With this, the fourth annual Battleground States Conference, it seems fitting to look towards "The Future." "Battleground States 2009: The Future," a conference dedicated to interdepartmental, multi-disciplinary approaches to the study of culture, will be held on the campus of Bowling Green State University on February 26-28, 2009. Special events leading up to the conference are also being planned. Formerly aimed specifically at graduate students, the re-imagined Battleground States Conference now seeks contributions from graduate students, emerging scholars, junior faculty, independent scholars, activists, and artists.

In previous years, we have had the pleasure to host a number of amazing keynote speakers, including:
Ann Larabee (Michigan State University)
John B. Russo (Youngstown State University)
Sherry Linkon (Youngstown State University)
Ray B. Browne (Bowling Green State University)
Gary Hoppenstand (Michigan State University)
Annette Wannamaker (Eastern Michigan University)
Philip Auslander (Georgia Institute of Technology)

Past conference themes have included Battleground States 2006: Scholarship in Times of Crisis, Battleground States 2007: Intersections of Poetics and Politics, and Battleground States 2008: The Body & Culture. Additional information regarding the theme for the 2009 conference, "The Future," can be found in the Call for Papers.

The conference has expanded considerably in its three-year history, growing to include more than 100 presenters in 2008, and soliciting scholars from England, Canada, and Australia, as well as all across the United States. 2009 looks to be even bigger and better. Details will be announced at battlegroundstates.org.

The Culture Club: Cultural Studies Scholars' Association was founded in the spring of 2006, in the wake of the first annual Battleground States Conference, as a collaborative project for graduate students interested in cultural studies. After a hugely successful conference, one that far exceeded our own expectations, an organization autonomous of disciplinary ties was deemed necessary to continue the spirit of collaboration. Today, The Culture Club continues to host the Battleground States Conference, curates the Tuesdays at the Historic Gish Film Theater film series, and programs other events relevant to the study of culture and society at Bowling Green State University.