Why does it matter so much to the American public today whether or not Thomas Jefferson had children with Sally Hemings at the end of the eighteenth century? Are there particular American ways to deal with ethical issues? Anyone visiting Washington DC is bound to  notice the numerous temples of civil religion in the capital, such as the Lincoln Memorial, the Washington Memorial, and the Jefferson Memorial, among others. What do such historical concepts as the “Era of Good Feelings” and the “Gilded Age” imply?

What changes in values has immigration generated or is likely to cause in the near future? A character in Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye notes that “I can very clearly see you dying nobly, one way or another, for some highly unworthy cause.” How do values such as individualism, self-help, and egalitarianism figure in American literature and popular
culture? The organisers invite conference participants to consider how America has defined its central virtues in politics, literature, architecture, film, the media, popular culture, and everyday living, and also to reflect on how American values have impacted the

The conference is open to scholars and students from all over the world, but we offer lower registration fees to members of NAAS (Nordic Association for American Studies), EAAS (European Association for American Studies) and ASA (American Studies Association in the U.S).

Note also 2015 Orm Øverland Prize! To honor the work of Professor Orm Øverland, NAAS
has created the Orm Øverland Prize (EUR 200), which since 2009 has been awarded to the best graduate student paper presented at the biennial NAAS conference. In addition to the monetary award, the winning paper is considered for publication in American Studies in Scandinavia, a peer-reviewed journal that NAAS publishes. For instructions on sending your paper, see https://sites.google.com/site/naasstudies/award