Call for Papers: HOTCUS Winter Symposium

Eccles Centre for American Studies, British Library, London

Saturday 18 February 2017

War and Conflict in Twentieth Century US Society and Culture

Keynote Speaker: Professor Joanna Bourke (Birkbeck, University of London)

2017 marks the hundredth anniversary of US entry into the First World War. That conflict saw the emergence of the US as a global military power, but also had a profound impact on American society and culture. In subsequent years, war and conflict of various sorts have shaped the way that Americans think about their place in the world and their relationships with each other, and has molded the way that the US is viewed in international and transnational contexts.

This one-day symposium seeks to explore and re-assess the impact of war and conflict on US society and culture during the twentieth century. Panel and paper proposals are encouraged on all topics, especially the following:

• Race, class, gender and sexuality in war and conflict.
• Pro- and anti-war movements.
• Representations of war and conflict in film and TV.
• War, conflict and the medical humanities.
• War journalism and photography.
• Memories of war and conflict.
• The military-industrial complex and American business history.
• The history of the US Armed Forces.
• War in American intellectual history.
• War, conflict and American religion.

Proposals of no more than 250 words should be sent to the HOTCUS Committee Secretary, Nick Witham (n.witham@ucl.ac.uk) and the Assistant Head of the Eccles Centre, Fran Fuentes (fran.fuentes@bl.uk), by the deadline of Monday 31 October 2016. All submissions should include the name of the presenter, their institution, email address, a short profile, and the title of the proposed presentation.