The fifty-fourth BAAS Annual Conference will take place at the University of Nottingham between 16 and 19 April 2009.

There is no main focus or theme for the conference which is designed as a forum for research papers on any subject relating to the United States of America and to early America. Paper and panel proposals on any topic within American Studies, broadly defined, are welcome. The conference will feature papers across a wide range of disciplines including literary studies, history, film, television and media studies, political science, cultural studies, visual culture and art history, among others. We are also extremely keen to receive proposals which adopt an interdisciplinary focus.

We would like to invite proposals for 20-minute papers of a maximum of 250 words which should also include a provisional title. These will be arranged into panel groups. We also invite proposals for panels and roundtable discussions, involving two or more people and sharing a common theme and/or interdisciplinary focus. The conference will include papers from national and international scholars across the spectrum of the research community, ranging from postgraduates to senior scholars.

Located in the centre of England and near to East Midlands Airport, Nottingham is renowned not only for the legendary Robin Hood but also for its close proximity to Eastwood, the birthplace of D.H. Lawrence and Newstead Abbey, Lord Byron’s ancestral home. The city offers a wealth of museums, galleries and cinemas including Nottingham Castle, the Playhouse, the Theatre Royal, the Broadway Cinema and Media Centre as well as the newly opened Contemporary Art Exchange. Situated to the west of the city centre, the location for the conference is the 330 acre University Park which is notable both for its famous lake, woodland areas and extensive parkland which is the home to a theatre, a performance hall and two Art Centres. For further information about Nottingham, please see http://www.nottinghamcity.gov.uk/