Game Studies: 2010 PCA/ACA National Conference.
The Game Studies area of the Popular Culture Association and the 
American Culture Association National Conference invites proposals 
for papers and panels on games and game studies for the Popular 
Culture Association/American Culture Association National Conference 
to be held Wednesday, March 31, through Saturday, April 3, 2010, at 
Renaissance Grand Hotel, St. Louis, MO.
The organizers seek proposals covering all aspects of gaming, gaming 
culture and game studies.  Proposals can address any game medium 
(computer, social, console, tabletop, etc) and all theoretical and 
methodological approaches are welcome.
Possible topics include but are not limited to:
-- representation or performance of race, class, gender and 
sexuality in games
-- gaming culture, game specific cultures, and multicultural and 
cross-cultural issues
-- game development, design, authorship and other industry issues
-- game advertising, reviews, packaging, promotion, integrated 
marketing and other commercial concerns
-- political and legal entailments such as regulation, censorship, 
intellectual property
-- ludology, textual criticism, media ecology, narratology, etc as 
paradigms for games studies
-- player generated content in MUDs and MMORPGs, Mods, maps and machinima
-- game genres, platforms, consoles, console wars and connections to 
other media
-- serious games for education, business, healthcare, (military) 
training, etc
-- space and place in games, play spaces, virtual/physical 
communities, mobile gaming and localization
-- digital literacy, discourse practices, social norms and norming, 
the politics of play
-- public discourse/controversy over violence, militarism, sex, 
criminality, racism, etc in games
So that there will be ample time for discussion, each individual 
paper presentation should be designed to last approximately fifteen 
minutes (there will be four presentations per session with time for Q&A).
For individual paper submissions, your 250-word (maximum) abstract 
must be received by December 15, 2009.  At the top of your proposal, 
please include the title of the paper, your name (and the name of 
any co-presenters), affiliation, mailing address, and e-mail 
address. This information will be used in the program and to mail 
your conference materials.  At the end of your abstract, please 
include a list of 3 to 5 keywords.
The Game Studies area of the Popular Culture Association and the 
American Culture Association National Conference also invites 
complete panel submissions, which may take the form of debates, 
dialogs, roundtable discussions, thematic panels, (or other format,) 
and be designed to last approximately eighty minutes. For complete 
panel submissions, please submit a 250-word panel abstract, as well 
as 100-word abstracts for each individual presentation.  Be sure to 
include the proposed title of the panel, the organizer's name, 
affiliation, mailing address, and email, and include this 
information for all panelists.  Panel submissions must be received 
by December 15, 2009.
Technology for use during presentations may be limited. More 
information about the conference can be found at 
http://www.pcaaca.org/ <http://www.pcaaca.org/>
Please also note that presenters will be required to join either the 
Popular Culture Association or the American Culture Association 
prior to attending the conference, as well as pay a registration fee 
for the conference.
Please email all paper and panel proposals to 
(digitalgames.pcaaca /at/ gmail.com) <mailto:(digitalgames.pcaaca /at/ gmail.com)> .
Questions and concerns can be sent to the address above, or may be 
directed to one of the area chairs listed below.
Katie Whitlock, Theatre Department, California State University, Chico
(klwhitlock /at/ csuchico.edu) <mailto:(klwhitlock /at/ csuchico.edu)>
Gerald Voorhees, Nido Qubien School of Communication, High Point University
(gvoorhee /at/ highpoint.edu) <mailto:(gvoorhee /at/ highpoint.edu)>
Joshua Call, Department of English, Grandview University
(jcall /at/ grandviewl.edu) <mailto:(jcall /at/ grandviewl.edu)>
Tony Avruch, American Culture Studies Program, Bowling Green State University
(avruch.pca /at/ gmail.com) <mailto:(avruch.pca /at/ gmail.com)>