SWPACA History

The Southwest/Texas Popular Culture Association conference was held for the first time in 1979 and was organized by Peter Rollins and Michael Schoenecke, who led the association through its early decades and into the 21st century, when Phil Heldrich and Ken Dvorak assumed leadership responsibilities. The annual meeting was held in Texas and Oklahoma until the late 1990s, when the conference moved to its longstanding adopted home in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where it has since met. In 2014, the organization became the Southwest Popular/American Culture Association, emphasizing its general geographical location as the conference continued to attract scholars from across the United States and around the world. In 2010, Lynnea Chapman King became the Executive Director and was later joined in by Tamy Burnett, Treasurer (2014), Kathleen Lacey, Area Chair and Awards Coordinator (2015), and Stephanie Lim, Communications Coordinator (2022).

Throughout its history, SWPACA has welcomed first-time and senior scholars who have presented their research on topics ranging from Adaptation to Zombies. In 2014, SWPACA established Dialogue: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Popular Culture and Pedagogy, which continues to release 2-3 issues annually. In 2023, the organization introduced a fully virtual, annual Summer Salon online conference to offer continued opportunity for scholarly conversations and connections, as well as to meet the needs of a wide array of participants during a different moment of the year. As SWPACA moves through its fifth decade and beyond, we look forward to continuing the long-standing tradition of supporting scholars as they examine popular and American culture.