Welcome to the British Popular Culture community! We’re so happy you’re here and we want you take full advantage of the opportunities our new platform provides. Please read over the code of conduct so we can continue to ensure a safe and supportive space for all. Thank you for your dedication to the Popular Culture Association!

 

Call For Papers

 

The British Popular Culture area of the Popular Culture/American Culture Association (PCA/ACA) is now accepting submissions for the 2026 national conference to be held April 8-11, 2026, in Atlanta, GA at the Atlanta Marriott Marquis!

 

Academics at all stages in their careers, as well as independent scholars, are encouraged to apply. We particularly encourage submissions by graduate students.

 

We welcome presentations about any aspect of British Pop Culture, which includes not only the United Kingdom but may also include the Commonwealth, Canada, and Australia as well as any adaptations of works originating in these areas but translated/set outside of these countries. (For example, Hulu’s 2022 Fire Island is set in modern-day New York but is adapted from Jane Austen’s 18th century novel Pride and Prejudice).

 

While other PCA areas have a more narrowed focus on aspects of British Popular Culture, our area encourages breadth and variety of medium and genre. We consider popular culture to include films, documentaries, TV series, social media, literature, music, plays, comics, mythology/folklore, sociopolitical issues, food, clothing, etc. We are particularly interested in adaptations, franchises, and popular culture texts that mix historical settings and contemporary concerns. If you have an idea for something you aren’t sure will fit or that might be too niche, please email the area chair to ask!

 

In recent years, there have been presentations about Sanditon, rock music in mining communities, Emma, Ken Loach, Frankenstein, Shelley, Home Fires, public safety PSAs, Spencer, Downton Abbey, The Wicker Man, The Tempest, A Place to Call Home, James Bond, The Essex Serpent, The Streets, Doc Martin, Jonny Greenwood, Shakespeare, and The Crown.

 

We welcome papers on the following new British Pop Culture properties/interests/fandoms (which is not remotely exhaustive): Rivals, Tom Jones, BBC radio programming, Great Expectations, Becoming Elizabeth, Noelle, The Confessions of Frannie Langton, All Creatures Great and Small, Netflix’s Persuasion, Mr. Malcolm’s List, The Nevers, Downton Abbey: A New Era, Operation Mincemeat, Last Night in Soho, Together, The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, The Duke, Belfast, Glastonbury and music festivals, Dig, Gentleman Jack, Good Luck to You, 2000 A.D., and Pursuit of Love, just to name a few.

 

We are seeking 15-20 minute presentations.

 

For individual presentations, please submit a title and 150-200 word abstracts. Please consult the Submission Guidelines page for more information. For panels or themed session proposals, each presenter should enter their own proposal; the chair should contact the area chair with the title of the panel and the names of the presenters.

 

Further inquiries can be sent to

Dr. Kevin M. Flanagan
Term Associate Professor, Department of English, George Mason University
kflanag AT gmu.edu
https://english.gmu.edu/people/kflanag

 

  

Important Dates to Remember:

 

• Database opens for Submissions - Sept. 1, 2025
• Early Bird Registration Begins - Sept. 1, 2025
• Deadline for Paper Proposals - Nov. 30, 2025
• Travel Grant Applications Due - Dec. 15, 2025
• Early Bird Registration Ends for Presenters - Dec. 31, 2025
• Regular Registration Begins for Presenters - Jan. 1, 2026 
• Travel Grant Decisions / Notifications - Jan. 31, 2026
• Regular Registration Ends for Presenters - Jan. 31, 2026
• Late Registration Starts for Presenters - Feb. 1, 2026
• Preliminary Program draft available - Feb. 6, 2026

 

Those Presenters Not Registered by Feb. 15 Will be Dropped from the Program

 

CONFERENCE IN ATLANTA, GA - April 8-11, 2026