Each year for the conference students are encouraged to submit a completed reading copied of their papers in advance of the conference to compete for the student paper awards.  Executive Council’s Members-at-Large select the best paper in popular culture studies and American culture studies.   These awards are presented at the Thursday night reception at the conference.

The 2025 winners are:

Ray and Pat Browne Award for popular culture studies

Emma Bauer
Université Paul-Valéry Montpellier 3
“The Haunting and Haunted Nature of the South in Gothic Mode in Sharp Objects and True Detective”

Roger  Rollin Award for American culture studies:

John W. Byers
University of Mississippi
Monster/Fiend/Demon: Southern Gothic Narrative Strategies in News Coverage of Radicalized Violence

PREVIOUS WINNERS

2024 winners are:

Ray and Pat Browne Award for popular culture studies

Bianca Martin
University of Central Arkansas
The Bourgeois and the Rebel: Princesse Tam Tam and the Demise of Western Binaries through Colonialism

Roger  Rollin Award for American culture studies:

Kat Sanderfer
University of South Florida
“We’ve Been Cleaning Up After Men our Entire Lives:” Dismantling the Southern Housewife Stereotype

2023 Winners

Ray and Pat Browne Award for popular culture studies

Jacob Breaux,
Lamar University
Wahoo! – From the Humble Arcade, to the Home Television, to the Big Screen: The Importance of Phenomenology to the Success of The Super Mario Bros. Movie

Roger  Rollin Award for American culture studies:

Aylah Maresa Birks
Mercer University
We’ve Got a Story to Tell: The Power of Feminine Storytelling

 

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