BAAS NewsNews from the British Association for American Studies |
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In Memoriam: Trevor Burnard |
BAAS is sorry to inform its members that Professor Trevor Burnard (Director of the Wilberforce Institute at the University of Hull) has died from cancer at the age of 64. |
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Summer 2024 BAAS Newsletter |
The latest edition of the BAAS Schools Newsletter is now available. It sees leading scholars and teachers in American Studies share their latest research and teaching ideas, including contributions from: Professor Robert Mason (Edinburgh), Professor Jonathan Bell (UCL), Professor Iwan Morgan (UCL), Dr Rebecca Stone (Warwick), Dr Henry Knight Lozano (Exeter) and Dr Ed Sugden (King's College London). |
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VACANCY: BAAS Awards Administrator |
An exciting opportunity has arisen to join the BAAS team. We are seeking to appoint someone with experience of administration and excellent organisational skills to support the annual BAAS Awards cycle and the BAAS Awards Chair. |
BooksBooks within the American Studies community. |
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New book – The Founder’s Curse (Johns Hopkins University Press, ISBN 9781421448886) |
How James Monroe, fifth President of the United States, impacted the rise, fall, and rebirth of political parties in the early American republic. |
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The Cybernetic Border: Drones, Technology, and Intrusion by Iván Chaar López |
Iván Chaar López argues that the United States uses a combination of drone, surveillance, and informational technologies to protect the US-Mexico border in ways that mark border crossers as racialized others that must be policed. |
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Strangers No Longer: Latino Belonging and Faith in Twentieth-Century Wisconsin by Sergio M. González |
Perceptive and original, Strangers No Longer reframes the history of Latinos in Wisconsin by revealing religion’s central role in the settlement experience of immigrants, migrants, and refugees. |
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The Apathy of Empire: Cambodia in American Geopolitics by James A. Tyner |
What America’s intervention in Cambodia during the Vietnam War reveals about Cold War–era U.S. national security strategy. |
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Seeking News, Making China: Information, Technology, and the Emergence of Mass Society by John Alekna |
Alekna weaves together both rural and urban history to tell the story of the rise of mass society through the lens of communication techniques and technology, showing how the news revolution fundamentally reordered the political geography of China |
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New Book: The Tafts by George W. Liebmann |
This book discusses five generations of the Taft family, America's longest-lived but under-appreciated political dynasty. It shows the Tafts to be far-sighted, fair-minded and surprisingly astute when considering modern concerns. President William Howard Taft was an opponent of plutocracy who supported the Income Tax Amendment and the first corporate income tax, while opposing the privileges of philanthropic foundations. His son Robert Taft was the key Republican Senator in repealing provisions of the Neutrality Act, making possible sales of arms sustaining Britain from 1939 to 1941. |
Call for PapersCall for papers from within the American Studies community. |
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CFP Convalescence in 19th- and 20th-century anglophone literature |
CFP Convalescence in 19th- and 20th-century anglophone literature Organisers: Leslie de Bont, Aude Petit-Marquis, Sanna Melin Schyllert, Deepshikha Mahanta Bortamuly, Violina Borah Paper proposals of max 300 words and a bio (max 100 word) should be sent before 20 December 2024 to: convalescencelit2025@gmail.com Responses will be given by 28 February 2025. Please indicate in your proposal whether you wish to attend in person in Nantes or Delhi or via Zoom. |
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THE BEATS, RADICALISM, AND THE BIPOLAR WORLD – 13th Annual Conference of the European Beat Studies Network (EBSN) |
The radical ethos of the Beat movement is deeply rooted in the specific historical situation in which it emerged: the binary-coded world of the Cold War. Although the Cold War ended 35 years ago, today's social divisions follow similarly polarized fault lines, where issues of free speech feel ever-present; discussions of sexuality, critiques of war, and advocacy of human rights seem under threat in ways that mirror past dangers. This invites us to revisit and discuss the unbroken topicality of the radical aesthetico-political approaches of Beat culture in the light of current events. |
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CfP: The American History Research Seminar at the Rothermere American Institute, University of Oxford |
The University of Oxford’s American History Research Seminar invites submissions from scholars who have work-in-progress they would like to workshop with the academic community at the Rothermere American Institute. Applicants should plan either: (1) to present a 45-minute paper in person at the seminar, or (2) to pre-circulate a paper of 10,000 words (including footnotes), alongside a 20-30 minute talk that would still allow attendees to engage with the substance of your material. |
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Aspirations: 28th Biennial Conference of the Nordic Association for American Studies – deadline August 16 2024 |
We welcome proposals that think through, reflect upon, and reconsider the significance of Aspirations in the pasts, presents, and futures of the United States. Aspirational ideals and beliefs have always been at the crux of the United States’ national ethos, but they have also evolved during the course of history. Abstract Submission: Abstracts for individual papers are max. 250 words and for panel/workshop/ alternative sessions max. 500 words. Extended deadline: August 16, 2024. Inquiries: naasturku2025@gmail.com Twitter: @naas2025 #NAASpirations2025 |
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CfP: Special Issue on American Vulnerability |
We invite submissions for a special issue of Comparative American Studies on American Vulnerability: Narratives of Risk, Refusal, and Resistance. |
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CFP: Spaces of Power and Contestation in Early America, 1607-1865 |
Annual Congress of the Réseau Européen pour le Développement de l’Histoire de la Jeune Amérique (REDEHJA) June 18-20, 2025, Nantes University, Nantes, France Key words: Early American history; imperial history; continental history; spaces of power; domination, adaptation and resistance; conflict, contestation and collaboration |
ConferencesDetails on conferences taking place within the American Studies community. |
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16th Annual Conference of the US Foreign Policy Working Group of BISA |
SHAPING A NEW WORLD ORDER: US FOREIGN POLICY AFTER THE END OF THE POST-COLD WAR ERA. 4-5 September 2024, Faculty of Social Science and Public Policy, Defence Studies Department, King's College London. |
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Call for Submissions: PERCIVAL – an international conference on the literature and art of Percival Everett |
Abstract submissions are invited for PERCIVAL: the first conference dedicated to the work of American author Percival Everett ever held in the UK. Everett Studies is at a key stage of its development, and 2024 represents a pivotal moment in Everett’s career generally. This conference will take place on Friday the 6th of December 2024 at King’s College London. It seeks to accelerate the growing research interest in Everett’s work in the UK through collaboration with international scholars (particularly from the US and France) who have worked on or taught Everett for decades. |
EventsEvents taking place within the American Studies Community and those run by BAAS. |
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Eccles Institute Summer Scholars: George III’s Political Pamphlets / HM Bark Endeavour’s Archives |
Monday 5 August, 12.30 – 13.30, British Library Knowledge Centre. Free; drop-in. Two British Library colleagues share their research into the political pamphlets of King George III and the archives of HM Bark Endeavour. The Summer Scholars season of free in-person lunchtime talks explores the exciting and wide-ranging research into the Americas and Oceania collections at the British Library by Eccles Institute Fellows and Award winners and British Library members of staff. |
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Eccles Institute Summer Scholars: James Baldwin’s Little Man, Little Man |
Thursday 1 August, 12.30 – 13.30, Foyle Room at the British Library. Free. Drop-in (no need to book). An Eccles Institute Visiting Fellow explores James Baldwin’s enigmatic Little Man, Little Man: A Story of Childhood. |
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Eccles Institute Summer Scholars: The Rev. Augustus Hanson / Andean Music in the UK |
Friday 26 July, 12.30 – 13.30, British Library Knowledge Centre. Free. Two Eccles Fellows explore the life of scholar, missionary and abolitionist Augustus Hanson and the wide-ranging influences that shaped the representation of Andean music in the UK. The Summer Scholars season of free in-person lunchtime talks explores the exciting and wide-ranging research into the Americas and Oceania collections at the British Library by Eccles Institute Fellows and Award winners and British Library members of staff. |
OpportunitiesOpportunities for those in the American Studies community. |
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DEADLINE EXTENDED: Lead Curator, North America: Eccles Institute for the Americas & Oceania at the British Library |
Job description: Location: St Pancras; Hours: Permanent – Full time; Grade: A; Salary: £40,950 per annum. The Eccles Institute Lead Curator for North American Collections will lead the team responsible for developing, managing, and promoting the Library’s printed and digital North American collections. They will also work on associated research development and engagement activities. |
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BrANCH Harriet Tubman Prize *extended* |
Sponsored by the Royal Historical Society, the Harriet Tubman Essay Prize is awarded for the best undergraduate essays or research projects on any kind of nineteenth century American history by Black, Asian, or Minority Ethnic students based in the UK. In the current cycle, up to £500 will be awarded for the Tubman Prize. |
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The Society for the History of Women in the Americas (SHAW) Steering Committee Vacancies |
The Society for the History of Women in the Americas (SHAW) is a diverse scholarly association dedicated to the historical investigation related to the history of women and gender non-conforming individuals in the Americas. SHAW invites expressions of interest to join its steering committee, in advance of its upcoming elections on 1st August, 2024. |
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PhD studentship: ‘Puppets and Clowns’? Celebrity and Political Activism in Historical Perspective |
We are looking for PhD proposals that interrogate the relationship between celebrity and political activism in the twentieth-century North Atlantic. Given the prominence of celebrity-activism as a feature of recent protest movements, there is a need for renewed investigation and historicising of the relationship between media personalities and mass-based political change. The student will work with Dr. Cecilia Brioni and Dr. Owen Walsh (University of Aberdeen) to make a substantial contribution to the scholarship on this topic. Candidates with interdisciplinary training are welcome. |
USSO Posts
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USSO is the PGR & ECR network for BAAS. Each Thursday they host #WriteAmStudies on Twitter, so share your work using the hashtag and engage with other researchers. You can find some of our latest posts below. |
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