Journal Special Issue - Galleries, Libraries, Archives and Museums

deadline for submissions:
January 20, 2017
full name / name of organization:
Australasian Journal of Popular Culture
contact email:
rachel.franks@sl.nsw.gov.au
Cultural institutions are custodians of important collections of the material and natural world. They are repositories of material culture that reflect the cultures and practices of humanity and the natural world, revealing the fantastic, the foibles and the strange, in addition to the efforts and products of great ingenuity. Such collections, in various formats from the ephemeral to the digital, from the bespoke to the mass produced, are accessed by many different publics, including those seeking to understand or connect with elements of popular culture. In responding to aspects of popular culture, collecting institutions such as galleries, libraries, archives and museums, bring exposure to objects and archives that provoke and stimulate the publics who engage with them. Curiosity is at the centre of this engagement with material culture as prompt. In creating a sphere in which the public can engage with their collections, cultural institutions develop experiences such as exhibitions, public programs, and those of a digital nature. These contexts provide a rich area of knowledge in which to inform new understandings of popular culture. Digital technologies and social media have deeply influenced popular culture and have contributed to reinventing much of public and private life. Collecting institutions, as repositories of this change, are positioned well to encourage scholarly research into this rich field of popular human endeavour.

This Special Issue will focus on popular culture within Galleries, Libraries, Archives and Museums (GLAM) within Australia and beyond. Particular emphasis will be given to the academically rigorous exposure of collections within critical cultural institutions. Focusing on unique collections and their contexts the scholarship being undertaken will be highlighted while simultaneously inviting additional research into these unique resources and contexts.

We invite researchers to offer academically rigorous pieces exploring collections as diverse as fiction and food, death studies and design, performance and photography, fashion and furniture, manuscripts, rare books, realia, special collections and more. In addition to works on cultural collections, proposals considering research in education, exhibitions, public programming, collecting practices, Indigenous protocols, and digital contexts are also encouraged. Articles representing collaborative, multidisciplinary efforts are welcome as are those encouraging further research. The editors also seek relevant reviews of exhibitions and published works for this Special Issue.



Proposals Due: 20 January 2017

Name, Affiliation, Abstract (200 words), Biographical Note (100 words), Keywords (up to 5)



Acceptances Issued: 3 February 2017



Final Papers Required: 1 June 2017

Articles should be between 4,000 - 6,000 words and must conform to the Intellect Style Guide: http://www.intellectbooks.co.uk/MediaManager/File/style%20guide(journals)-1.pdf