MPCA/ACA Call for Papers
East Asian Popular Culture

Submission Deadline: April 30, 2022

Conference: Friday-Sunday, 14-16 October 2022

Location: DePaul University, Chicago, IL (in-person)

East Asian Popular Culture Area Chair: Vivienne.Tailor@cgu.edu

Submit Paper, Panel, or Roundtable abstracts to:
MPCA 2022 Annual Conference Submissions (jotform.com).

Full name /name of organization:
Midwest Popular Culture Association/Midwest American Culture Association

For conference information: https://mpcaaca.org/info/conference/

East Asian Popular Culture Area Details:

The East Asian Popular Culture area explores various media and social phenomena from China, Hong Kong, Japan, Macau, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan. Topics include, but are not limited to:

• tracing the cultural continuity of traditional tropes in modern works
• understanding how popular culture embraces and/or subverts its predecessors
• researching the transculturality of media works
• exploring the connections among works from Asia in connection to other Asian
cultures, the Asian diaspora, and non-Asian cultures
• and locating thematic threads across multiple media outlets (such as music, film,
animation, etc.).

We love interactions between the academic and the popular and appreciate those who see things from creative perspectives!

Possible presentation concepts include, but are not limited to:

• Exploring Squid Game’s thematic connections to Korean culture specifically and to
globally culture generally
• Tracing the influences of ancient ghost story tropes in East Asian fantasy and
horror films, such as the FantAsia Kung Fu horror-comedies A Chinese Ghost Story
• Understanding how Cowboy Beebop’s genre hybridity intersects with Japanese samurai
culture
• Investigating BTS’s and/or Blackpink’s marketing that balances between individual
authenticity and global mass consumption
• Analyzing cultural representations in East Asian historical dramas and the
influences on historical memory
• Exploring representations of violence in mass-consumed popular East Asia media
(video games, music videos, news media, films, episodic series, visual art, manga)
• Contemplating COVID’s impacts on Asian fashion, music, society…

Come share your unique insights on East Asian Popular Culture, gather feedback, and take your project to the next level.

If you have any questions, please contact Area Chair: Vivienne.Tailor@cgu.edu

***250-word Abstract Requirement & Suggested Outline and Points to Include

General Information
• Name(s)
• Affiliation(s)
• Email address(es)
• Title

Abstract Body (250 WC)
• Background/Introduction/Setting
• Purpose/Originality
• Methods/Conceptual Framework
• Aims/Objectives
• Evidence
• Results/Implications
• Conclusions/Social Value

Details:
• Each person may submit only one paper. Please do not submit the same item to more
than one area.
• Notification alerts on a rolling basis.
• Provisional conference schedule posted on MCCAACA website around August 2022.
• The final program copy will be distributed in hard copy at the conference.
• As the conference will be held at DePaul University instead of a hotel,
participants will be responsible for securing their own lodging.

• Special Notes Regarding Proposal Submissions: (1) AV equipment will be provided.
The Association does not provide laptops, cords, or speakers. (2) If necessary, indicate and submit potential scheduling conflicts along with your proposal. (3) If you wish your presentation to be listed as MACA (rather than MPCA), please include this request with your proposal.

• Panels will run at the following approximate times: Friday 9:00 am-6:00 pm, Saturday 9:00 am -5:30 pm, and Sunday 9:00 am-2:00 pm. Special events may include game night on Thursday evening, featured speakers and awards ceremony on Friday evening, and a keynote speaker on Saturday evening. These events will be free for conference registrants.