Welcome to the German Studies 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 

Note: Although there is a specific panel on Intersectional German Studies proposed below, all presenters are encouraged to consider their work in intersectional ways as much as they can. We also encourage papers that deal with German Studies topics, theories, and themes, but do not adhere to the topics proposed below.

I. Intersectional German Studies? Or German Studies and Intersectionality

What would it take for German Studies, by definition, to be intersectional, that is, as an essential component of the field, in a way that is much stronger than ever before? What does such a shift in the field mean for German Studies, what can it help German Studies achieve on the societal level? Why is this shift essential to the field? Topics that deal with any subject of German Studies from an intersectional viewpoint are the goal of this panel, but all presenters in German are asked to consider incorporating intersectionality in their work as much as possible. Any paper on this topic could easily link to IV. Below.

II. German Politics and Social Policies: Elections, Housing, Immigration and Refugees, and the Environment.

What aspects of German politics and social policies are shaping or being shaped by popular culture? Will right-wing parties such as the AFD be in power on the state-level by the time of the conference? Will German’s policy on Immigration and Refugees take a "Danish" turn to much more restrictive policies?

III. German Film and Video Culture

Any topics touching upon German Film and Video Culture. Where does German cultural production go beyond Berlin Babylon in the English-speaking world. Does Netflix continue to reshape German cinema and cultural production?

IV. Open Topics in German Culture

Any topics in German culture, from food, gaming, amusement parks, disability studies, tourism, etc.   

V. German Museum Culture and Restitution

From the recent controversy about the Humboldt Forum’s Benin-Bronzen, to efforts by various museums to deal with “Raubkunst” (Mannheim, Frankfurt, to name just some of the places where some of the earliest efforts were made), to the recent opening of the Max Stern exhibit at Dusseldorf’s Stadtmuseum despite four international partners in Canada and Israel having abandoned the project three years earlier, when then mayor Thomas Geisel cancelled the exhibit three years earlier without consultation, and the various restitution efforts, are museums in Germany now, to varying degrees, truly confronting their pasts? What is the good, the bad, and the ugly of such cultural shifts, and how does the Germany history of dealing with the Shoah impact the present-day response of German museums?

Note: Papers not focused on these topics, but which are dealing with other areas or aspects of German Studies (particularly film and popular culture), are also welcome for submission.

Submission information: Submission Guidelines - Popular Culture Association (pcaaca.org) This includes creating a prolife, submitting a bio, choosing an area, submitting your abstract (no more than 300 words). Within two to three weeks you will hear from the area chair, and then you will have to purchase your registration (as a presenter).

Submissions for paper proposals will open on September 1, 2025, and close on November 30, 2025.

Conference date and location: The conference will take place from April 8-11, 2026 (4 days) in Atlanta, GA.

Inquiries? If you should have any inquiries or further questions about the German Studies at the PCA/ACA national conference, please contact: 

Claude Desmarais

German Studies Area Chair

claude.desmarais@ubc.ca

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