PCA/ACA Conference

[RatGuy]

Does anyone have any thoughts on the Pop Culture Association conferences, either national or regional? I didn't have a great experience at the national conference in NOLA a few years back, but some of my grad school cohort swear by the regional conferences (especially Midwest). Some of the grad students here are asking if such a paper is a "good line on a CV" -- my thoughts are that it'd be neutral to negative, while some of my colleagues here are saying its a fantastic opportunity as well as a standout line on a CV. Interested in what the the folks here think.

[mamselle]

I gave a paper on my gravestone studies in NOLA in 1992 for them.

Seemed like a nice conference, if a bit disorganized (I'd requested 2 slide projectors, they only had one in the room; my slides were in doubled trays, so I had to go looking for another projector while the next person gave their talk...I said I'd just pass and 2 other participants said they'd come to hear my talk, and helped me look 'til we found one...)

I don't know how rigorous their journal is now, either; the gravestones group had a good editor, but other articles seemed a bit high-schoolish.

But all that was several decades ago; I haven't connected with them since.

M.

[bibliothecula]

It's a low-entry-bar kind of conference. I've gone and presented and had a good time and got good feedback, but it wasn't super rigorous. You'll find undergrads presenting, folks who are offering opinion papers, etc., in addition to traditional academic types. I don't think it would hurt a CV, but probably not add a whole lot either. I seem to find that people in pop culture studies areas go there to deliver first drafts and then take more polished work elsewhere.