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Call For Papers

 

Description: Disney as an entity has sprawled ever-larger in recent years, from its acquisition of LucasArts and Marvel, the arrival of Disney+, and the inevitable new attractions (the Animation Courtyard!) and parks (Abu Dhabi!) that show no sign of slowing down.  The area focuses on Disney as a multimedia conglomerate, incorporating subjects like fan behaviors at the parks, business aspects of the Disney corporation, transmedia strategies, how the history of the company has been (and is still being) rewritten, issues of representation in their media texts, and many more.  Disney is perhaps the most popular brand in the world today, though it defies easy definition, at once a theme park operator, animation studio, toy maker, comics publisher, and a myriad of other tangentially-connected aspects.  While there are certainly other expansive multinational corporations, Disney is more clearly public facing, a name known worldwide, even as it can take different meanings in different spaces, a target of grandstanding conservative politicians and leftist French academics alike.  Disney Studies has a place in the discourse, one that invites fresh approaches and new voices, and will continue to grow in scope and significance in the years to come.  For this year, we will also have editors from the International Journal of Disney Studies and Bloomsbury Publishing, and will once again be offering workshops on publishing and outreach.

 

S cope: This area emphasizes the creation and promotion of Disney-centric research, the interdisciplinary nature of the current state of the field, encouraging interactions between scholars specializing in Disney, and charting a new course for the study of Disney.  While Disney does own a huge media empire, the focus of this area is on the traditional productions of Walt Disney Studios, the theme parks (including forthcoming), programming on the Disney Channel, the permutations of Disney comics, and the overall position of the Disney brand. 2026 marks Walt’s 125th birthday (as well as the 60th anniversary of his death), the 80th anniversary of The Song of the South (as well as 40 years since its last American theatrical release), the 40th for The Great Mouse Detective , 30th for The Hunchback of Notre Dame, the 20th for Cars , and the 10th for Zootopia .  We are also in Atlanta, and are especially interested in panels on Atlantis: The Lost Empire (its 25th anniversary) and Janet Wasko’s Understanding Disney (also 25 years old!).  The area accepts undergraduate submissions as well, so feel free to tell your students!

 

Example topics and panels: 

Disney and Family: Lilo and Stitch , Elio , Tangled

Disney and the South: Uncle Remus, Tiana, and Marceline, MO

The Possibilities and Limitations of Live-Action Remakes as Adaptation

Transnational Disneys: Kalle Anka, Disney Italia, Disney Abu Dhabit

Queer Representations in Walt Disney Television Series: Owl House , Zombies , Bluey

R-Rated Disney: Deadpool, Hollywood Pictures, and Miramax

The Disney Brand and Transmedia Storytelling: Andor , Fortnite, Gravity Falls

Disney and Diversity: Intersections of Disability, Race, and Beyond in Fandom

Disney Fairytales: Adaptation, Deconstruction, Reconstruction

The Disney Tourism Empire: From Theme Parks to Cruise Ships and Vacation Tours

Land Use, Geography, and Urban Planning within the Walt Disney Company

 

We are working with other areas this year on joint panels!  If you are interested in proposing a joint venture with another area, please reach out.

 

Submission requirements: abstracts are acceptable, and should be roughly 250 words; full papers and pre-constituted panels are also amenable. Please submit completed proposals by 30 November for all of our sakes.  See you real soon!

 

For Proposals and Questions: disneystudiespca@gmail.com

Area Chairs:

Peter Cullen Bryan ( petercullenbryan@gmail.com )

Sabrina Mittermeier ( sabrina.mittermeier@uni-kassel.de )

Priscilla Hobbs ( p.hobbs-penn@snhu.edu )

 

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