|
The idea of "America" has been used to exclude, include, exhort, chastise, and celebrate. Our conference theme urges participants to examine constructions of what America “is” and "should be" and how they have been used. In examining the notion of America as a place of contested and celebrated meaning and provider of cultural context, we encourage scholarship from multivalent perspectives. We seek papers which look at ideas and aspects of America in the musical, literary, artistic, religious, political, visual, psychological, natural, built, social, and transnational realms, including work which looks beyond the political borders of the United States to the “Americas” and beyond. In addition to standard conference papers, we also invite other presentation formats and creative works, such as short films and poetry/fiction/drama readings.
As interdisciplinary work is at the core of American Studies, we encourage different methodological approaches and invite submissions from a variety of disciplinary perspectives, including but not limited to: African and African American Studies, American Studies, American Indian Studies, Anthropology, Architecture and Urban Planning, Art and Art History, Asian and Asian American Studies, Borderland Studies, Botany, Chicana/o Studies, Communication Studies, Education, English, Environmental Studies, History, Geography, Government, Journalism, Latin American Studies, Law, Mexican American Studies, Music, Philosophy, Psychology, Public Affairs, Queer Studies, Radio-Television-Film, Religious Studies, Rhetoric, Sociology, Women's Studies, and Zoology.
Though our conference program committee will primarily be assembling the panels out of individual submissions, we also will consider pre-formed panels. Jointly-authored presentations are acceptable. We also invite any graduate students collaborating with community partners on service, activist, educational, artistic, or other projects to present in conjunction with those partners.
To propose a presentation, please submit an abstract of no more than 200 words and a biography for each presenter/participant of no more than 150 words to the American Studies Graduate Committee by email at utamst07@gmail.com no later than 20 June 2007. Submission text may be embedded in the email or included in a Word attachment. Please note that we will first schedule sessions for Friday, 28 September; if we receive quality proposals in sufficient quantity, we will also hold panels on Saturday, 29 September. Please only submit if you know you will be available to present on Friday. If accepted, each graduate student presenter will be asked to pay a $15 registration fee to help cover conference expenses. We do not want this cost to be prohibitive for anyone; financial assistance is available to cover part or all of the registration fee, and may be requested after one is accepted to the conference.
We thank you in advance for your submissions! If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.
|
|
