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Wednesday, April 3, 2013

"Freedom Proclaimed": The IAAS Annual Conference

"Freedom Proclaimed" the Irish Association of American Studies Annual Conference, will take place in University of Limerick from 26 - 27 April, 2013. 

Full programme available after the jump.


Call for Papers: IAAS Postgraduate and Early Career Scholar Conference


Transnational America(s)

When: May 18 2013
Where: Trinity College, Dublin

The IAAS postgraduate and early career scholar conference invites proposals for 20-minute presentations from across the disciplines of American Studies. 
Suggestions for topics may include, but are by no means limited to:
  • Exile, Migration, Expatriation and the "Exilic"
  • Heterotopia
  • Borderland Studies
  • Transnational Identity
  • Transnationalism and Empire
  • Sovereignty and Globalisation
  • Comparative Imperialisms/Exceptionalisms

Transnationalism holds particular resonance for American studies. Emerging from fragmented narratives of diaspora and fluid borders, it forms part of the foundational mythology of the United States. The term has a long history of use in racial dialectic, but its resonances permeate every aspect of contemporary (inter)national, cultural and economic identity.

Call for Papers: Unpopular Culture Conference


We invite scholars from all academic disciplines to submit a proposal on their variety of unpopular culture of choice—whether it be on Edgar Allan Poe or Stephenie Meyer, on Justin Bieber or Black Metal, on camp or hipsterism, on New Criticism or Queer Theory, on Atari’s E.T. or Duke Nukem Forever, on Birth of a Nation or Django Unchained, on Finnegans Wake or 50 Shades of Grey, or on anything that is unpopular or should be (or shouldn’t). Please send abstracts (or topical rants) of no more than 300 words, as well as a brief bio statement, to poehlmann[at]lmu.de by April 26, 2013.

Despite ongoing attempts to cross borders and close gaps, popular culture is still often construed in opposition to high culture in contemporary academic and non-academic discourses. Partly indebted to what could be labeled a ‘Birmingham-School-tradition’ of the study of the popular, scholars have repeatedly attempted to ‘deconstruct’ the popular by problematizing various binaries the study of popular culture might summon; especially with regard to processes of identity formation, agency, and political positionalities.

Yet the concept of popular culture itself also implies a dichotomy of a very different kind, and this conference seeks to explore the implications of this Other, an excluded middle that seeks to provide a new angle on popular culture: the unpopular. As an adjective, it can be used to describe either popular or high culture (and one might even define high culture by it), depending on one’s ideological perspective, but as a concept it offers a third term that complicates the other two, and that accordingly deserves more critical attention.

Call for Contributors: Encyclopedia of Asian American Culture

This two-volume encyclopedia, to be published by ABC-CLIO, covers the broad roots of Asian American culture including living traditions, rites of passage, folk culture, popular culture, subcultures, and other forms of shared expression. The essays explore the commonalities and variation of cultural expressions and provide readers with rich detail about the historical, regional, and ethnic/racial diversity within specific traditions.

The essays range from 1,000 to 2,000 words, depending on the amount of material. Generally speaking, the essays cover: history and origins; regional practices, traditions, and artifacts; expressive forms in contemporary culture; and further reading. In addition, essays also include sidebars (100-300 words) that highlight interesting facts, including but not limited to: biographies of key participants, scholars, or other important individuals; artifacts (lyrics, sayings, advertisements, invitations, material culture, etc.); and events (descriptions of particular aspects of the tradition, costumes, rituals, participant roles, etc.). 

The deadline is December 31, 2013.

Potential contributors should send the following information: full name, title, institutional affiliation, mailing address, email, and 2-page CV to the editor:

Lan Dong
Associate Professor
English Department, UHB 3050
University of Illinois Springfield
One University Plaza
Springfield, IL 62703

Email: ldong4[at]uis.edu

Upcoming British Library Events


The 18th Annual Douglas W Bryant Lecture: From Acadie to Arab Spring: Reflections on America's Place in the World

When: Monday 13 May 2013. Lecture 19.00 - 20.00, preceded by reception from 18:15
Place: Conference Centre, British Library

Born in the Acadian heartland of eastern Canada, BBC Presenter and Chief International Correspondent Lyse Doucet has been reporting from around the world for the past thirty years.

Her BBC work includes postings in Abidjan, Kabul, Islamabad, Tehran, Amman, and Jerusalem. In recent years her travel has often taken her to the Middle East, including Syria, as well as to Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Lyse was educated at Queen's University (Kingston, Ontario) and the University of Toronto. Her work has won a series of journalism awards and she holds honorary doctorates from universities in both Canada and the UK.

Price: Free, but attendance is by prior reservation ONLY. Send an email to eccles-centre[at]bl.uk to reserve places. Tickets are not issued for this event so, for the guest list, please provide your full name and the name(s) of any companion(s).

Conference: Movies for Hard Times: Hollywood and the Great Depression

When: Monday 22 April 2013. 10.00-17.00
Where: Conference Centre, British Library

A one-day conference, with the participation of nine eminent scholars, who will analyze the Depression Era context of some classic movies, stars and studios. Among the subjects considered are Cary Grant, Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, Mickey Mouse, Chaplin's Modern Times and John Ford's Young Mr Lincoln.

Detailed programme and registration form http://www.bl.uk/eccles/events.html#hollywood
Price £20, includes refreshments and buffet lunch. Limited places so early booking advised.