While it appears to be perennially tempting to see one’s own time as exceptional and unprecedented, it is nevertheless safe to say that our present time is perceived by many as characterized by crises of different kinds (democratic, humanitarian, environmental) to an unusually high degree. As a result, the stakes are high when it comes to identifying causes and cures and the political, media and academic communities are all concerned in their different ways with constructing narratives that make sense of what is happening: Backlash, renewal, apocalypse? Whatever their political, ideological, or theoretical underpinnings or agendas, all mobilize tropes of either continuity – understood for instance as progress, degeneration, or intensification – or discontinuity – understood for instance as a break with previous values, a dramatic shifting, or an unprecedented development – or of both at the same time.
In a specifically North American context these narratives draw on a long tradition of speaking of the nation as renewing itself, as becoming again what it was (meant to be). In our academic contexts, a number of “turns,” often framed as oriented away from traditional human-centered or rationalist concerns, can be understood as a response to a sense of crisis and raise new questions for the field of American studies. A focus on continuities and/or discontinuities provide opportunities for discussing both the specificities of American developments and their place in larger cultural, historical, and political contexts.

The 27th biennial NAAS conference welcomes panel and paper proposals that engage with continuities or discontinuities in American social, political, historical, or cultural life or within the field of American studies. We seek contributions in a wide array of disciplines, including, but not limited to history, politics, literature, film and media studies, sociology, art history, visual studies, gender studies, critical race and ethnicity studies, the environmental humanities etc. We also welcome papers on any topic related to American studies.

The conference will take place at Uppsala University, Sweden’s first university, located some 70 kms north of Stockholm, easily accessible by train or by flight to Stockholm-Arlanda airport. The conference is open to scholars and students from all countries, but we offer lower registration fees to members of NAAS (Nordic Association for American Studies), EAAS (European Association for American Studies), and ASA (American Studies Association in the U.S.)

In this 2nd CFP, we welcome

• individual paper proposals

• fully formed panels consisting of 3-4 individual papers

• fully formed panels in the format of discussions with 3-5 participants and a chair/moderator

  specified

• paper proposals for panels specified on our website: naas2023.com/call-for-participants-panel-proposals/

To submit a paper proposal, please provide us with a title, abstract (200-300 words), a brief bio, and contact information, all in one document (word or pdf). If the proposal is intended for an already formed panel, please indicate this clearly. To submit a panel proposal consisting of papers, in addition to the information listed above for each individual presentation, please provide us with a title for the panel, the name, email address and brief bio of the panel convener, and a description of the topic (200-500 words).

To submit a panel using the discussion format, please provide us with a title for the panel, the name, email address and brief bio of the panel convener and brief bios of all panel participants, as well as a description of the topic (200-500 words).

Submissions should be sent to naasinfo2023@gmail.com

Deadline for proposals: October 1, 2022.

Notifications of acceptance will be sent out by the end of November 2022.

Please visit the conference website for more information: https://naas2023.com