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Call for Papers/Presentations on
“Ecocultural perspectives on life in the Anthropocene”
2025 POPULAR CULTURE ASSOCIATION 55TH NATIONAL CONFERENCE
New Orleans Marriott, April 16-19, 2025 The Ecology and Culture Area of the Popular Culture/American Culture Association is soliciting papers for the 2025 PCA conference. Note: Deadline for abstracts is November 30. Our theme on “ecocultural perspectives” is intended to be a broad appeal for presentations on interactions between the ecological and the cultural at a time when ecocultural relations have become especially critical. The ”Anthropocene” is now frequently used to refer to that relatively short slice of time in the evolution of life where one group of primates managed to acquire powerful competitive advantages, leading to a dominant role and sense of entitlement now threatening the entire planet. What kind of ecocultural perspectives have been evolving within popular culture in stories addressing our relationship with the rest of the web of life? The Ecology and Culture Area welcomes presentations on humanity’s engagement, celebration, exploitation and representations of “nature” and the earth’s ecological crises, and on the challenge to its population and institutions to visualize and implement alternative “sustainable” scenarios. This challenge applies to authors, readers/audiences, critics and others, engaging within nonhuman and human realm, in literature, film, streaming, condensing experience and desire into stories, song, poetry, dance, theater. How do movies, novels, comics, theater, games, music, and other forms express ecocultural perspectives and imaginaries of this relationship and how it might evolve in a more sustainable direction? Abstracts of papers exploring ecocultural perspectives, the relationships between ecology and culture, sustainable and unsustainable futures and related topics are welcome. Some examples include: · Changing media representations of nature · Climate fiction and audiences · Solar punk futures and aesthetics · Postcolonial ecologies and literature · Hollywood’s obsession with eco-terrorism · Post-apocalyptic realism and environmental catastrophe · Ecofeminist imaginaries · Ecological worldbuilding in gaming/VR · The emergence and impact of the environmental humanities · Eco-spirituality and faith-based activism · Typologies of utopia/dystopia discourse · Contemporary and classic eco-fiction · Nature and settler colonialism in film & television history · Diversity, equity & inclusion in ecocultural perspectives · Eco-criticism/eco-critical theory · Anthropocene narrative theory · Cultural, social and political ecologies · Documentaries on future ecological impacts and proposals · Eco-activist podcasting Sessions are scheduled in 1½ hour slots, typically with four papers or speakers per standard session. Presentations should not exceed 15 minutes. Working professionals, scholars, educators, and graduate students are all encouraged to submit. Interested individuals are asked to submit an abstract of no more than 250 words (including presentation title) and complete contact information (name, institutional affiliation, mail and e-mail addresses, and contact telephone number) to https://pcaaca.org/page/submissionguidelines Make sure to check the Ecology and Culture Area in your submission. Please address any questions to: Jeffrey Barber Integrative Strategies Forum jeffreyisforum@gmail.com Important Dates to Remember: Database opens for Submissions - Sept. 1, 2024 Early Bird Registration Begins - Oct. 1, 2024 Deadline for Paper Proposals - Nov. 30, 2024 Travel Grant Applications Due - Dec. 15, 2024 Early Bird Registration Ends for Presenters - Dec. 31, 2024 Regular Registration Begins for Presenters - Jan. 1, 2025 Travel Grant Decisions / Notifications - Jan. 15, 2025 Regular Registration Ends for Presenters - Jan. 31, 2025 Late Registration Starts for Presenters - Feb. 1, 2025 Preliminary Program draft available - Feb. 5, 2025 Late Registration Ends for Presenters- Feb. 15, 2025 Those Presenters Not Registered by Feb. 15 Will be Dropped from the Program CONFERENCE IN NEW ORLEANS, LA - April 16-19, 2025
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