I plan on proposing a panel on the CBS television program The Education of Max Bickford for the American Studies Association conference in Houston, November 14-17, 2002. Papers may address any aspect of the series, though I have listed a few "issues" to think about. One may place the phrase "Hollywood representation of" at the beginning of all but the last two of the following.

1. Tenured, grumudgeonly, middle-aged, out of touch Old Liberal male American Studies academic;
2. Young, energetic, hip, sexy, "feminist" female American Studies academic;
3. "Traditional" American Studies (e.g. FDR) versus popular cultural studies (e.g. Shirley Temple);
4. Sexual relations/politics among faculty members;
5. Transgenderism/transexuality among faculty members;
6. American Studies as sexy (!);
7. Identity politics among faculty members and students (e.g. "shaming" episode);
8. American Studies historian as neuropathological but intellectually fair;
9. Max Bickford as Hollywood version of popular journalistic representations of Culture Wars;
10. Idea of network producers inviting American Studies academics to contribute story ideas for TV show "about" American Studies academics.