Cambridge American History Seminar For further details, pre-circulated papers and other seminars see the CAHS webpage. 24 October: Nick Witham, Lecturer in US Political History, University College London Remembering 1968: Life Writing, Politics and Protest
BrANCA Panel at BAAS Conference 2017 The British Association of American Studies (BrANCA) invites proposals for a special panel at the British Association for American Studies Conference, 6-8 April 2017 at Canterbury Christchurch University. Each year BrANCA hosts a special panel at BAAS showcasing progressive, interdisciplinary work on the United States in the long nineteenth century. We invite proposals for papers for this year’s panel from all researchers working in the field. We are particularly interested in global, hemispheric and transatlantic approaches to key themes in nineteenth century literary studies, and papers that propose new ways of conceiving the field. Researchers at all stages are welcomed, and papers from postgraduates are particularly encouraged. 250 word proposals for 20-minute presentations, with a provisional title and brief CV, should be sent to Dr. Tom F. Wright, University of Sussex at tom.wright@sussex.ac.uk by Tuesday 25 October. Queries should also be directed to this address.
Tuesday 25 October, 18.30-20.00 The British Library Conference Centre £8/£6/£5 http://www.bl.uk/events/migrant-landscapes Explore the role of geography in the migration crises witnessed this year So far in 2016, from the Mediterranean Sea to the deserts of the US–Mexico border, thousands of migrants and refugees have died while trying to reach their destinations. As never before, the natural barriers that lie between people fleeing poverty and violence, and their objectives, have become graveyards. In this event, two specialists with experience of the US–Mexico deserts and the Mediterranean Sea respectively, discuss their work and the role of geography in the current migration crises. Dr Robin Reineke is the co-founder and Executive Director of the Colibrí Center for Human Rights, based in Tucson, Arizona. Colibrí is a non-profit organisation working to end migrant death and related suffering along the US–Mexico border through forensic science, advocacy, and research. Patrick Kingsley is the Guardian’s inaugural migration […]
26 October 2016, 6:00pm-8:00pm BLACK HISTORY MONTH FILM SCREENING AND DISCUSSION: TANGERINE To mark Black History Month, the UCL Americas Research Network is collaborating with UCL's LGBTQ Research Network, qUCL, to host a screening of Tangerine followed by a discussion around themes of intersectionality raised in the film. More information.
Forging the American Century: World War II and the Transformation of U.S. Internationalism Radboud University Nijmegen, the Netherlands, October 27-28, 2016 The intersection of contemporary debates about the future of American power and recent developments in the field of diplomatic history compel us to reconsider the foundations and contours of the American Century. "Forging the American Century", seeks to combine the current concern for America's changing role in the world with new and developing insights into the nature of international relations to revisit the origins of the American Century: World War II and its aftermath. The conference is not about the high diplomacy of the war, nor is it necessarily about the start of the Cold War. Instead, it will address the ways in which the World War and America's rise to global power drove Americans in different fields, both inside and outside the sphere of formal diplomacy, to forge […]
Polish Association for American Studies Annual Conference American Studies Center, University of Warsaw, October 27-29, 2016 Plenary speakers: Rob Kroes, Utrecht University, Netherlands James Kyung-Jin Lee, University of California, Irvine Agnieszka Soltysik-Monnet, University of Lausanne, Switzerland Marta Figlerowicz, Yale University Debate on American Studies in Poland Ewa Łuczak, University of Warsaw; Tadeusz Rachwał, University of Social Sciences and Humanities (SWPS); Marek Wilczyński, Gdańsk University Can American studies benefit from expanding beyond its current intellectual framing by adopting a consciously transnational approach and a more determined interdisciplinary approach? What would such an evolution imply in various locations and cultural/intellectual/political contexts? How would it affect current hierarchies of knowledge production and distribution? Our aim is to provoke critical reflection on what it is we Americanists do and to expand the field of inquiry through methodological innovation. Vernon Louis Parrington wrote in Main Currents in American Thought (1927) that he has "chosen to […]
Michael Lobel to give Charles C. Eldredge Prize Lecture at SAAM, 10/27/16 The Smithsonian American Art Museum invites you to join Dr. Michael Lobel, professor of art history at Hunter College in New York City and winner of the 2016 Charles C. Eldredge Prize for distinguished scholarship, for a talk entitled “What John Sloan Can Teach Us about Illustration and American Art” on October 27, 2016, at 4:00pm at the museum. If you are unable to attend, you can watch a live webcast at http://americanart.si.edu/research/awards/eldredge/. SAAM is also now accepting nominations for the 2017 Charles C. Eldredge Prize. Single-author books devoted to any aspect of the visual arts of the United States and published in the three previous calendar years are eligible. To nominate a book, send a letter (not to exceed one page in length) explaining the work’s significance to the field of American art history and discussing the quality […]
Fright at the Museum Friday 28 October 2016, 6 – 9 pm The American Museum in Britain is participating in the national Museums at Night initiative with a special late-night opening in celebration of Halloween. The Museum is the perfect venue for such an event. Visitors will be led around the Manor House by a guide, and told stories along the way. Tales of the Museum’s own sinister past as well as interesting and peculiar happenings experienced in more recent years will feature in this fascinating tour. Anecdotes from staff members who have been working — or live — in the Manor House will be shared along with ghostly American folklore tales such as Bloody Mary from Pennsylvania and The Birth of the Jersey Devil. This tour is a unique and thrilling event for those who enjoy experiencing a spooky atmosphere in a historical setting. The stories featured aren’t suitable […]
2016 marks the centenary of woman suffrage (with the exception of First Nations) in the provinces of Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta. On the cold first day of March 1916 when the Equal Suffrage Bill was read for the second time, women thronged the legislature. There were prominent activists present including Nellie McClung and Emily Murphy, and there were delegates from over fifteen organizations including the Equal Franchise League, the Women’s Christian Temperance Union, Rebekah Lodges, Women’s Industrial Society, and the Jewish Women’s Society. An unusual sight in the chamber that day for the first time ever, were babies in arms, so eager were their mothers to witness this moment in history. The bill was passed with only one dissenting vote. The women then gathered outside to have this photo taken. This centenary provides an opportunity to reflect on women’s activism and women’s history in this region. We invite participants from […]
Speaker: Emily Gee (Historic England) & Dr Stephen Tuffnell (University of Oxford) Lecture and film screening: 28 October 18:30-20:00 ‘Little America’: a screening of the documentary, ‘Little America’ (2016), exploring the history of the US Embassy at Grosvenor Square, examining its role as a physical representation of the Special Relationship and a site of protest. Commissioned to mark the Embassy’s departure from the Square as it moves to Nine Elms, it features oral histories from numerous British and American diplomats, journalists, politicians and activists, including Tony Blair, William Hague, Jack Straw, Jon Snow, Justin Webb, and the current ambassador, Matthew Barzun . The historical and architectural importance of the building, the only example of Eero Saarinen work in the UK, will be explored in a short introductory talk by Emily Gee (Historic England). The event is free to attend, but you must register in advance. https://littleamerica.eventbrite.co.uk For additional information please contact IHR.Events@sas.ac.uk.
Friday 28 October, 18.30-20.00 The British Library Conference Centre £10/£8/£7 http://www.bl.uk/events/democrats-v-republicans-us-elections-debate We discuss how the US presidential race stands just days before the election result. This year’s election campaigns for the US Presidency and Congress have surprised all the experts. Insurgent campaigns by Donald Trump on the Republican side and Bernie Sanders among the Democrats attracted unexpected support, and shifted the centre point of the ongoing political debate. For the first time in US history a major party chose a woman, Hillary Clinton, as its presidential nominee. The Presidency, the US Senate and the US House are all being vigorously contested, and all results matter. As these events approach their climax this debate, moderated by pioneering pollster and Founder of MORI (Market and Opinion Research International) Sir Robert Worcester, and featuring speakers from Republicans Overseas and Democrats Abroad will shed light on the situation just a few days before the […]
The School of Histories, Languages and Cultures at the University of Hull seeks to appoint a Lecturer in American History who will contribute to the strong reputation for teaching and research in the American Studies programme at the University. The post commences January 2017. The appointment will complement our existing provision in American history, literature and culture. The successful candidate will be able to work in a team-based and interdisciplinary context. We are seeking an enthusiastic and proactive early-career scholar with a passionate commitment to teaching and learning who can also demonstrate an emerging track record of excellent research. The post-holder must have expertise in American history suitable for delivering a new module on the history and culture of the American Civil War, as well as designing their own courses on other regional and/or racial aspects of US histories. In your covering letter please refer directly to the criteria, given […]