Midwest PCA/ACA 2017

Area: Wrestling Studies

Area Co-Chairs: CarrieLynn D. Reinhard and Christopher J. Olson

The 2017 Midwest PCA/ACA conference will be held at the Hyatt Regency St. Louis at the Arch from Wednesday-Sunday, October 18-22. 

Call: Past, Present and Future of Professional Wrestling

Since this is the inaugural conference for this new area, the Wrestling Studies area is seeking to compose at least one panel where the papers consider the past, present, and future of professional wrestling. Thus, we are looking for papers, panel proposals, or roundtable proposals that answer questions such as: how do we see the past from this current point in time, what is happening in the present, and what could be the future of professional wrestling? We are interested in studies that consider these questions by discussing the following aspects of professional wrestling: wrestlers, promotions, federations, matches, fans, etc. We are seeking analyses on the past, present and future of professional wrestling from any theoretical or methodological perspective.

We also hope to use this new area to help establish a Professional Wrestling Studies Association. The PWSA would seek to promote the interdisciplinary study of the various aspects of professional wrestling from any theoretical or methodological perspective. In accordance with the development of this association, we are calling for papers, panels, and roundtable discussions on any matter connected to professional wrestling. Idea for such submissions include but are not limited to:

• The current business practices of the World Wrestling Entertainment organization
• Independent wrestling federations and social media marketing
• Case studies of racism, sexism, homophobia
• Analyses of the reception of wrestlers and wrestling matches
• Studies of professional wrestling fans, from marks to smarks
• The appeal of professional wrestling
• The convergent nature of professional wrestling
• The history of professional wrestling

Submit paper, abstract, or panel proposals (including the title of the presentation) to the Wrestling Studies Area on the Submissions website (submissions.mpcaaca.org). Individuals may only submit one paper, and please do not submit the same item to more than one Area.

Deadline for receipt of proposals is May 15, 2017.

Please include name, affiliation, and e-mail address of each author/participant. A preliminary version of the schedule will be posted on our website around July 2017. The final version will be distributed in hard copy at the conference.

For more information on the general CFP for this conference, please see: http://mpcaaca.org/stlouis-2017/2017-cfp/