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Call for Proposals: Papers, Sessions, Panels

Popular Culture Association Annual Conference

April 8-11, 2026 in Atlanta, GA

The Sixties area of the Popular Culture Association welcomes submissions on any aspect of popular culture from the era. Topics of interest might include, but are not limited to:

·      Film, television, radio, and other media (underground press, posters, etc.)

·      Analysis of influential books/authors, art/artists, films/filmmakers, etc.

·      New developments in religion and spirituality

·      Psychedelia and its many manifestations

·      The sexual revolution

·      Music and fashion, as cultural expression and/or consumer culture

·      New social arrangements, e.g., communes, back to the land movement

·      1968 or other significant dates, places, or events, e.g., Freedom Summer, Days of Rage, etc.

·      Countercultural movements, e.g., hippies, Diggers, SDS, Black Panther Party, White Panther Party, etc.

·      Politics and protests of the era, e.g., Civil Rights, Vietnam War, Free Speech Movement, etc.

·      Race and gender issues, e.g., Black Power, women’s rights, etc.

·      Media representations of/reactions to any of the above

·      Rock music, the counterculture, or other developments in international/global contexts (i.e. outside the US and UK)

·      The significance of the decade in contemporary society and culture, including ongoing debates and revised perspectives

DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSIONS: November 30, 2025.

For individual papers, please submit a title and 300-word abstract. Be sure to proofread your name, title, and abstract closely as this text will become part of the program should your proposal be accepted.

All proposals should be submitted online via the PCA/ACA website: http://pcaaca.org  More information about the submission process can be found here: https://sites.google.com/view/2026pcaconference/call-for-papers

Inquiries about possible papers or proposals for round table sessions or full panels are also welcomed and encouraged. For themed paper sessions, each presenter must enter her/his own presentation and then contact the area chair to assemble them into a panel.

All presenters must be current members of the PCA in order to submit, and must register for the conference in order to present.

More detailed information about various conference matters can be found at: https://sites.google.com/view/2026pcaconference/home and elsewhere on the PCA website (check the site menus for specific topics).

Please feel free to get in touch if you have any questions about topics, process, or the conference in general.

Kevin M. Moist
Associate Professor of Communications

Communications Program Chair
Penn State Altoona
3000 Ivyside Park
Altoona, PA 16601
kmm104@psu.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