The second biennial Hollywood Conference will be held July 21-24, 2027 at University of Southern California’s School of Cinematic Arts in Los Angeles, California with a goal of bringing together scholars, archivists, historians, and practitioners interested in the study of Hollywood—past and present—aesthetically, historically, globally, culturally, economically, technologically, and ideologically.

As with the first meeting in 2025, the organizing committee welcomes individual papers, pre-constituted panels, and roundtable discussion proposals broadly related to the study of Hollywood and its products.

Additionally, as we recognize the centennial of the introduction of synchronized sound in Hollywood cinema, we particularly encourage papers, panels, and roundtables about Hollywood’s relationship to sound and music. Events at the conference will highlight both this centenary and the roughly 50th anniversary of modern sound technologies. The organizers seek panels and papers on topics such as the coming of sound, sound technologies, musicals, scoring, musicians, sound mixing, soundscapes, sound montage, etc.

Submission guidelines:

• The deadline for submissions is 11:59 PM (US Pacific Daylight Time) on January 22th, 2027.

• Announcements of acceptances will be sent by mid-March, 2027.

• The conference will be held July 21-24th, 2027 at the University of Southern California’s School of Cinematic Arts in Los Angeles, California.

• Submit proposals HERE.

Proposal guidelines:

Participants may submit: one paper (individual) or be part of a pre-constituted panel or a roundtable. Papers are expected to be presented in 15-minutes.

• Individual Papers: Individuals submitting paper proposals should provide a title, an abstract of 250 words, and contact information. Co-authored papers are acceptable. Papers are expected to be presented in 15 minutes.

• Panels: Panel coordinators should submit a title and a 250-word abstract for the pre-constituted panel as a whole, as well as a title, a 250-word abstract, and contact information for each panel participant. Panels may include 4 (15-minute) papers or 3 papers and a respondent. Co-authored papers are acceptable. Panels that include a diversity of panelist affiliations and experience levels are strongly encouraged.

• Roundtables: Roundtables are discussion sessions with a chair and four or five speakers who speak for no more than 5 minutes each and then participate in a discussion led by the chair. Roundtable chairs should submit a title, 250-word abstract, and names, affiliations, and topic titles for each participant.

Questions can be directed to: hollywoodconference25@gmail.com.