BAAS is delighted to invite submissions for the 67th annual British Association for American Studies conference at Keele University, which will be held between April 12 and April 14, 2023. Prof. Richard Blackett (Vanderbilt) and Prof. Louise Siddons (Southampton) will serve as keynote speakers.

BAAS looks forward to welcoming the international American Studies community to Keele’s beautiful campus.  Keele is located a short distance from Stoke-on-Trent, historically renowned for its pottery production. Building on the successes of the past two conferences, the Keele conference is currently planned as a hybrid event.

Proposals are welcomed on any subject in American Studies, broadly conceived; that is, we hope to attract a range of papers across eras, geographies, and disciplines. Beyond research, we are interested in receiving session proposals that address American Studies pedagogy, “impact” and “knowledge exchange,” and the shape and future of the discipline. Along these lines, BAAS welcomes panels that include activists, teachers, artists, and other community practitioners alongside, and in dialogue with, academic colleagues.

Submission Guidelines

BAAS encourages fully formed panel proposals or roundtable discussions, but also accept individual paper proposals where suitable (e.g. for PhD roundtable sessions). All sessions at the conference will be a maximum of 1 hour 30 minutes. You may propose a combination of in-person and online presentations during the same panel.

Looking for co-presenters? Click here to register your availability and connect yourself with other interested scholars.

For early-stage PhD candidates, BAAS encourages you to submit a paper proposal for a PhD roundtable session, in which presenters will give a shorter (5-10 minutes) presentation followed by an extended discussion of their projects. Submit an individual abstract and the organisers will put it with other papers that complement yours.

We also welcome creative and experimental session formats that reconfigure the traditional three-paper panel and encourage audience interaction, including (but not limited to): flash papers, keyword/image sessions, work-in-progress discussions of pre-circulated papers, reading groups, and workshops.

BAAS is dedicated to fostering a culture of diversity and inclusion. Preference will be given to panels that reflect the diversity of our field in terms of gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and institutional affiliation. Preference will also be given to panels that include a mix of participants from across the career spectrum (i.e., from postgraduate to professor). Historically women have been disproportionately underrepresented on panels and BAAS is taking positive action, as permitted under s.158 Equality Act 2010, to enable and encourage the participation of women. For this reason, all-male panel proposals will not be accepted. BAAS may constitute an all-male panel or other presentation where absolutely necessary (but any such consideration will be other than via the call for papers procedure).

Instructions for Panellists 

All proposals should be sent to baas2023@keele.ac.uk by November 21, 2022. Please specify clearly alongside your submission whether the panel/presentation is planned as an in-person or online session, or (in the case of panels) as a combination of the two.

Panel and roundtable proposals should be submitted by the panel chair and should include a proposed title, a 250-word abstract for each constituent paper, and an abstract of no more than 250 words describing the panel session as a whole. Proposals should also include a 200-word biography (including institutional affiliation, where appropriate, and preferred pronouns, if desired), and an email address for each participant.

Individual proposals for either short roundtable presentations or 20-minute presentations should consist of a 250-word abstract, a 200-word biography (including institutional affiliation, where appropriate, and preferred pronouns, if desired), and an email address.

To help with conference planning, please also include in your proposal the following:

1. (For PGRs and ECAs) whether you are interested in receiving a travel bursary to support your attendance at the conference.
2. (For PGRs and ECAs) whether you are interested in attending a PGR or ECA networking session during the conference.
3. If you are interested in having your young child/children attend Keele’s Ofsted-rated Outstanding day nursery (https://www.keele.ac.uk/nursery/) during the conference and/or you would like to receive a childcare bursary to support your attendance at the conference.
4. Whether you are interested in participating in a pottery decorating session during the conference.  (During the session delegates will combine research networking with creating their own conference memento.)

Special Funding for Targeted Research Panels 

BAAS has available funding for convenors to organise two successive annual conference panels that will support, promote, and feature the production of research by and about people of colour, LGBTQ+ communities and disability communities.

Through Targeted Research Panels, BAAS seeks to provide opportunities to foster and forward research that attends to and includes historically marginalised communities, and supports scholars without regularised institutional support.

Convenors who apply for funding to organise a Targeted Research Panel must commit to coordinating a thematically cohesive panel for the 2023 BAAS Annual Conference at Keele and the 2024 Digital BAAS Annual Conference. Each selected Targeted Research Panel will be awarded £5,000 for a two-year cycle of BAAS annual conference panels. The panel convenor might, for example, use funds to subsidise the travel and accommodation of the panellists. Whilst proposals from international scholars are welcome, because BAAS seeks to foster research networks and support scholars in the UK, we would ask that at least 50% of panellists are UK-based.

The deadline for Targeted Research Panel applications is November 21, 2022. The convenor will submit a proposal for a fully formed panel as outlined in the 2023 BAAS Annual Conference Call for Papers in addition to a short statement of no more than 500 words explaining how the proposed panel addresses the production of research by and about people of colour, LGBTQ+ communities, disability communities and/or scholars without regularised institutional support.

Email submissions should include ‘Targeted Research Panels’ in the subject line. Convenors should also specify whether they want their panel proposal to be considered for the 2023 Annual Conference if it is not selected as a Targeted Research Panel.

To discuss ideas informally, please contact the conference organisers (baas2023@keele.ac.uk) and/or the BAAS EDI lead Dr Christine Okoth (christine.a.okoth@kcl.ac.uk).

If you have any questions about the conference, please contact the conference organisers at baas2023@keele.ac.uk.