Consuming US Popular Culture: Media Aesthetics, Ethics and Literacy
Virtual Conference | 27–28 November 2026

The consumption of popular culture and media, particularly through platforms and social networks, has become one of the most common leisure time activities worldwide, and US productions are one of the most circulated. Television series, films, videogames, TikTokers, podcasters, memes and other forms of digital culture reach global audiences and shape political identities and cultural imaginaries. Far from being mere entertainment, these texts have consequently become intertwined and virtually inseparable from the daily practices through which individuals get their news input and even their education. The purpose of this year’s virtual conference is to open a space for the analysis of the ethical principles (or lack thereof) that seem to guide the construction, circulation and reception of public discourses within the popular culture ecosystem, including both more traditional mediums such as television and comics, but also the products that emerge from generative AI. Popular media content exists as a key source of information in public discourse and influences how we interpret contemporary political issues, how we teach and learn, and even how we exist and behave in society. Although media effects have long been proven to be negotiated rather than direct, the understanding of desirable aesthetics, mindless entertainment and the rhetoric used in political discussions have been hugely impacted by AI generated content. With this cultural media environment in mind, this virtual conference invites explorations of US popular culture through the perspective of media ethics, media literacy and aesthetics. We aim at establishing a space of discussion on the political, educational, ethical and social implications of contemporary media consumption through the analysis of US popular culture. The conference welcomes contributions that tackle the ethical dimensions and societal impact of US popular culture across a wide range of media forms and how they operate within the fragmented and algorithmically curated media ecosystem that we inhabit. We welcome analysis of both mainstream and independent productions, historical and contemporary texts, as well as emerging digital practices.

Possible topics include, but are not limited to:
– Media ethics and the social responsibilities of producers, platforms and audiences
– Media literacy as a framework for analyzing contemporary popular culture
– Popular culture as a case study for developing media literacy, ethical reasoning and critical thinking in education
– The teaching potential behind popular media texts
– Media effects and audience reception of US popular culture
– Social media trends, influencers and memes
– AI aesthetics in popular media
– Polarization, misinformation, conspiracy narratives, and the circulation of disinformation through popular media
– (Un)ethical representation of minorities
– Political communication, civic engagement, and democratic participation through entertainment media
– Representation of political and social problems in US popular culture

Deadline for proposals: 1 November 2026

We accept abstract proposals for individual presentations (≈ 250 words), as well as full panels (3 presenters, ≈ 250-word description of the panel plus brief abstracts of all papers). Please, submit your abstract proposal via email at popmec.media@gmail.com as a single attachment (.doc, .docx, .odt) including name, affiliation (if any), and contact email.