Inspired by the emptiness of the National Mall celebration of America’s 250th, we invite 300 word abstracts that consider enclosure and vacancy in Americana and its related aesthetic categories, like the Western and Southern Gothic.

Presenters might engage with a variety of fields, especially black, feminist, and indigenous studies, and take up media across time periods, including contemporary art by Bisa Butler and Jeffrey Gibson, Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter, Ryan Coogler’s Sinners, Aleshea Harris’ Is God Is, and many more.

https://mla.confex.com/mla/2027/webprogrampreliminary/Paper36527.html