Child's Play in Popular Culture: History, representations and consumption
Online
Organization: PopCRN - The Popular Culture Research Network
PopCRN – The Popular Culture Network invites scholars to explore the diverse representations of childhood in popular culture at a virtual symposium to be held online on 30 April – 1 May 2026.
From dolls and board games to digital playgrounds and interactive media, the concept of play has been a defining aspect of childhood across cultures and historical periods. Popular culture has both shaped and been shaped by children’s play, reflecting broader societal values, anxieties, and technological advancements.
This conference, Child’s Play in Popular Culture: History, Representations, and Consumption, invites scholars, researchers, and practitioners to explore the multifaceted ways in which play is constructed, represented, and consumed in popular media and culture.
We welcome papers from researchers across the academic spectrum and encourage submissions from postgraduate and early career researchers. Presenters will have the opportunity to submit their work for consideration in a refereed book publication.
Topics can include, but are not restricted to:
· "Life must be lived as play." – The history of children’s games and toys in popular culture
· "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy." –Representations of play in literature, film, television, and digital media
· "Play is the highest form of research." - Play and pedagogy: the intersection of entertainment and education
· "Toys are put on this Earth to be played with by a child." – Commercialization and commodification of childhood through toys and games
· "Girls can do anything!" –Gender, race, and class in play culture
· "The future of play is digital." – The influence of technology on play: from board games to virtual worlds
· "Adults are only kids grown up, anyway." – Fan cultures, nostalgia, and adult engagement with childhood play
· "It’s all fun and games until someone gets hurt." – Risk, danger, and moral panics around children’s play
· "If you obey all the rules, you miss all the fun." – Play as resistance: subversive and transgressive forms of play
· "The world’s playgrounds are as diverse as its cultures." – Global and cross-cultural perspectives on child’s play in popular culture
Please submit by your proposed abstract by 30th November 2025
· Submit here - https://tinyurl.com/2hyksxn8
· Register here - tinyurl.com/mrxeys35
· Queries to popcrn@une.edu.au
Stay up to date with PopCRN on our social pages & website
· www.popcrn.org
· X (ex-Twitter) - https://twitter.com/PopcultureUne
· Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100071540522655
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Dr Lisa Hackett
