Cultural Studies Association
University of California, San Diego
La Jolla, CA
March 28-April 1, 2012

Open for Proposal Submissions: 1 August, 2011
Deadline for Proposals: 19 September, 2011
Conference Registration Opens: September, 2011

The Cultural Studies Association (CSA) invites participation in its tenth annual conference. This year’s theme, “Culture Matters,” calls for proposals that critically and creatively reflect on culture and “the material” broadly conceived. How do we theorize the relationship between culture and materiality? In what ways might interdisciplinary formations such as ethnic studies, critical gender studies, queer theory, indigenous studies, and new media studies challenge or redefine notions of the material? How should cultural critics understand the material in relationship to the immaterial? What are the cultural-material aspects of knowledge production both inside and outside the university? How does culture become a material force and how can cultural critics and producers intervene in or transform institutions and material practices? In short, what do materialist cultural studies projects look like now and what forms should they take in the future?

We welcome proposals from all areas and on all topics of relevance to cultural studies, including but not limited to literature, history, sociology, geography, politics, anthropology, communications, popular culture, cultural theory, queer studies, ethnic studies, indigenous studies, feminist studies, postcolonial studies, legal studies, science studies, media and film studies, material culture studies, visual art and performance studies.

While the program committee accepts individual presentation proposals, we especially encourage submissions of pre-constituted sessions. We also invite proposals that engage with this conference location and its many resources.

All conference formats – papers, panels, roundtables, workshops, and seminars – are intended to encourage the presentation and discussion of projects at different stages of development and to foster intellectual exchange and collaboration. Please feel free to adapt the suggested formats or propose others in order to suit your session’s goals. If you have any questions, please address them to csaus@pitt.edu.

All of the conference formats will be 105 minutes in length.

The conference has a finite set of resources available in terms of space and technology. In your proposal, you can request specific space and technical accommodations, including audio-visual equipment such as video/data projectors and DVD/VCR combo players. You will be asked to provide a short justification for your request in terms of the goals and format of your session. Requests will be evaluated in terms of these justifications and available resources.

Submission Deadline and Process

You may begin submitting proposals on August 1, 2011. The CSA administers submissions electronically. Please prepare all the materials required to propose your session according to the given directions before you begin electronic submission. We recommend saving a copy of this information in a rich or plain text document–not an MS Word document. You will be asked to enter the information into the fields provided (you may choose to cut and paste).

The Program Committee will send final notifications regarding session proposals no later than 5 December 2011.

Registration

Conference registration opens September, 2011. In order to be listed in the program, conference registration – which includes membership in the CSA – must be completed online before 27 February 2012. All program information – names, presentation titles, and institutional affiliations – will be based on initial conference submissions.