Special Topic: Happiness and Culture
National Conference
of the Popular Culture Association (PCA)
San Antonio, TX
April 5 – 8, 2023
We are seeking paper proposals for the 2023 PCA conference in San Antonio. The papers may focus on any aspect of the relationship between happiness (tentatively understood as subjective well-being) and broadly defined popular culture.
Philosophers and scholars have long argued that humans seek happiness above all else. You can get us to do, buy, create, accomplish, watch, or attend almost anything if the promised payoff is happiness. This makes the desire for happiness one of the most significant motivating forces in any culture.
While this desire is universally human, beliefs and attitudes about happiness (including if we have a right to expect it at all and how to go about pursuing it if we do) vary with changing religious views, economic conditions, historical periods, geographic locations, and other factors. That is, both group and individual attitudes and beliefs about happiness are partly shaped by the culture/country/time period in which we live.
Our topic explores the role that culture and its products and institutions (such as popular arts and rituals, social and other media, advertising, education, economic trends, and dominant scientific paradigms) play in constructing and/or popularizing different definitions of happiness and how best to pursue it.
Does the most commonly suggested path to happiness really lead to happiness? That is a million-dollar question. Some psychologists argue that, at least in many Western societies, it does not.
Possible topics include (but are not limited to):
– Portrayals of happiness in popular books, movies, comic books, songs, and advertising; on dating apps and how-to websites; at sporting events and holiday celebrations. What definitions of happiness do these portrayals imply? What path to happiness do they propose? Does the proposed path really lead to happiness?
– The relationship between a character’s gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or socioeconomic class and portrayals of happiness.
– Portrayals of happiness that promote particular beliefs and values. For example, when characters find happiness if they engage in socially approved behaviors, such as monogamous marriage, hard work, and purchasing a home; when oppressed people are portrayed as happy to justify the oppression; or when a character who makes a choice that diverges from a group’s dominant norms is depicted as miserable or meets a tragic end.
– Happiness-causing properties of popular genres and products, such as romantic comedies, sitcoms, video games, and meditation apps. Why do these genres and products make us feel good? What definitions of happiness do they imply? What beliefs and values do they embody?
– The science of happiness. What does scientific research tell us about happiness? Do scientific findings correlate with cultural beliefs about (and popular portrayals of) happiness? Why or why not?
– Compare/contrast portrayals of happiness in different historical periods. For example, are the causes of women’s happiness portrayed differently in mainstream romantic comedies today than in the 1950s?
– Compare/contrast beliefs about (portrayals of) happiness in different cultures/countries.
– Compare/contrast portrayals of happiness in different popular genres, such as action/adventure movies, TV dramas, or romance novels. Do these portrayals differ? If so, why?
-The relationship between the prevailing ideas about (portrayals of) happiness and the economic conditions in the country.
-The relationship between the prevailing ideas about (portrayals of) happiness and the dominant values and beliefs.
For additional information about the PCA and the conference please go to the PCA website: http://www.pcaaca.org.
We especially welcome papers from members of ethnic minorities, the LGBTQIA community, and immigrant communities, as well as from the members of non-mainstream, alternative cultures.
We are considering proposals for individual papers and/or complete panels. Sessions are scheduled in 1.5-hour slots, typically with four papers or speakers per standard session. Individual presentations should not exceed 15 minutes. Please submit a 100–150-word abstract for individual papers and/or a 250–300-word abstract for panels. Please include the title of the paper and/or panel. Working professionals, scholars, educators, and graduate students are all encouraged to submit.
Proposals are due January 10, 2023.
All submissions must be uploaded through the PCA website: http://www.pcaaca.org. To submit to the conference, individuals must be current, paid members of the PCA. All presenters must be registered for the conference. To attend the National Conference, members must pay the membership fee and the registration fee.
Membership fees are non-refundable and non-transferable.
Area Chairs:
Vida Penezic
Independent Scholar
E-mail: vida_p@hotmail.com
Nicole Freim
Southwestern Oregon Community College
2023 Conference Dates and Deadlines
| 15Aug-22 | Conference Information Available on Website |
| 15-Sept-22 | Submissions Open |
| 07-Oct-22 | Early Bird Registration Begins |
| January 10, 2023 | Deadline for Paper Proposals |
| 02-Jan-23 | Early Bird Registration Ends; Regular Registration Begins |
| 03-Jan-23 | Regular Registration Ends |
| 13-Jan-23 | Preliminary Schedule Available |
| 01-Feb-22 | Registration for Presenters End; Those Not Registered by the Date Will be Dropped From the Program |
5 – 8 April, 2023 Conference in San Antonio, TX
Happiness and Culture 