Disasters, Apocalypses, and Catastrophes (PCA/ACA 2020 4/15-4/18)

PROPOSAL DEADLINE:  NOVEMBER 1, 2019

In a hyper-mediated global culture, disaster events reach us with
great speed and digital detail, and we begin forming, interpreting, and
historicizing catastrophes simultaneously with people worldwide. Are we
inside the era of disasters or are we merely inundated by mediated
accounts of events categorized as catastrophic? How do these mediated
accounts affect policy, poverty, and the public? Of particular interest
is the question of what role do academics play in disaster culture
and policy?

Disasters, Apocalypses, and Catastrophes offers a forum for these
questions and critical approaches surrounding the culture of disasters,
catastrophes, accidents, and apocalypses in global art, literature,
media, film, and popular culture. Disasters, Apocalypses, and
Catastrophes will address broader disciplinary topics and innovative
intersections of humanities, musicology, social science, literature,
film, visual art, psychology, game studies, material culture, media
studies, ecology, and information technology.