When I pause in a clearing to glance west at the setting sun, at the horizontal reach and vertical thrust of cathedral rays there rendered visible by clouds–with their tints of pink and salmon, of tawny orange and ocherous yellow, and some evenings, dragon’s-blood reds–I try not to let it pass as only the striking image of a particular waning afternoon–the clarity just then of the air, and the less uniform color of the sea–but to see the inflammation as a conflagration…
(Barry Lopez, Horizon)
We are staggering through the twenty-first century along the parched, cracked surface of a landscape formed in stratified crisis: in politics and culture, economic instability, assaults on health, and ecological collapse. How did we get here? Where do we go now? And how can we respond to this uncertain futurity?
U.S Studies Online are seeking submissions from a broad range of disciplines which respond to the idea of ‘shifting landscapes’ from any period in the Americas and American Studies. We welcome submissions from anyone whose work falls within the discipline, and we are especially keen to hear from postgraduates and early career academics.
Submissions should be 800-1200 words. We invite responses which engage with the theme openly and creatively. We are particularly interested in receiving:
- Research articles
- Photo and video essays
- Short stories and poetry
- Creative non-fiction
- Political and cultural commentary
Interpretations of the theme could include, but are by no means limited to:
- Critical responses to climate crisis and the Anthropocene
- Political epochs; decline and decay
- Shifting pedagogical approaches to American Studies
- Resistance and resilience
- Time, continuity and utopian visions
- Fragility, vulnerability and precarity
- The ‘cost of living’ in America
Please submit an abstract of no more than 250 words to usso@baas.ac.uk by Monday 14th November. Get in touch via email or Twitter with any questions. We can’t wait to read your submissions!
The USSO editorial team
Sarah Collier, Robyn Shooter, Aija Oksman, Tom Cryer, Sam Thozer