“Studying ‘America?’ Critical Conjunctures for the 21st Century”
March 25–27, 2010
Lawrence, Kansas

In 2010, MAASA will mark the 50th anniversary of American Studies with a conference examining generative moments and regenerative possibilities in scholarship about culture and society in the U.S. Taking the archive represented by fifty years of American Studies as a starting point – but not an endpoint – we hope to thoughtfully investigate the political, cultural, and economic ramifications attending current and past paradigms for studying “America.” We seek participants from beyond the region and from programs, groups, and institutions that may not currently identify as “American Studies.” Selected conference papers may be chosen for inclusion in a themed issue of American Studies.

We invite proposals for panels, workshops, discussions, or other forms of creative expression that may address the conference themes by 1) investigating past, present, and potential paradigms of interdisciplinary work in publications, in the academy, in the media, in public performances, and in the community or 2) modeling the variety of contemporary ways of engaging the study of America. We particularly invite submissions for special panels on race and ethnicity in U.S. culture in honor of David Katzman on the occasion of his retirement.

Graduate students who submit are eligible for the Katzman-Yetman graduate student paper prize ($250 award and consideration by the journal American Studies).

Proposals are due on or before January 11, 2010. Proposals for complete panels/discussions are preferred over individual submissions. Panel proposals should include 1) session title, 2) session abstract (250 words or less), 3) titles of individual papers, 4) abstracts of individual papers (250 words or less), and 5) information for each participant (name, contact information, affiliation, 1-page CV). Proposals for discussions or creative presentations should include 1) Session title; 2) session abstract (500 words or less), and 3) information for each participant (name, contact information, affiliation, 1-page CV). Proposals should be submitted electronically as a single Word document to midamerica.asa@gmail.com.

For conference updates and information, please visit our website at http://midamerica-asa.net.