CFP: [International] The Continuity of Change

full name / name of organization: 
Maria Slowinska

Graduate School of North American Studies
John F. Kennedy Institute for North American Studies
Free University Berlin

The Continuity of Change
Interdisciplinary Perspectives on North America
July 10-11, 2009

Sparked by the compelling rhetoric in the U.S. presidential election
campaign of 2008, this conference examines the concept of change within an
interdisciplinary perspective. We invite inquiries into the different
implications of "change." We ask to what extent and in what ways change
appears as a recurring theme in North American history, culture,
literature, politics, society, and economics.

Change brings with it a multitude of associations. We would like to discuss
change in terms of both leaving something behind and entering a yet
undefined future. Continuity and rupture, promise and threat, progress and
stagnation, opportunity and crisis âˆ' these are various interpretations of
change, an idea deeply engrained in the history of American society and
culture. Change is thus a concept of transition and functions as a middle
ground, a vantage point from which one looks both forward and backwards.

Possible areas include but are not limited to:

• Concepts and rhetorics of change
• Foreign policy and international relations
• Social and political movements
• Economic boom and recession
• Religion and society
• Social change and communication
• Literature, culture, and the arts
• Ethnic and racial identities

We invite papers by graduate students as well as by established scholars.
Abstracts of 200-300 words should be sent to continuityofchange_at_googlemail.com
by February 28, 2009. Panelists will be notified in early April.

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Received on Fri Dec 19 2008 - 09:23:44 EST