This is the April 2026 MAPACA Newsletter.

In this newsletter, we have:

• MAPACA 2026 Summer Virtual Symposium Call for Proposals due April 30th

• Now accepting Proposals for the 2026 MAPACA Annual Conference in Baltimore

• Important dates

MAPACA 2026 Summer Virtual Symposium Call for Proposals due April 30th

Proposals are welcome on all aspects of popular and American culture for inclusion in the 2026 Mid-Atlantic Popular & American Culture Association (MAPACA) Summer Virtual Symposium, to be held on Sunday, July 26, 2026. Single papers, panels, roundtables, and alternative formats are welcome. The online event is open internationally, and we especially invite anyone unable to attend our in-person conference in November. Presenters are welcome to submit separate proposals for both this Summer Virtual Symposium and our in-person conference in November.

Proposals should take the form of 300-word abstracts and may only be submitted to one appropriate area. For a list of areas and area chair contact information, visit our Areas Page. General questions can be directed to mapaca@mapaca.net. The deadline for submission is April 30, 2026 at MAPACA.net.

For more information about our Summer Virtual Symposium and to submit a proposal, please visit our website at MAPACA.net. When submitting a proposal, please note the different links for the 2026 Summer Virtual Symposium and the in-person 2026 Annual Conference in Baltimore.

Now accepting Proposals for the 2026 MAPACA Annual Conference in Baltimore

The MAPACA 2026 Annual Conference will be held November 5-7 at the Lord Baltimore Hotel in Baltimore, MD. More info will follow on conference room blocks and rates. See the CFP below and mark the dates in your calendar today!

Call for proposals

Proposals are welcome on all aspects of popular and American culture for inclusion in the 2026 Mid-Atlantic Popular & American Culture Association (MAPACA) conference in Baltimore, MD. Single papers, panels, roundtables, and alternative formats are welcome.

Proposals should take the form of 300-word abstracts and may only be submitted to one appropriate area. For a list of areas and area chair contact information, visit the Areas page on our website. General questions can be directed to mapaca@mapaca.net. The deadline for submission is June 30, 2026.

MAPACA’s participants are comprised of college and university faculty, independent scholars and artists, and graduate and undergraduate students. MAPACA is an inclusive professional organization dedicated to the study of popular and American culture in all their multidisciplinary manifestations. It is a regional division of the Popular Culture and American Culture Association, which, in the words of Popular Culture Association founder Ray Browne, is a “multi-disciplinary association interested in new approaches to the expressions, mass media and all other phenomena of everyday life.”

For more information and to log in and submit a proposal, visit MAPACA.net. When submitting a proposal, please note the different links for the in-person 2026 Annual Conference in Baltimore and the online Summer Virtual Symposium.

Important Dates

• April 30: Summer Virtual Symposium proposals due

• June 30: MAPACA Annual Conference proposals due

• July 26: 2026 Summer Virtual Symposium

• November 5-7: 2026 MAPACA Annual Conference in Baltimore, MD