The Global impact of pop culture – Voices from Canada, the United States of America, China and Europe

Pop Culture (also called popular culture or mass culture) constitutes a salient and dynamic component in the story of humanity. It reflects our beliefs, traditions, preferences and likes, as well as philosophical and religious ponderings, and a wide plethora of ways of interpreting the surrounding world and reality. When we employ the term pop culture in an informal conversation, we frequently conjure up images of Coca-Cola, rock and roll, video games, food, fashion, entertainment, sport, movies, and reality shows, to name just a few. There exist numerous definitions of pop culture. Scholars seem to agree that it encompasses a plethora of forms and products of artistic expression and cultural identity which are frequently encountered, accepted and pertinent to a certain society at a given time. Dustin Kidd defines pop culture as “the set of practices, beliefs, and objects that embody the shared meanings of a social system. It includes media objects, entertainment and leisure, fashion and trends, and linguistic conventions, among other things.”  (Nisbet, Oxford Classical Dictionary).

Since 2024, the Global Impact of Pop Culture conference has been a venue for the exploration of various “texts” pertaining to pop culture and engaging academic debates. The conference promotes the development and dissemination of academic research and critical thinking about pop culture in many parts of the world.

“The global impact of pop culture – Voices from Canada, the United States of America, China and Europe,” is devoted to the exploration of, on the one hand, what constitutes pop culture. Also, it is a survey of seminal icons from pop culture in music, art, and other artistic forms. The conference also explores topics such as food, folk dance, famous books, traditions and video games, to name just a few.

We will listen to presentations by students, seminal scholars, and lecturers from the University of Regina, the United States of America, Europe, and China. They all share a common goal: exploring pop culture globally, taking into consideration different points of view, analyses, and perceptions of mass culture.

Program

Monday 30 March, 2026

• 9:00-9:10 – opening of the conference: Dr. David Meban - Dean of Campion College and President of Campion College Fr. Joseph Riordan, SJ
• Topic: "The Global impact of pop culture."
• Join Zoom Meeting
• https://uregina-ca.zoom.us/j/93837005662?pwd=eq31AkzGH5MnsaallSRLPwTPB4U3Z7.1 
• Meeting ID: 938 3700 5662
• Passcode: 260200
• 15.00 – 21:00 (Saskatchewan time, Regina, Canada) online via Zoom
• Keynote speakers (presenting via Zoom)
• 9:15-9:45 
• Ewa Barbara Luczak, PhD, a distinguished Fulbright Scholar  and  Full Professor at the Institute of English Studies, University of Warsaw
• “From Jeffersonian Natural Aristocrats to the eugenic perfect men: A History of American Genius”.
• 10:00-10:45 
• Andrea Herrera, PhD,  a distinguished Fulbright Scholar  from Women's & Ethnic Studies COLLEGE OF LETTERS, ARTS & SCIENCES at the University  of Colorado, Colorado Springs, USA
• “Rewriting History in the Age of  Donroe"
• 10:45-11:00 (short discussion)
• BREAK from 11:00 till 14:45
• Online sessions
• 14:45-15:00 Reese Stroder, 1st year student, the University of Regina, Canada
• “The literary devices employed in Langston Hughes’s poem ‘Let America be America Again' and the relation to current political and social issues in the United States.”
• 15:00-5:20 Marlena Hewit, MA, independent scholar, Poland
• “Identity in Overdrive: Neuroaesthetics of the Faceless Self in Contemporary Pop Culture”
• 15:20-15:40 William Hewit, MA, independent scholar, Poland
• “‘OK’: From a Linguistic Joke to a Real Reading Challenge — Opaque and Transparent Language in ESL”
• (short discussion)
• 15:50-16:10 Aleena Alam, 3rd year, International Studies, the University of Regina, Canada
• “Refugees, Mercenaries, and Vessels: The Political Semiotics of the Olympic Rink”
• 16:10- 16:30 Makenna Self, 1st year,  English with a concentration in Creative Writing, Luther College at the University of Regina, Canada
• “Welcome to the Cottage: How Heated Rivalry became Canada’s Soft Power Currency.” 
• 16:30-16:50 Clayton Ramson, graduate student, pursuing a Master of Arts in English literature, the University of Regina, Canada
• “Taming the Beast: Reimagining Dragons from Medieval Literature to Contemporary Culture”
• 16:50–17:05 (short discussion )
•  A short break
• 18:30-18:50 Samra Kidwai, 1st year, Biology Major, BSc student, the University of Regina, Canada
• “How social media turned local cultures into global trends.”
• 18:50–19:10 Han Zhang, Associate Professor at the Dance Education Department, Central China Normal University; Visiting Professor at the University of Regina.
• “One Unity in Diversity: The Cultural Heritage Code of Chinese Classical Dance and Its Contemporary Dialogue”
• 18:50–19:10 Mason Dieno, 3rd  year, Major: Philosophy, Politics, and Economics, the University of Regina, Canada
• “Global Bar Culture”
• (Short discussion)
• 19:25–19:40 Waris Fabiyi Opeyemi, 2-year BA student, major: computer science,  The University of Regina, Canada
• “Nigerian food and the culture of diversity”
• 19:40–20:00 Sun Gudong,  a junior student, major: automation, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing, China
• “Chinese Hot Pot and Boba Tea”
• 20:00-20:20 Pan Chagwen, a senior student, Major: Electrical engineering, NUAA, Nanjing, China.
• “The Spring Festival Evening of the Horse Year”
• (short discussion)

Tuesday March 31, 2026

• In-person, 9:00-12:45, room CM 409 at Campion College
• 9:00–9:20 Carlos Morton, PhD – a distinguished Fulbright lecturer, American professor and Chicano dramatist,  UCSB, Santa Barbara, USA
• “ESPERANZA: FROM OPERA TO A PLAY WITH MUSIC”
• 9:20–9:40 Reading a play “ESPERANZA: FROM OPERA TO A PLAY WITH MUSIC”
• READERS (ACTORS) from Canada and Europe
• (short discussion)
• 9:50–10:10 Kwakiutl Dreher, PhD, an Associate Professor of English at the University of Nebraska--Lincoln.
• “Still We Love: Black Intimacy from Enslavement Narratives to Modern Black Romance Cinema”
• 10:10–10:30 Ula Niewiadomska Flis, PhD. An Associate Professor in English Studies., John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin, Poland
• “Deliciously Undead, or how to bite into the trope of a zombie.”
• 10:30-10:40 (short discussion)
• 10:50-11:10 Joanna Sowinska, 10th-grade student, Miller High School, Regina, Canada
• “The Globalization of Chinese food.”
• 11:10-11:30 Ariana Rozora, 10th-grade student, Regina Christian School (RCS), Regina, Canada
• “Ukrainian Identity in Eurovision and Food”
• 11:30–11:50 Julia Zygan, a doctoral student in literature at the John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin (Poland).
• “Food as Communication: Mukbang, Identity, and Digital Consumption”
• 11:50–12:00 (short discussion)
• 12:00-12:20 Shihong Liu, PhD (Lydia Liu), an associate professor at the College of Foreign Languages, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, China
• “Chinese Culture and Its Festivals”
• 12:20-12:40 Zuzanna Kosmala, MA student at the Maria Curie – Skłodowska
• University of Lublin, Lublin, Poland
• “Supernatural creatures in contemporary popular literature: witches, vampires and daemons in the All Souls trilogy by Deborah Harkness"
• (short discussion)
• Break from 13:00 till 14: 40
• Online sessions
• 14:40-15:00 Ali Mert Aytekin, a second-year MA student in Political Science at the University of Warsaw, Poland.
•  “The case of The Magnificent Century and how it reshaped the global knowledge of the Ottoman past.” 
• 15:00-15:20 Alexandra Katarzyna Domeradzka, MA in English, a doctoral student,  SWPS University in Warsaw, Poland
• “Universalism in contemporary young adult (YA) fiction”
• 15:20-15:40  Andrew Daniels, Second-year Education Student
• Major: Indigenous Studies; Minor: Cree Language, First Nations University, Regina, Canada
• “The influence of pop culture on Indigenous populations in Saskatchewan”
• (short discussion)
• Break
• 17:40-18:00 Malgorzata Ziolek-Sowinska, PhD,  Campion College, The University of Regina, Canada
• “Apocalypse and pop culture: Apocalyptic thinking in blues music.”
• 18:00-18:20 Logan Church, Psychology Major, 2nd year, the University of Regina, Canada
• “Apocalyptic thinking in the classic blues song “John the Revelator.”
• 18:20-18:40 Michele Folk, PhD,  Department of gender, religion, and critical studies
• Campion and Luther Colleges at the University of Regina
• “The 19th Century's 'Social Media:" How the Ubiquitous Postcard Communicated Colonialist Narratives Between Metropole and Colony”
• 18:40-18:55 (short discussion)
• 19:00-19:20 Gabrielle Francesca D. Orino, 1st Year BFA Student, Major in Visual Arts
• Department of Music, Art, and Performance at the University of Regina
• “Fandom Culture and Its Impact on Bringing Favourite Media"
• 19:20-19:40 Chen Zean, a junior student at Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing, China,  majoring in Electrical Engineering and Automation.
• “Forty Years of Chinese Rock: Scream and Rebirth”
• 19:40-20:00  Xuanchen Lu, 11th-grade student, Campbell Collegiate     
• Regina, Canada
• “The history of Chinese pop music since 2000”
• (short discussion)
• 20:15-20:35 Ban Junrong,  PhD, Dean, School of Arts, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics
• “The vocal art popular among the upper class during the Ming and Qing dynasties”
• 20:35-20:55 Yuchen Shen, 2-year BA student  in software engineering
• Jiangsu Normal University Kewen College, China
• “The influence of the traditional Chinese folk song ‘Jasmine' on pop culture“
• (short discussion)  

The End of the Conference