([Maga]ZINE street, NOLA)
Back from the Popular Culture Association conference in New Orleans, Lousiana, which provided a chance to catch up with some US publishers (and grab some zines), get a sense of what US scholars are interested in and to chair a panel on 'What happens when the Citizen meets the Repository'. I was fascinated to hear about Sean's course on American Fear at Syracuse (and wanted to take the course), was inspired by Judi's talk on the 'State of Hockey' and liked Marie's statement of the potential seriousness of popular culture and the need to get involved in how we are governed. I had the chance to reflect a little on Taking Liberties, and how the interactive and the thought wall may have made the exhibition less of an exhibition and more of a participatory, and possibly civic, performance. The paper wondered if we've become a little more open to civic events in the UK, not least since the funeral of Princess Diana, and that sincerity, even if often a little mawkish and little more than a symbolic gesture, like adding a comment to a blog or writing a note on a card or a bunch of flowers, has made a come back.
It was also a chance to reflect a little on Hurricane Katrina, and what happens when government breaks down - but perhaps that's something for when I'm a little less jet-lagged.
