Mid-Atlantic Popular & American Culture Association

What Mid-Atlantic Popular & American Culture Association does

The Mid-Atlantic Popular & American Culture Association (MAPACA) is a non-profit academic association incorporated in 2014 under IRS 501(c)(3) status, operating as a regional division of the national Popular Culture Association/American Culture Association (PCA/ACA). The organization is dedicated to critical analysis of popular and American culture, with formal origins tracing to the first Mid-Atlantic regional conference held in Baltimore in 1990. MAPACA operates from a P.O. Box in Lansdowne, Pennsylvania and rotates its annual 3-day November conference through Mid-Atlantic cities including Baltimore, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Atlantic City.

MAPACA's core offerings are event- and publication-based rather than technology-based. These include the annual in-person conference, a one-day July Virtual Symposium introduced in 2024 to reach scholars beyond the Mid-Atlantic region, the peer-reviewed journal Response, and a portfolio of awards (Ralph Donald, Daniel Walden undergraduate and graduate, Loretta Lorance, Divine Impact). The conference program spans more than 50 specialized subject areas organized through a network of area chairs. The organization does not develop proprietary technology products, APIs, or software platforms; its digital footprint consists of a website, a Buttondown email newsletter, and standard social media channels.

Revenue is generated through conference and symposium registration fees (tiered by faculty/student/independent scholar status; e.g., 2026 Virtual Symposium charges $80 regular / $50 reduced / $30 non-presenting), exhibitor table fees ($250), program advertising ($100–$250), award sponsorships ($250–$500), and journal-related activities. Marketing and outreach rely on the website, newsletter, social media, and an extensive area chair referral network. Governance rests with an elected Executive Board and Board of Advisors, supported by a small staff of approximately five. The organization is volunteer-driven, with no external investors or funding rounds.

Name

Mid-Atlantic Popular & American Culture Association

Legal name

Mid-Atlantic Popular & American Culture Association

Website

https://mapaca.net

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

MAPACA is a non-profit academic association serving scholars of popular and American culture through an annual 3-day November conference rotating through Mid-Atlantic cities, a summer virtual symposium, the peer-reviewed Response journal, and awards programs across 50+ subject areas.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Academic Conference and Scholarly Association Services

NAICS

Business Associations (813910), Convention and Trade Show Organizers (56192)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Association & Society Conference Management (Nonprofit, Professional Bodies) (THAHACAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Conference & Trade Show Registration Platforms (THAHAFAB), Speaker, Program & Abstract Management Services (THAHACAI), Sponsorship, Exhibitor & Partnership Management Services (THAHACAK)

Keywords

• Academic conferences
• Scholarly publications
• Popular culture studies
• Regional academic associations
• Cultural research forums

Headquarters

HQ city

Lansdowne

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Conference Registration Fees: MAPACA generates revenue primarily through conference and symposium registration fees, with tiered pricing for full-time faculty, part-time/adjunct faculty, students, independent scholars, and retirees. The 2026 Virtual Symposium charges $80 for regular rate and $50 for reduced rate.
2. Exhibitor and Advertising Fees: Publishers, presses, and academic institutions pay fees to exhibit at the conference or advertise in the program. Registration cost for exhibitors is $250, with additional sponsorship opportunities for awards ranging from $250-$500.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

MAPACA operates as a regional academic association that hosts an annual in-person conference on popular and American culture, a virtual symposium for digital oral history and multimedia presentations, and publishes a peer-reviewed scholarly journal (Response). It runs an awards program recognizing Best Paper, Graduate Student Paper, Mythopoeic Fantasy Award, and other distinctions, and supports exhibitors and advertising at its events. The organization is open to academics, graduate students, undergraduate students, independent scholars, and the general public.

Product overview

MAPACA is an academic organization (not a technology company) that operates as a regional division of the Popular Culture Association/American Culture Association. Its core offerings consist of an annual 3-day in-person conference held in November in Mid-Atlantic cities, a one-day virtual symposium held in July, and its peer-reviewed journal 'Response.' The organization also administers multiple awards (Ralph Donald Award, Daniel Walden Prize, Loretta Lorance Award, Divine Impact Award) and manages over 50 specialized scholarly areas of study. The organization does not develop or sell software products or technology platforms.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Annual MAPACA Conference An annual in-person, multi-disciplinary academic conference held in the Mid-Atlantic United States for scholars, graduate students, undergraduate students, independent scholars, and the general public to present original research on popular and American culture. Covers 50+ subject areas including American studies, film, television, music, gender, race, technology, religion, folklore, and more.
• MAPACA Virtual Symposium An online symposium complementing the annual conference, providing a virtual venue for digital oral history and multimedia presentations on popular and American culture. Open to academics, students, and independent scholars.
• Response (Scholarly Journal) A peer-reviewed scholarly journal published by MAPACA, featuring original research and scholarship on popular and American culture. Provides a publication pathway for conference participants and other scholars.
• MAPACA Awards Program A multi-category awards program that recognizes outstanding scholarship presented at MAPACA, including Best Paper, Graduate Student Paper, Mythopoeic Fantasy Award, and other annual distinctions for conference participants.

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Popular Culture Association/American Culture Association (PCA/ACA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMAPACA is a regional organization of the PCA/ACA, the national multidisciplinary association interested in new approaches to expressions, mass media and all other phenomena of everyday life. MAPACA supports PCA/ACA efforts and activities in the Mid-Atlantic region. The affiliation provides legitimacy, cross-promotional opportunities, and connection to the broader popular culture studies community.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Modern Language Association (MLA): Large, established scholarly association hosting an annual convention that competes for the same faculty/graduate student travel budgets. Comparable membership-fee and conference-driven model, but far broader disciplinary scope.
• American Historical Association (AHA): Major academic association hosting annual meetings and a peer-reviewed journal, with overlapping faculty audiences and similar nonprofit governance structure. Reaches into some of MAPACA's American culture subject areas (e.g., history of popular culture).
• American Studies Association: Larger, established academic association for the interdisciplinary study of American culture. Overlapping subject matter and similar member base of academics researching American cultural production, though broader in scope than MAPACA.
• Popular Culture Association / American Culture Association (PCA/ACA): MAPACA's national parent/affiliated organization and the broader multidisciplinary popular culture studies association. PCA/ACA operates the national annual conference that MAPACA's regional event is explicitly aligned with and supportive of.

Others

• Wiley (publisher of academic journals): Major academic publisher that publishes peer-reviewed journals competing with MAPACA's Response journal for scholarly submissions and library subscription revenue. Relevant as an ecosystem participant in the same publishing value chain.

Direct peers

• Southwest Texas Popular Culture Association / American Culture Association (SWTXPCA): Another regional PCA/ACA affiliate running a parallel annual conference and awards structure for popular and American culture studies. Direct peer by format, audience (academic scholars), and organizational affiliation.
• Cultural Studies Association (CSA): Interdisciplinary academic association focused on cultural studies broadly defined, hosting annual conferences and supporting scholarly publication. Direct peer in terms of interdisciplinary academic community, conference format, and member demographics.
• Northeast Popular Culture Association (NEPCA): A sibling regional popular culture association with an analogous model—annual academic conference, area chairs, and an interdisciplinary focus on popular culture scholarship. NEPCA is the closest structural peer to MAPACA, differing primarily in geographic focus.

Regional players

• Society for Cinema and Media Studies (SCMS): International academic society dedicated to media studies, including film and television—a subset of MAPACA's 50+ subject areas. Comparable conference-and-publication model with a more specialized audience.

Emerging players

• Society for the Study of American Popular Culture (SSAPC): Adjacent scholarly community focused specifically on American popular culture. Overlaps with MAPACA's thematic scope and draws from the same academic pool, representing both a peer and potential collaboration partner.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/mapacanet
• Facebookfacebook.com/mapacanet
• Instagraminstagram.com/mapacanet
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/mapaca

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Mid-Atlantic Popular & American Culture Association