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Call for Papers: Popular Romance2012 Midwest Popular Culture Association/American Culture Association ConferenceFriday-Sunday, October 12-14, 2012Columbus, OHRenaissance Columbus Downtown Hotel(Conference info: http://www.mpcaaca.org)Deadline for submission: April 30, 2012.The most prevalent narrative structure of popular romance is an integral element of any story, regardless of forum: film, television, fiction, manga, advertising. Not only is romance exceptionally popular, it is so pervasive as to become ordinary and overlooked. As the popularity of romance increases, so too does the need for serious scholarship of the genre in all its incarnations. We are interested in any and all topics about or related to popular romance and its representations in popular culture (fiction, stage, screen—large or small, commercial, advertising, music, song, dance, online, real life, etc.)Proposals may be for individual papers or 3-person panels.Topics can include, but are not limited to:• critical approaches, such as readings informed by critical race theory, queer theory, postcolonial studies, or empirical science• depictions in the media and popular culture (e.g., film, television, literature, comics)• literature and fiction (genre romance, poetry, animé)• types of relationships (marriage, gay and lesbian)• historical practices and traditions of and in romance• regional and geographic pressures and influences (southern, Caribbean)• material culture (valentines, foods, fashions)• folklore and mythologies• jokes and humor• romantic love in political discourse (capitalism)• psychological approaches toward romantic attraction• emotional and sexual desire• subcultures: age (seniors, adolescents), multi-ethnic, inter-racial• individual creative producers or texts of popular romance• gender-bending and gender-crossingSubmit a one-page (200-250 words) proposal or abstract by 30 April 2012 to Maryan Wherry, Popular Romance, http://submissions.mpcaaca.org. Please include name, affiliation, and e-mail address with your abstract. Also, please indicate in your submission whether your presentation will require a TV and DVD player. Note that LCD projectors will not be provided by MPCA/ACA.More conference information can be found at http://www.mpcaaca.org/.For further inquiries or concerns, please contact Romance Area Chair, Maryan Wherry, Black Hawk College, wherrym@bhc.edu.