November 30-December 2, 2005
Kadir Has University, Istanbul.

Upon the occasion of its youthful but mature 30th anniversary this year, our annual American Studies Conference becomes a place to turn our focus upon ourselves; upon the very discipline of American studies. This will be a chance to deliberate on where we have come from, and where we are going. A debate about the roots of any field of knowledge is inevitably a discussion of the future course of development.

We encourage scholars to put special emphasis on teaching American studies, the initiation, development, the current status and the predictable future of this field in a Turkish setting as well as within a larger international context. Some possible lines of inquiry are suggested below but we hope participants will propose others:

* Boundaries, borders, limits of the discipline
* Definitions and re-definitions: what is American studies? Visions and re-visions
* Canon(s) and tradition(s)
* Politics: inside and outside the discipline
* Paradigms and paradigm shifts
* Historical events and turning points within or without the field (Fall of communism, 9/11, the war in Iraq)
* Debates within the field (multiculturalism, exceptionalism, revisionism, etc.)
* Local and global perspectives
* What do you do with a degree in American studies?
* Curriculum, teaching, and research related issues

We welcome proposals for panels, roundtables, and 20-minute presentations. The deadline for submission is September 1, 2005. We request a brief one- or two-paragraph abstract of 200-300 words that explains the thesis and major objectives as well as a one- paragraph CV indicating to the affiliation, area of specialization, research interest and recent publications of the applicants. By mid-September, the applicants will be informed by e-mail.

Please direct your inquiries to the Secretary of the Conference Organizing Committee and for further updated information visit the web site www.bilkent.edu.tr/~asat

American Studies Association of Turkey