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CfP: HOTCUS 2022 Winter Symposium: The Manhattan Project Turns 80: Reflections on the Nuclear Age

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CFP: Individuality and Community in Mid-Century American Culture (1945-1968)

Lund University Lund, Sweden

Mid-century US culture tends to be described in both simplified and paradoxical terms. On the one hand, it is thought of as a period of ‘containment’ culture, ‘Red-Scare’ rhetoric, and McCarthyism: a time when norms were strong, and it was difficult to be different. On the other hand, it is a period romanticized as the great era of American exceptionalism and industry. As today’s politicians from left to right increasingly rely on nostalgia for an idealized past, it becomes relevant to ask questions about the culture and values of mid-century America, and to challenge stereotypical images of this time, especially that of the white, churchgoing nuclear family, which has become an almost indelible image of the ‘long’ 1950s. At this pivotal moment in American history, the individual was often seen as being in conflict with society. Early Cold-War culture saw an increased focus on the negative effects of social conformity […]

CFP: EAAS 2024 | 1924-2024: The American Immigrant Narrative Revisited

Amerikahaus Munich Karolinenpl. 3, Munich, Bavaria, Germany

From April 2-7, 2024, the 35th Biennial EAAS-conference, titled 1924 – 2024: The American Immigrant Narrative Revisited, takes place at Amerikahaus Munich. It is hosted by the Bavarian American Academy (BAA). CFP: It has become a longstanding cliché, albeit highly controversial, to note that the U.S. is – and always has been – a nation of immigrants. Oscar Handlin, among others, famously remarked that to write the history of America was to write the history of immigrants. This history – or, to be precise: these histories – have throughout been marked by extreme inequalities for groups of various origins, yet the Immigration Act of 1924 (the Johnson-Reed Act) sticks out as one major paradigm shift in the larger course of events. One hundred years ago, this piece of legislation drastically limited the number of immigrants allowed to come to the U.S. each year through a national quota system and completely excluded Asians from immigrating to the U.S. […]

Université de Picardie Jules Verne and Université d’Artois

Université de Picardie Jules Verne Chem. du Thil, 80000, Amiens, Somme, France

In the word "trans-formations", the prefix "trans-" invites us to reflect on changes (from one place to another, from one medium to another, from one genre to another...) The notion of transformation thus prompts us to examine borders, boundaries, limits, even crossings that lead to new experiences, new ways of considering the world from a common heritage- questioning it, re-evaluating, and re-imagining it. The EAAS Southern Studies Forum of 2023 will be particularly interested in the process through which the American South has constantly changed its face (the Old South, the Reconstruction South, the Modern South, the New South) in order to adapt (or not) to a world that is constantly moving, constantly changing. To what extent can it be said that the South has continually preserved its identity, the way it presents itself to the rest of the nation and the world? Is the intertwining of myth and reality […]

Sex in Contemporary Media: An Interdisciplinary Conference

University of Warwick Coventry, United Kingdom

The organisers invite scholars, researchers, artists, and activists engaging with media studies, gender and sexuality studies, cultural studies, law, social sciences and the arts to submit proposals. They also welcome and encourage proposals from artists, writers, media practitioners, sex workers and activists who encounter and engage with sex and issues around sexual practices in their work. The conference seeks to explore modern notions of sex and sexuality and the politics of their representations in various forms of media, including film, television, literature, music, social media, and more from both local and global perspectives. The organisers encourage submissions from around the world and hope to create an international conversation which addresses various national and local contexts. They aim to foster an engaging and critical discussion surrounding the current discourse about sexuality, sex work, and the relationship between sexual practices and gender both within and beyond Academia. Topics might include but are […]

Love and Lenses: Photographic Couples, Gender Relationships, and Transatlantic Networks in the Long Nineteenth Century

Rothermere American Institute University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom

Event: 12– 13 October 2023 CFP Deadline: 21 July 2023 Maison Française d'Oxford and Rothermere American Institute, University of Oxford The Maison Française d'Oxford and the Rothermere American Institute are delighted to invite paper proposals on the theme: ‘Love and Lenses: Photographic Couples, Gender Relationships, and Transatlantic Networks in the Long Nineteenth Century.’ This conference is being organised by Dr. Emily Brady (Broadbent Junior Research Fellow, Rothermere American Institute) and Martyna Zielinska (DPhil, Université de Paris Cité, LARCA). The Canadian photographers Hannah and Richard Maynard outside Hannah Maynard's studio c.1880, via Wikimedia Commons. This two-day conference invites papers that explore photographic partnerships as a main object of study. Since the invention of the camera, men and women – spouses, friends, members of the same family – have learned and practiced photography together for business, pleasure, educational and scientific purposes. This conference aims to bring new light on how the practice […]

Individuality and Community in Mid-Century American Culture (1945-1968)

Lund University Lund, Sweden

Mid-century US culture tends to be described in both simplified and paradoxical terms. On the one hand, it is thought of as a period of ‘containment’ culture, ‘Red-Scare’ rhetoric, and McCarthyism: a time when norms were strong, and it was difficult to be different. On the other hand, it is a period romanticized as the great era of American exceptionalism and industry. As today’s politicians from left to right increasingly rely on nostalgia for an idealized past, it becomes relevant to ask questions about the culture and values of mid-century America, and to challenge stereotypical images of this time, especially that of the white, churchgoing nuclear family, which has become an almost indelible image of the ‘long’ 1950s. At this pivotal moment in American history, the individual was often seen as being in conflict with society. Early Cold-War culture saw an increased focus on the negative effects of social conformity […]

Pro- and Anti-War Voices, 11 November 2023, University of Worcester

University of Worcester City Campus, Castle Street, Worcester , United Kingdom

Pro- and Anti-War Voices, 11 November 2023, University of Worcester. CFP Deadline May 31st. This conference is dedicated to illuminating both negative and positive responses to war in the United States, and welcomes proposals from academics, postgraduate researchers (PGRs), and early career academics (ECAs) who focus on either of these perspectives in any historical period. Whilst war has often been analysed by focusing on the important decision makers, both civilian and military, we seek to challenge this lens by concentrating on a “bottom-up” approach to history. This will be done within this conference by focusing on both the pro- and anti-war voices of a range of different “regular” people during war time. The parameters of this conference are therefore expansive and hope to shed light on the perspectives of those who have been ignored and neglected by a previous dedication to “top-down” history. The organisers hope that these responses will […]

Frontiers and Wastelands: Redefining the Nation in US Popular Culture Conference

Instituto Franklin–Universidad de Alcalá Colegio de Trinitarios, Calle de la Trinidad, 1

The conference, held at the Universidad de Alcalá on November 27-28, 2023, will focus on how the American imagination has shaped—and, in turn, has been shaped by—its frontiers and borderlands, marked by an intrinsic peripheral quality, sociocultural porosity, and a diverse range of experiences and identities. As Lee Bebout (2016) has highlighted discussing the US–Mexico border, representations of frontiers, the “other side,” and the people inhabiting these regions have been historically deployed to construct a dominant national identity—often exploiting, invisiblizing, or neglecting local identities in the process. The proximity of otherness—which dwells in the borderlands themselves—implies an implicit threat to the sovereignty and cultural integrity of the nation eliciting a variety of perceived dangers, as well as exoticism, fetishization, and stereotypes connected to the peripheral regions and their people. Borderlands are at the same time familiar and troubling places, characterized by neo/colonial legacies and where “the fluidity of national borders […]

CFP: UCL Americas Research Network 2024 Conference – Historical Roots, Modern Realities: Nationalism Across the Americas

Online

The UCL Americas Research Network, part of University College London’s Institute of the Americas, proudly announces a one-day conference tailored towards Postgraduate and Early Career Researchers and Practitioners, Historical Roots, Modern Realities: Nationalism Across the Americas, to be held online on Friday, June 28 2024. The history of nationalism in the Americas is a complex and multifaceted one. From the revolutionary anti-imperial imaginaries of the late-eighteenth and early-nineteenth centuries to the recent rise of the ‘new nationalism’ of Donald Trump, Jair Bolsonaro, and Javier Milei, ideas of nationhood have indelibly shaped the political, social, and cultural lives of those living within the Americas. Nationalism has been marked by both inclusive and exclusionary tendencies, promoting national integration and cultural and intellectual production while simultaneously defining ‘insiders’ from ‘outsiders’ and fuelling conflict and ethnic, racial, religious, and gendered violence. Historical Roots, Modern Realities is dedicated to exploring nationalism throughout the Americas and […]

EAAS 2024 | 1924-2024: The American Immigrant Narrative Revisited

Amerikahaus Munich Karolinenpl. 3, Munich, Bavaria, Germany

From April 2-7, 2024, the 35th Biennial EAAS-conference, titled 1924 – 2024: The American Immigrant Narrative Revisited, takes place at Amerikahaus Munich. It is hosted by the Bavarian American Academy (BAA). With its focus on the immigrant narrative, this conference of the European Association for American Studies seeks to engage with the complicated histories that have shaped the American immigrant narrative in all of its variations across time and from different disciplinary angles. To assess the ambivalent legacies of the American immigrant narrative, this conference calls for an intersectional approach to the topic which also examines gendered regimes of immigration, the precarious labor conditions of (im)migrant workers, class restrictions, and sexual exploitation, past and present. We invite scholars interested in exploring these topics to submit their proposals for individual papers or full panels. Proposals can be submitted via our conference tool by September 15, 2023. Notifications of acceptance will be sent out by […]

UCL Americas Research Network 2024 Conference – Historical Roots, Modern Realities: Nationalism Across the Americas

Online

The UCL Americas Research Network, part of University College London’s Institute of the Americas, proudly announces a one-day conference tailored towards Postgraduate and Early Career Researchers and Practitioners, Historical Roots, Modern Realities: Nationalism Across the Americas, to be held online on Friday, June 28 2024. The history of nationalism in the Americas is a complex and multifaceted one. From the revolutionary anti-imperial imaginaries of the late-eighteenth and early-nineteenth centuries to the recent rise of the ‘new nationalism’ of Donald Trump, Jair Bolsonaro, and Javier Milei, ideas of nationhood have indelibly shaped the political, social, and cultural lives of those living within the Americas. Nationalism has been marked by both inclusive and exclusionary tendencies, promoting national integration and cultural and intellectual production while simultaneously defining ‘insiders’ from ‘outsiders’ and fuelling conflict and ethnic, racial, religious, and gendered violence. Historical Roots, Modern Realities is dedicated to exploring nationalism throughout the Americas and […]