Calls for Conferences

Central States Communication Association 2018

We are looking to create a panel for the 2018 Central States Communication Association convention to coincide with the release of the Popular Culture Studies Journal  special edition on professional wrestling studies. Since the convention is the same time that the special edition will come out (April 4-7, or Wrestlemania weekend), we thought it would be a good time to have such a panel to talk more about professional wrestling studies.

We would like to propose a panel for the Pop Culture Interest Group that would have people from different perspectives reflecting on professional wrestling and professional wrestling studies. We are looking for panelists who are either writing for the special edition or are not – so, basically, anyone who would like to come and reflect on any of the following:

  • the importance of professional wrestling studies
  • the fields of professional wrestling studies
  • an applicable field, method, approach for professional wrestling studies
  • what question(s) professional wrestling studies can answer
  • a particular perspective on the past of professional wrestling
  • a particular perspective on the present of professional wrestling
  • a particular perspective on the future of professional wrestling.
  • a research study that does any of the above.
If you would like to be on this panel (we are looking for 5 people), then please send to me by September 28st the following:
  • The title for your talk.
  • A 500 word abstract for your talk (that I will need to edit down, but I want a longer one to allow you to be as clear as possible about your idea).
  • Your contact information (university affiliation, address, phone, email).
We only want proposals from people who can commit to be at the convention in Milwaukee; here is more information about the convention: http://www.csca-net.org/aws/CSCA/pt/sp/callforpapers
If you are interested, then please send your proposal by October 5th to CarrieLynn D. Reinhard at creinhard@dom.edu.

Southern States Communication Association 

We are looking to create a panel for the 2018 Southern States Communication Association convention in Nashville (cultural proximity to Memphis Wrestling and Mid-South Wrestling, no doubt). This event hopes to coincide with the release of the Popular Culture Studies Journal special edition on professional wrestling studies. Since the convention is the same time that the special edition will come out April 4-8, or Wrestlemania weekend), we thought it would be a good time to have such a panel to talk more about professional wrestling studies.

We would like to propose a panel for the Popular Communication Division that would have people from different perspectives reflecting on professional wrestling and professional wrestling studies. We are looking for panelists who are either writing for the special edition or are not – so, basically, anyone who would like to come and reflect on any of the following:

  • the importance of professional wrestling studies
  • the fields of professional wrestling studies
  • an applicable field, method, approach for professional wrestling studies
  • what question(s) professional wrestling studies can answer
  • a particular perspective on the past of professional wrestling
  • a particular perspective on the present of professional wrestling
  • a particular perspective on the future of professional wrestling.
  • a research study that does any of the above.

If you would like to be on this panel (we are looking for 4-5 people), then please send to me the following no later than 5:00pm September 30th:

  • The title for your talk.
  • A 500 word abstract for your talk (that I will need to edit down, but I want a longer one to allow you to be as clear as possible about your idea).
  • Your contact information (university affiliation, address, phone, email).

We only want proposals from people who can commit to be at the convention in Nashville; here is more information about the convention: http://www.ssca.net/convention

If you are interested, then please send Garret Castleberry your proposal by September 14. You can send them to this email at garret.castleberry@macu.edu

International Communication Association 2018 

I am writing to see if anyone would like to submit a proposal for a possible panel at the 2018 International Communication Association conference in Prague (https://www.icahdq.org/page/cfp2018).
The theme for the conference is Voices, and I was thinking we could do a panel on the voices of professional wrestling.
Briefly, the panel could consider any voices: wrestlers, promoters and fans. The idea would be to present on how to study these voices, or how these voices are used to make professional wrestling. Thus, the presentations could look at issues of performance, activism, social media presence, storytelling, fan activities, histories, marketing, and representations (specific types of wrestlers).
If you are interested, then please submit the following to CarrieLynn D. Reinhard at creinhard@dom.edu:
  • 150-word abstract for what you would discuss
  • A title for your talk
  • Your contact information

Please send this proposal by October 25th.

Southern Sociological Society 2018

I’m writing to you on behalf of myself and JT Thomas, asking the members and readers of the PWSA website to consider submissions for the 2018 Southern Sociological Society (SSS) annual meeting, which will be held April 4-7, 2018 in New Orleans – the same place and time as WrestleMania 34.

We are looking to hold a session, or possibly multiple sessions, exploring the intersections of pro wrestling’s fictional reality with our own social reality.

Possible topics might include the ways in which wrestlers, wrestling, and wrestling fans are portrayed in the media, the explosion of articles in the news comparing the ascendancy of Donald Trump with pro wrestling, the presentations of specific groups (racial and ethnic minorities, sexual and gender minorities, and so forth) in the world of wrestling, and the ways in which wrestling as a business and as an art form constructs reality – the concept of “kayfabe” itself.

Submissions are due November 1st and can be directed through the SSS website, http://www.southernsociologicalsociety.org/annual.html

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me (Cenate Pruitt, ccpruitt@ung.edu) or JT (jmthoma4@olemiss.edu).

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