Literary Explorations of “American” Identity
2026 NeMLA Annual Convention
March 5-8, 2026
Wyndham Grand Hotel, Pittsburgh, PA
Call for Papers for in-person panel:
On the eve of the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence and the formation of the United States of America, this panel seeks papers that examine US national identity as it is represented in textual form. Specifically, we seek papers that analyze literary texts—novels, stories, poems, and plays—that speak to the characteristics of American identity and ultimately offer an answer to the question, “What does it mean to be ‘American’?”