Inviting colleagues to consider a range of temporal, spatial, and performative aspects of aspirations, we pose the following questions:
How has aspirational thinking, rhetoric, and action evolved over the course of U.S. history? What meanings does aspirational thinking carry in the 21st century and in anticipation of the future? Where does aspirational behavior, action, or performance find fruitful ground? What kinds of creative, expressive, or aesthetic forms do aspirations take? What do we make of unfulfilled aspirations, aspirations gone astray, or destructive aspirations? How do we conceptualize American Studies research, teaching, and institutions by way of aspirations?
Alongside these questions, we encourage colleagues to tease out novel approaches and explorations of aspirations, framed around one or more of these thematic clusters:
- pasts / presents / futures
- beliefs / politics / ideologies
- sites / locations / geographies
- communities / organizations / movements
- concepts / rhetoric / mediation
- creation / expression / sound
- looking / seeing / envisioning
- images / imaging / imaginaries
- blind-spots / tensions / failures
- research / teaching / dialogue
In particular, we seek unexpected juxtapositions and collaborations between participants from different institutions and fields of study, hoping that the conference will serve as a forum for advancing our scholarly, epistemological, and creative aspirations. In addition to the traditional paper and panel formats, we accept workshop sessions as well as alternative format proposals that reinvent the traditional paper session.
The conference is open to scholars and students from all countries, but we offer lower registration fees to members of NAAS (Nordic Association for American Studies), EAAS (European Association for American Studies), and ASA (American Studies Association, United States).
The conference is organized by the John Morton Center for North American Studies (JMC), University of Turku, and the Finnish American Studies Association (FASA).
Abstract Submission: Abstracts for individual papers are max. 250 words and for panel/workshop/alternative sessions max. 500 words. Deadline: June 15, 2024.
Conference Website: https://sites.utu.fi/naas2025/
Inquiries: naasturku2025@gmail.com
Twitter: @naas2025 #NAASpirations2025