Promoting, supporting and encouraging the study of the United States since 1955

Welcome

The British Association for American Studies was founded in 1955. It exists to promote, support and encourage the study of the United States.

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Job Advert: Digital BAAS 2027

The British Association for American Studies (BAAS) is seeking two Conference Managers to oversee the planning and running of its 72nd Annual Conference. This is its third to be hosted entirely remotely and will be held online in March and April 2027 (provisionally 31 March – 2 April 2027).

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Schools Newsletter Summer 2026

The BAAS schools newsletter, Summer 2026, is now available to access on our website. Visit the schools page for further details and a link.

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30 Years of Infinite Jest: A Fearless Fiction reading group

Join us as we read, wrestle with, and revel in David Foster Wallace’s postmodern masterpiece, Infinite Jest, for its thirtieth anniversary.

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Join BAAS

Thinking of joining the British Association for American Studies? Find full details of what membership of the association includes and how you can register and purchase your membership.

Join BAAS

Welcome

The British Association for American Studies was founded in 1955. It exists to promote, support and encourage the study of the United States in the Universities, Colleges and Schools of the United Kingdom, and by independent scholars. It welcomes all those engaged in or connected with the study of the United States.

The website is the hub of the BAAS community with information on our awards, annual conferences, schools’ liaison work, calls for papers, publications, job listings, related networks and a media contacts database through which we share our expertise. On these pages you can find BAAS news, resources and links, as well as information on our committee structures. We welcome communication from our members and from anyone interested in the work we do to promote the study of the United States in the UK.

Job Advert: Digital BAAS 2027 Conference Manager (x2)

The Conference Managers will be responsible for the successful preparation for, and running of, the digital conference in accordance with BAAS’s principles of inclusion, accessibility and sustainability. We conceive these roles as ideal positions for Early Career Academics or postdoctoral members of the BAAS community aiming to gain valuable transferable organisational experience.

As this is a job-share, we expect that the duties will be divided evenly between the two managers in liaison with the BAAS executive committee. We encourage both individual and joint applications for these roles.

Join The British Association for American Studies

Thinking of joining the British Association for American Studies? Find full details of what membership of the association includes and how you can register and purchase your membership.

BAAS membership is for a calendar year. ALL rates include a levy from the European Association for American Studies. The privileges of the Schools membership extend to receipt of the Newsletter, and such teaching aids as are offered to the general membership, and the opportunity to send one member of staff to the annual conference.

If you have any problems please email our Memberships Secretary. BAAS takes its members’ privacy seriously and will not pass on details to any third party. You can find out more in our GDPR and Privacy Policy.

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Bertrand Bickersteth was the Athabasca University Writer in Residence for 2024-2025. He is a poet, playwright, essayist, and educator. His poetry collection,....

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Patrick Downes, Writer in Residence at the Princess Grace Irish Library, Monaco, examines the Irish-born recipients of the United States Medal of Honor in this....

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Submit to the BAAS Weekly Digest

Every week, BAAS sends out a mailing of Calls for Papers, Fellowship and Job Opportunities, and all Events of interest in American Studies scholars in Britain and beyond. These events are also posted here on the BAAS website under our News & Events section.

If you have an item you’d like to submit to the weekly digest, please click below to complete our submission form.