US Studies Online is calling for postgraduates and ECRs outside of the UK and US to contribute to our emerging global research base. See below for details of the latest calls and upcoming series. Contact our European Relations Editor, Maria Elena Carpintero Torres-Quevedo, for more information.
Researcher Positionality in American Studies
Knowledge and research is situated; particularly as European Scholars in the field of American Studies, we are often acutely aware of our own position in relation to our research. Our nationality, gender, race, religion, sexuality, or class informs the objects that we study, the methodologies we use, and our findings. Indeed, the awareness of positionality has been growing in recent American sociopolitical discourse, often accompanying the rise of identity politics and marginalised groups speaking back to the dominant culture.
We are interested in how related debates about positionality and standpoint affect American Studies as a discipline. This raises broader questions about how to define key concepts and central issues such as “identity,” “culture,” and “knowledge,” both within and beyond the Americas.
We are particularly interested in research ideas, research reports, manifestos, meditations on any of the following issues, and from the perspective of any relevant American Studies discipline:
- Nationality and American studies
- Marginalised groups and dominant culture
- Counter-cultures
- Knowledge production
- Deterritorialisation
- Diaspora
- Historical or geographical standpoint