February 18, 2019
For More Information, please contact:
Jack Karlis, jackkarlis@gmail.com
The Professional Wrestling Studies Association announces its inaugural Executive Committee and Editorial Board
The Professional Wrestling Studies Association [PWSA] announces its inaugural Executive Committee, under the leadership of President CarrieLynn D. Reinhard. The PWSA also announces its inaugural Editorial Board for its blog and for its journal. The Association represents 100 scholars from a multitude of disciplines across the globe.
The PWSA Brings Academics and Fans Together
Reinhard is associate professor of communication arts and sciences at Dominican University, where she researches audience, media reception and fan studies. “Professional wrestling has been around for over a century, and seems now more popular than ever. From the standard-bearer WWE to the new AEW, professional wrestling touches upon all aspects of our lives and our world.” Reinhard has led the work to build the association since 2017 and discussed that work at length on her podcast, The Pop Culture Lens, https://thepopculturelens.podbean.com. She co-edited the book Convergent Wrestling: Participatory Culture, Transmedia Storytelling and Intertextuality in the Squared Circle, from Routledge this March.
The Association connects scholars and fans across continents. The Board includes a nonacademic member from East Sussex, UK, in scholar Luke Flanagan. “The creation of the PWSA is an exciting moment. It is recognition of professional wrestling as a topic of enquiry. However, the PWSA is about more than academia. It must be a forum for fans to share their experiences and insights. The PWSA is a community for everyone to make a contribution to our understanding of and appreciation for professional wrestling.” Flanagan’s work can be followed on Twitter at https://twitter.com/dr_lukeflanagan?lang=en
The PWSA Brings Interdisciplinary Work in Professional Wrestling to the World
The PWSA makes scholarship visible via its blog and via an ambitious program of peer-reviewed research. The PWSA sponsored a special issue of the Popular Culture Studies Journal on Wrestling [see http://mpcaaca.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Volume-6-Number-1-2018-.pdf] and looks forward to the first issue of its journal. Until then, the PWSA Blog is a resource for scholars and fans of the squared circle.
| Officers
President: CarrieLynn D. Reinhard Vice President: Jack Karlis Membership Officer and Treasurer: Lowery Woodall III Member-at-Large: Melissa Jacobs Non-Academic Representative: Luke Flanagan Student Representative: Christopher Olson |
Editorial Team
Chief Website/Blog Editor: Dan Mathewson Chief Journal Editor: Matt Foy Reviews Editor: Christopher Medjesky Managing Co-Editors: Aaron Horton, Steven Gonzales Editorial Board: Eero Laine, Darrin Coe, Christian Long, Robin Hershkowitz, Tyson Platt, David Beard, Cenate Pruitt, John Hooker |
About the Professional Wrestling Studies Association
The Professional Wrestling Studies Association unites scholars, professionals, and fans interested in the critical and learned appraisal of professional wrestling. The PWSA gathers scholars to disseminate knowledge of professional wrestling and the PWSA identifies new research areas within professional wrestling. Finally, the PWSA encourages experimentation in the teaching of professional wrestling as art form, cultural form, business practice, and social commentary.
To join, please click this link.
PWSA Logo by Mario Alonzo Dozal (Manchester University).
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