First, the Professional Wrestling Studies Association (PWSA) invites anyone interested in professional wrestling to attend their first annual online symposium, WrestlePosium I.

This symposium will occur on Saturday, April 4^th, from 8am to 4pm Central Time and will be completely online so that anyone around the world can attend. Registration is necessary to access the online meeting space, but registration is free.

The symposium will consist of academic presentations, an Academic Keynote from Eero Laine, and a Professional Keynote from professional wrestler Terrance “Spider Baby” Griep.

Anyone interested in attending can visit this link to register: https://dom.zoom.us/meeting/register/u5wpcuiurzkuL41Nani5ZPR1wRcqJpnlyw. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting. More information, including the schedule of talks, is available at PWSA’s website https://prowrestlingstudies.org.  

Second, we present a call for papers and panel proposals for the 2020 Midwest Popular Culture Association / Midwest American Culture Association Annual Conference, especially for the Wrestling Studies Area. This conference will occur Friday-Sunday, 2-4 October 2020, at the Westin Minneapolis in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Minnesota is famous for its impact on professional wrestling. Minnesota has produced many classic superstars like the Road Warriors, Larry Hennig, the Andersons, Bob Backlund, and Molly Holly, as well as new stars like Curtis Axel, the Daivaris, Chad Gable, and Erick Rowan. In many ways, Verne Gagne and the American Wrestling Association (AWA), both based out of Minneapolis, helped establish modern professional wrestling. After wrestling for AWA and WWF, Jesse Ventura made headlines when he became Minnesota’s 38th governor. Minnesota matters in professional wrestling.

For this year’s conference, along with regular proposals related to professional wrestling, we’re interested in any that focus on the relationship between Minnesota and professional wrestling. We’re especially interested in proposals that consider the “places” of professional wrestling: from physical places like event halls and wrestling schools or cities, states and territories, to digital places like social media and websites. Minnesota is an important place in professional wrestling, so let’s talk more about why “place” matters as a concept in pro-wrestling studies.

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

Deadline for receipt of proposals is April 30, 2020.

For more details, visit: https://mpcaaca.org/minn-2020.