PCSA History
PCSA was founded in the fall of 2011 in a moment of great energy and passion about popular culture studies by Popular Culture MA students, Myc Wiatrowski, Cory Barker, and Brian Keilen.
It was originally populated by both undergraduate and graduate students aimed at bringing together and engaging community members, students, alumni, professionals, and scholars who are dedicated to the creation and study of popular texts and vernacular culture.
PCSA helped to originate the Popular Culture Colloquium Series and Ray Browne Conference (now the Ray Browne Conference for Popular Culture Studies) and published a collection of the first RBC’s paper.
Today PCSA is a graduate student club driven by the following directive:
to encourage the study of popular culture among the greater BGSU community; support the professional development of BGSU POPC MA students; and link undergraduates, graduates, educators, and outside scholars in conversation.
President: Taylor Bowles
Secretary: Jenna Sule
Treasurer: Jason Mecchi
Graduate Advisors: Haley Shipley, Judy Clemens-Smucker
President: Haley Shipley
Vice President: Shane Hesketh
Secretary: Zamirah Hussain
Treasurer: Dylan Reid Miller
Marketing/Social Media Director: Joe McManis
Graduate Advisors: John King, Judy Clemens-Smucker
Judy Clemens Smucker, President
Cheyenne White, Vice President
Sam Deckard, Secretary
Emma Lynn, Treasurer
Oladoyin Abiona, Public Relations Officer
John King, Sergeant at Arms
Leda Hayes, Graduate Student Advisor
President: Joshua Smith
Vice-President: Alexis Isaac
Treasurer: Tristan Leighton
Secretary: Dee Elliott
Executive-at-Large: Jerry Reed
Graduate Student Advisor: Leda Hayes
President: Leda Hayes
Vice-President: David Aldrich
Treasurer:
Secretary: Trisha Ennis
Executive-at-Large:
President: Robin Hershkowitz
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Vice-President: Elizabeth Collins
Treasurer: Joyce Okango
Secretary: Lauren O'Connor
Executive-at-Large: Steven Bellavia
President: Alex Garner
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Treasurer: Bobby Humphrey
Secretary: Lauren O'Connor
Executive-at-Large: Steven Bellavia
President: Becky Denes
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Ray Browne Conference for Popular Culture Studies
2023 Conference:
Co-sponsored with BGSU University Libraries
All of This is Temporary: A Conference on Class Consiousness and Popular Culture
2022 Conference:
What Scares You?: Defining Horror
Keynote Address: Britt Rhuart, BGSU ACS PhD Alum; Adjunct Professor at Paradise Valley Community College
2021 Conference:
Considering Conclusions: What Do We Learn When We Unpack the Popular?
Keynote Address: Dr. Jeremy Wallach, Professor in the Department of Popular Culture at BGSU
2020 Conference:
Collections, Curation, and Collectors: An Exploration of Gathering
Keynote Address: Matthew Donahue, Teaching Professor in the Department of Popular Culture at BGSU
Ray Browne Conference on Cultural and Critical Studies
2019 Conference:
Formulas in Flux: Conventions and Adaptability in Popular Culture
Ray and Pat Browne Keynote Address: Dr. Sue Matheson, "Adaptable Cannibals: Reflections on the Possibilities, Negotiations, and Limits of Popular Culture Formulas and Conventions"
Culture Club Presentation: Feature film directed by Fabrizio Terranova, "Donna Haraway: Story Telling for Earthly Survival"
2018 Conference:
Borders and Borderlands
Culture Club Keynote Address: Irene Lara “Healing in the Borderlands: Knowledge to Breathe Home”
Ray and Pat Browne Keynote Address: Trevor J. Blank, “All Kidding Aside: Memes, Humor, and Backlash in American Celebrity Culture”
2017 Conference:
Intersections of Identities: Difference and Coalition in a Transnational Context
Culture Club Keynote Address: Staceyann Chin, spoken-word poet, performing artist, activist, and novelist.
Ray and Pat Browne Keynote Address: Laurenn McCubbin, large-scale, immersive installation artist, documentarian, and Associate Professor of Foundations at Columbus College of Art & Design.
2016 Conference:
"Time and Timelessness: Conceptions of the Past, Present, and Future in Cultural Studies"
Culture Club Keynote Address: Andi Zeisler, cofounder of Bitch Media and longtime freelance writer and illustrator.
Ray and Pat Browne Keynote Address: Linda Holmes, Pop Culture Blogger, NPR, Monkey See
2015 Conference:
“Cultural Landscapes and Critical Possibilities: Perspectives on the Local & Global.” February 13-15, 2015.
Culture Club Keynote Address: Dr. Brittney Cooper, Rutgers University, Crunk Feminist Collective
Ray and Pat Browne Keynote Address: AtPeace Makita Taylor, Detroit Water Brigade
Featured Workshop Facilitator: Justin Wedes, Detroit Water Brigade
2014 Conference:
“Clash and Convergence: Explorations of Culture in an Age of Uncertainty.” February 21-23, 2014.
Culture Club (formerly Battleground States) Keynote Address: José Gonzalez “Tucson Unified: A Dream Deferred, A Civil Rights Struggle”
Ray and Pat Browne Keynote Address: Jennifer Armstrong “The Modern TV Woman: How The Mary Tyler Moor Show Pushed Boundaries and Paved the Way for Carrie Bradshaw, Liz Lemon, and Mindy Lahiri”
Ray Brown Conference on Popular Culture
2013 Conference:
"Modes of Mobility: Popular Culture in an Age of Technology"
Keynote Speakers:
Dr. Thomas Malaby, Professor and Chair of Anthropology at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
Dr. Brendan Riley, English Faculty, Columbia College
2012 Conference:
"Popular Culture in the 21st Century"
Keynote address: Dr. Gary Hoppenstand, Distinguished faculty, Michigan State Univeristy; Editor-in-Chief, Journal of Popular Culture.
Updated: 02/26/2024 03:20PM