Call for Papers – PCA 2024
March 27-30, 2024
Chicago Marriott Downtown Magnificent Mile
The field of science and religion, while relatively new as an identifiable field of study, has been growing fast in methodological sophistication and scope over the past thirty years. Similarly, so too has popular culture studies. These two growing fields of scholarly investigation have had little contact until last year in San Antonio. Now in our second year, scholars who dip into both the ‘territories of “science” and “religion”’, investigating their dynamics, however, that may be defined, at work in texts of popular culture are invited to submit to the second year of the science and religion and popular culture area at PCA.
This area is for those scholars who are working on projects that are neither just about science nor just about religion, that touch on both directly or indirectly. We will probe how science and religion are portrayed, discussed, shown, etc. in popular culture, specifically and in detail. Our task will be to have scholars of popular culture push the boundaries of what the field of science and religion currently offers by bringing into the discussion a rather overlooked aspect of the popular imagination—popular culture and all it entails. In doing so, we can add to and build up the field of science and religion while also developing new avenues of investigation and scholarly discourse within popular culture studies.
As this area is only entering its second year at PCA, the scope of this area will remain quite broad, reflecting the wide range of topics and discourses available at the PCA. I welcome all papers that explore science and religion (/spirituality/belief/nonbelief/etc.) so that we can continue to build the community and recognize those scholars working in this area. This means that scholars working in this area from all academic disciplines, methods, and approaches involved with PCA are encouraged to submit.
Example Topics
• MCU/DCEU and representations of or interactions of science and religion. (Ex. Tony Stark vs Thanos as technology and human will vs destiny and purpose, or Batman v Superman and the ideological difference between the two heroes played out/shown in the world).
• Star Trek—Federation personnel interacting with religious alien species.
• The historicity of the ‘Universe’ as praiseworthy in TV/film, or as a ‘guiding force’.
• Conceptions of science in religious television programming.
• Conception of religion in science television programming.
• How does the media portray science and religion broadly? How do they portray different sciences and different religions/spiritualities more specifically?
• What do films/television/etc. portray science and religion to be?
• How is the conflict thesis perpetuated in popular culture? Is it?
• What are the narrative strategies at work in portrayals of science and religion? What do they say?
• And anything you can think of that relates “science”, religion/belief/spirituality/etc., and popular culture in interesting and thoughtful ways!
Submission Requirements
To submit to this Area of PCA, please include a 300-word abstract with a title, as well as your name, institution, and professional title (i.e. Associate Professor, MA student, Ph.D. Candidate, etc.).
Please click here to find more instructions and to submit your abstract.
For any questions, please email me with the contact information below. I look forward to seeing you in Chicago!
Anthony K Nairn
PhD Candidate
York University (Toronto) – Department of Humanities
ISSR Executive Assistant
