The Electric Guitar in Popular Culture

Posted: October 9th, 2014 | Filed under: Calls for Papers | Comments Off on The Electric Guitar in Popular Culture

Friday March 27 and Saturday March 28, 2015
Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, Ohio, USA

The Electric Guitar in Popular Culture aims to examine the roles of the electric guitar in cultures throughout the world. It is intended to serve as a space for academics, professionals, hobbyists and fans to engage in dialogue about topics related to the electric guitar and its cultural influence. We seek to explore the answers to many questions, including but not limited to:

• How has the electric guitar altered music and the lives of musicians throughout its history?
• How has the electric guitar impacted local music scenes in northwest Ohio and those throughout the world?
• Have changing representations of the guitar in popular culture impacted aspiring musicians?
• How have advances in technology impacted the production of electric guitars for both producers and consumers?
• How have various cultures and perspectives surrounding the electric guitar shifted over time?

Possible individual themes that may be addressed include, but are not limited to:

• Representations in Popular Culture
• Globalization of the Electric Guitar
• Current Trends & Artists
• Ohio Guitar Shows
• Guitar Collecting
• Album Artwork
• Guitar Magazines & Publications
• Guitar Manufacturing
• The Guitar and Education
• Race/Ethnicity and the Electric Guitar
• Gender/Sexuality and the Guitar
• Fender vs. Gibson
• Guitar As Icon
• The Guitar in Video Games and Toys
• Genres & Associated Artists

We welcome individual proposals or pre-formed panels that address any or all of these questions and themes. As the conference seeks to provide a multitude of perspectives, academic presentations and those from outside the academy are welcome.

Please send a 300 word abstract describing your individual presentation to [email protected] with “The Electric Guitar in Popular Culture” in the subject line. (Panel, roundtable, performance, and artistic display proposals should include a 300 proposal for each individual and a 500 word proposal explaining the group presentation.) Submissions should be sent in a document attachment with the following information:

Author’s name/Title
Institutional Affiliation (if applicable)
Email address
Presentation Title and Abstract

Deadline for Submissions is Sunday, December 21, 2014.

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