The Popular Culture Association and American Culture Association announce a new panel area for the annual PCA/ACA conference to be held at the New Orleans Marriott April 16-19, 2003: "Conspiracy Theories and the Paranormal." Whether historical, ethnographic, rhetorical, political, psychological, or sociological, or interdisciplinary, the papers presented in this area's panels should be examinations of how conspiracy or the supernatural operate in popular culture rather than testimonials/evidentiary arguments for or against the validity of an alleged conspiracy or paranormal phenomenon.

Scholarly studies of how conspiracy theories and/or paranormal phenomena function in popular literature (fiction and non-fiction), film (narrative and documentary), television (series, news reports, info-tainment, commercials), journalism (newspapers, magazines, tabloids), and the various genres of the internet are all welcome. Also encouraged are scholarly studies of individuals and groups promoting belief in conspiracy (JFK assassination, Area 51, 9/11, space launches, New World Order, secret government experiments, etc.), alien abduction, UFOs, ghosts, communication with the dead, reincarnation, ESP, out-of-body experiences, monster sightings (e.g., sea monsters, Bigfoot, etc.), remote viewing, psychokinesis, clairvoyance, divination, psychic/faith healing, etc.

Please send a 100-word abstract with complete mailing address, school affiliation, e-mail address, telephone number, and fax number to the area chair by September 25, 2002.

E-mail submissions are welcome. If submitting by e-mail, please include your abstract and contact information in the body of the message, not as an attachment.