The 2026 American Studies Association of Norway Conference looks back to its early years for inspiration. The very first themed ASANOR seminar was titled “The Bicentennial of the US Constitution.” Many years later we return to this document, not only to revisit its cultural and historical significance but also to ask what it means to invoke the Constitution now, in a time of intensifying democratic crisis and rising illiberalism.
From the expansion of executive power to attacks on voting rights, judicial independence, and press freedoms, many of the traditional pillars of U.S. liberal democracy are under threat. However, illiberalism is not new to the American experience. Slavery, settler colonialism, voter suppression, censorship, and patriarchal legal structures all point to a long and uneven history of constitutional struggle.
This conference invites scholars of American literature, history, politics, culture, and the arts to reflect on how the United States has been—and continues to be—constituted: legally, politically, imaginatively, and culturally. How have people in and beyond the U.S. interpreted, challenged, reimagined, or resisted the idea of America as defined by its Constitution?
We welcome papers addressing topics such as (but not limited to):
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Literary, historical, or artistic responses to constitutional principles, such as freedom of speech, equal protection, or separation of powers, across different eras
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The role of American literature and culture in both supporting and resisting liberal democracy
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Longstanding traditions of illiberalism in American life and their relevance for understanding the present
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The global reception of American constitutional ideals: how have they have inspired, disappointed, or been critiqued from abroad
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Feminist, queer, and trans critiques of the Constitution, especially around gender equality and bodily autonomy
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Indigenous responses to constitutional frameworks, especially concerning sovereignty and land rights
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Post-liberal visions in U.S. fiction, political thought, or speculative media: dystopian, utopian, or otherwise
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The Constitution as a cultural text: its poetics, rhetoric, and symbolic power
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The challenges posed by new technologies (AI, biotech, surveillance) to constitutional understandings of privacy, agency, or citizenship
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Reconsiderations of U.S. citizenship, inclusion, and belonging in changing legal and cultural contexts
This is an open call to scholars across disciplines, as well as to educators, artists, activists, and public intellectuals. We encourage proposals that consider the role of American Studies abroad and the transnational implications of current political shifts in the United States.
Submit abstracts of roughly 300 words plus a bio note to Stephen Dougherty (stephen.d.dougherty@uia.no). Please make sure to include “ASANOR 2026” in the subject line. The deadline for submitting abstracts for conference presentations is Oct. 15, 2025.
All presenters also need to be registered members of ASANOR.
Click here for information on how to join us.
