Practical Criticism Logo. Stack of green books with the words Practical Criticism Midwest around them in a circle. Tiny green star between each word.

Save the Date: Saturday, March 22nd, 2024

The Ball State English Department is proud to present Practical Criticism Midwest. For the fourth time, the PCM Conference will be presented as a hybrid event in order to foster the inclusion and accessibility of our presenters and attendees and to practice the health and safety measures consistent with Ball State’s Cardinals Care Pledge.

The Spring 2025 theme is Empowerment: Finding Voice and Community. With this theme, we invite participants to reflect on how empowerment is found, towards the goal of projecting your own unique perspective and engaging with your communities. We ask each participant to consider how effective expression of the self and a sense of belonging in groups interact with autonomy and self-determination. Participants can also consider how voices and communities can be utilized towards meaningful change. Though this is an English Department event, we encourage all majors to share the work being done in their disciplines as it relates to this theme.

Both undergraduate and graduate students are invited to submit a proposal to present their scholarly work, including creative pieces, research studies, and teaching materials. Students may participate in a panel reading or poster presentation and may submit panel proposals as an individual or group (more instructions about how to submit as a group on the submission form). Each presentation is 15 minutes, and panels are followed by a question-answer session moderated by a faculty member.

  • Conference Date & Time: Saturday, March 22nd, at 12:00 p.m.
  • Location: Robert Bell, Ball State University, Muncie, Indiana