelage of Ray Browne, the organization grew. The national conference has over 2,000 participants. Moreover, the organization has seven regional organizations: Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, South, Midwest, Far West, Southwest/Texas, and Oceanic.  The regional organizations range in size from 200 to 1,000 participants. PCA/ACA also meets internationally every summer.In the past, the PCA/ACA has met in England, Australia, and in 2007-in Iceland.To learn where and when the national, regionals, and international meetings will be held, please click here.

The PCA/ACA has also established two journals and members may choose which they wish to receive.  For details on the PCA/ACA Journals, please click here.

Supporting the study of popular and American culture is an important mission for the organization.  To that end, the PCA/ACA has established the PCA/ACA Endowment.  Drawing from the interest it receives, the PCA/ACA Endowment has been able to support graduate students, international scholars, collections, and collection research. For more information, please click here.

Recognizing excellence is another goal of the PCA/ACA.The organization has established a series of awards to honor the highest quality of scholarship. To learn more, please click here.

In 2003, the organization went through a major change in leadership when Ray and Pat Browne stepped down as the leaders of the PCA/ACA after many years of building and nurturing the organization.  Michael Schoenecke became the Executive Director and along with Presidents Lynn Bartholome and John Bratzel (PCA) and David Sokol and Ken Dvorak (ACA) the organization struck out on its own. Gary Hoppenstand took over the Journal of Popular Culture, and Kathy Merlock Jackson became editor of the Journal of American Culture. New bylaws were written for both the PCA and the Endowment, and subsequently, the PCA and ACA merged their boards to streamline decision making and avoid duplication.

In the future, the PCA/ACA hopes to continue to nurture the study of popular and American culture, to support new and established scholars in both their research and teaching, to support the publication of its two journals, and to internationalize the organization.

For more information, three books are particularly useful: Ray B. Browne, Against Academia (Popular Press, 1989), Pioneers in Popular Culture Studies, ed. by Ray B. Browne and Michael T. Marsden, (Popular Press, 1999), and Mission Underway, The History of the Popular Culture Association/American Culture Association and the Popular Culture Movement 1967-2001, ed. by Ray B. Browne (Popular Press, 2002).

For more information, please contact the Executive Director, John Bratzel at bratzel@msu.edu, or (517) 355-6660.