We are pleased to announce that the American Studies bimonthly Graduate Student Workshop series will return this fall. Students interested in present at one of the fall workshops should contact Melanie (stein196@umn.edu) by Friday, September 9th.
Graduate students are encouraged to use this opportunity to share their work with each other and with faculty. The series was created to provide a venue for students to receive feedback on their work including, but not limited to, conference papers, practice job talks, parts of chapters, parts of course research papers.
Faculty and graduate students are all encouraged to attend workshop sessions.
Students interested in presenting at one of the fall workshops should contact Melanie (stein196@umn.edu) by Friday, September 9 and indicate, generally, the type of work you would like to present.
The workshops for fall semester are scheduled for Monday, September 26th and Monday, November 28th, each at 3:30-5:00pm in the Scott Hall Commons, room 105.
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
American Studies Annual Potluck Gathering is Monday, September 26, 5:00 - 6:30pm
The annual department potluck gathering of students, faculty, and staff to celebrate the beginning of the academic year is Monday, September 26, 5:00 - 6:30pm in the Scott Hall Commons, room 105. Please bring a dish to share. This event immediately follows the Graduate Student Workshop.
Schneider-Mayerson's Article in American Studies Journal
Current graduate student, Matthew Schneider-Mayerson's article "What Almost Was: The Politics of the Contemporary Alternate History Novel" was published in the American Studies journal Volume 50, Number 3/4. Click Here for an abstract.
Fall 2011 Syllabi and Office Hours
FALL 2011 INSTRUCTORS & TAs: Please submit a copy of your course syllabus electronically to Laura at domin047@umn.edu by Wednesday, Sept 7th, 2011. Please also include the time(s) and day(s) you will be holding office hours for the upcoming semester.
Tenure-track Assistant Professor in African American Studies at College of Charleston
The African American Studies Program at the College of Charleston, South Carolina invites applications for full-time tenure-track Assistant Professorship to begin August 16, 2012. They seek an energetic scholar with leadership potential and program development experience. Ph.D. by August 2012 is required. Application deadline: October 10, 2011.
Assistant Professor in African American Studies
As a key objective of the institution's new strategic plan, the College of Charleston is building an African American Studies program as befits its unique location and the history of the Carolina Lowcountry. Working with key institutional partners, including the Avery Research Center and the Carolina Lowcountry and Atlantic World as well as the 10 affiliated faculty, the program expects to launch a new major in African American Studies shortly to go along with an existing and successful minor.
The African American Studies Program invites applications for its first of several full-time tenure-track Assistant Professorships to begin August 16, 2012. We seek an energetic scholar with leadership potential and program development experience. The successful candidate will hold a doctoral degree in African American Studies, or a related social science discipline, and will teach exclusively in African American Studies. Area of specialization is open, but a strong preference will be given to applicants with scholarly and teaching expertise in one or more of the following areas, as they relate to the contemporary African American experience: gender and sexuality, marriage and family, urbanization/gentrification, or public policy.
The teaching load is 3/3; demonstrated teaching ability and an active research agenda is required. A Ph.D. by August 2012 is required.
Candidates should submit a cover letter, CV, graduate transcripts, letters from three academic referees, and a short writing sample (no more than 20 pages) by October 10, 2011 to: Dr. Conseula Francis, English Department, College of Charleston, 66 George Street, Charleston, SC 29424.
The College of Charleston is a selective institution with a strong liberal arts and sciences tradition located in historic downtown Charleston, SC. Founded in 1770, the College has a rich history with an enrollment of approximately 10,000 undergraduates and 1,500 graduate students. The College of Charleston is an Affirmative Action, Equal Opportunity Employer and is committed to increasing the diversity of its faculty. We welcome applications from women and minority groups, as well as others who would bring additional dimensions to the college's teaching and research missions. Screening begins on October 21, 2011 and continues until the position is filled.
Assistant Professor in African American Studies
As a key objective of the institution's new strategic plan, the College of Charleston is building an African American Studies program as befits its unique location and the history of the Carolina Lowcountry. Working with key institutional partners, including the Avery Research Center and the Carolina Lowcountry and Atlantic World as well as the 10 affiliated faculty, the program expects to launch a new major in African American Studies shortly to go along with an existing and successful minor.
The African American Studies Program invites applications for its first of several full-time tenure-track Assistant Professorships to begin August 16, 2012. We seek an energetic scholar with leadership potential and program development experience. The successful candidate will hold a doctoral degree in African American Studies, or a related social science discipline, and will teach exclusively in African American Studies. Area of specialization is open, but a strong preference will be given to applicants with scholarly and teaching expertise in one or more of the following areas, as they relate to the contemporary African American experience: gender and sexuality, marriage and family, urbanization/gentrification, or public policy.
The teaching load is 3/3; demonstrated teaching ability and an active research agenda is required. A Ph.D. by August 2012 is required.
Candidates should submit a cover letter, CV, graduate transcripts, letters from three academic referees, and a short writing sample (no more than 20 pages) by October 10, 2011 to: Dr. Conseula Francis, English Department, College of Charleston, 66 George Street, Charleston, SC 29424.
The College of Charleston is a selective institution with a strong liberal arts and sciences tradition located in historic downtown Charleston, SC. Founded in 1770, the College has a rich history with an enrollment of approximately 10,000 undergraduates and 1,500 graduate students. The College of Charleston is an Affirmative Action, Equal Opportunity Employer and is committed to increasing the diversity of its faculty. We welcome applications from women and minority groups, as well as others who would bring additional dimensions to the college's teaching and research missions. Screening begins on October 21, 2011 and continues until the position is filled.
Stanford UniversityTenure-track Assistant Professor in Dept of Religious Studies
The Department of Religious Studies at Stanford University, in collaboration with the Center for Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity, invites applications for a tenure-track position at the rank of Assistant Professor in the field of American Religion with a focus on ethnicity and race starting fall 2012. In particular, the search is seeking a scholar whose work centers on the study of religious traditions, practices, and institutions among ethnic and racial groups in the United States. Candidates must have completed their Ph.D. by August 31, 2012. Applications deadline: October 3, 2011.
A successful candidate will be expected to contribute to one or more of the department's current areas of strength and to teach and advise students at both the undergraduate and graduate levels.
Appointment will start on September 1, 2012. Courses will include broad surveys introducing students to the study of religion in America and at least two courses that will focus on race, ethnicity, and religion developed in cooperation with the Center for Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity. The person appointed will be expected to interact with faculty and students who work in a variety of fields and methodologies both in Religious Studies and in the Center for Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity. Candidates must have completed their Ph.D. by August 31, 2012.
Please send a letter of application and your dossier, which should include a CV, a statement of research and teaching interests, any available evidence of teaching ability, three confidential letters of recommendation, and a short writing sample to:
American Religion Search Committee
Dept. of Religious Studies, Bldg. 70
450 Serra mall
Stanford, CA
94305-2165
Most of the preliminary interviews will be held between 10/19 and 10/22 at the AAR. Applications received by October 3, 2011 will be assured of consideration.
Stanford University is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to increasing the diversity of its faculty. It welcomes nominations of, and applications from, women and minority groups, as well as others who would bring additional dimensions to the university's
research and teaching missions."
A successful candidate will be expected to contribute to one or more of the department's current areas of strength and to teach and advise students at both the undergraduate and graduate levels.
Appointment will start on September 1, 2012. Courses will include broad surveys introducing students to the study of religion in America and at least two courses that will focus on race, ethnicity, and religion developed in cooperation with the Center for Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity. The person appointed will be expected to interact with faculty and students who work in a variety of fields and methodologies both in Religious Studies and in the Center for Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity. Candidates must have completed their Ph.D. by August 31, 2012.
Please send a letter of application and your dossier, which should include a CV, a statement of research and teaching interests, any available evidence of teaching ability, three confidential letters of recommendation, and a short writing sample to:
American Religion Search Committee
Dept. of Religious Studies, Bldg. 70
450 Serra mall
Stanford, CA
94305-2165
Most of the preliminary interviews will be held between 10/19 and 10/22 at the AAR. Applications received by October 3, 2011 will be assured of consideration.
Stanford University is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to increasing the diversity of its faculty. It welcomes nominations of, and applications from, women and minority groups, as well as others who would bring additional dimensions to the university's
research and teaching missions."
CFP:'Triumph in my Song': 18th & 19th Century African Atlantic Culture, History, & Performance
The Society of Early Americanists and the School of Theatre, Dance, and Performance Studies at the University of Maryland invite proposals for the conference "'Triumph in my Song': 18th & 19th Century African Atlantic Culture, History, & Performance". They seek to explore wide range of definitions of culture, history, historiography, and performance as they connect to the experiences of Africans in the Atlantic world up to the Civil War. The conference will be held May 31-June 2, 2012. Proposals are due September 15, 2011.
The Society of Early Americanists and the School of Theatre, Dance, and Performance Studies at the University of Maryland invite proposals for this exciting interdisciplinary conference, May 31-June 2, 2012.
We invite colleagues to explore a wide range of definitions of culture, history, historiography, and performance as they connect to the experiences of Africans in the Atlantic world up to the Civil War. As the study of the black experience in pre-Civil War America grows, it incorporates increasingly diverse fields of scholarship, each of which has the potential to make enormously valuable contributions to our understanding of this topic. The conference program will feature live performances, roundtables on methodologies and analyzing evidence, and colloquies with established authors in the field.
Questions/Topics may include:
-What are the particular challenges in writing a history of performance, a phenomenon that, by definition, disappears?
-How do we define and analyze the "evidence" for our scholarship? How does moving across disciplinary boundaries transform our interpretations of what constitutes evidence?
-How can we consider history and culture not just as contained narratives of the past, but as living performances of memory, repertoires of behaviors from the past?
-How are these challenges in writing a history of performance compounded when writing about race, racial performance, and people of African descent during the time of slavery?
-How have the material culture and performance culture of African peoples traveled across geographical boundaries, and what historiographical or theoretical lenses should we apply to chart their movement?
-Given the need for historicization, what are the relative strengths of history vs. memory? -What does each mode of encountering the past en/dis-able?
-Regarding such topics as minstrelsy, lynching, slave narratives, miscegenation, incarceration, gendered constructions of blackness, parallels/divergences between slavery and post-bellum sharecropping, and others, how can we actively engage in questions of how pre-Civil War history and culture reverberate forward to post-Civil War history and culture)?
We look forward to hearing from colleagues across the disciplines of American Studies, African American Studies, Anthropology, Comparative Literature, Dance, English, Ethnomusicology, History, LGBT Studies, Music, Performance Studies, Theatre, and Women's Studies who share our interest in discussing interdisciplinary theories and methodologies connected to the study of African peoples in the pre-Civil War Atlantic world. We are planning a conference that not only explores the rich fields of history, culture, and performance, but helps to develop dynamic new ways to bring these fields together. Through this collaboration and cross-pollination, we hope to encourage new scholarly approaches and offer new opportunities for colleagues to explore seemingly familiar topics or materials.
While the conference will feature conference papers and panels, we also encourage participants to propose sessions that fall outside the normal panel/seminar design. Alternate session formats might include staged readings of long-lost texts; performances of traditional music or dance pieces; performances exploring issues of embodiment and identity; explorations of documents or material objects from interdisciplinary perspectives; or roundtables coordinated around a performative event or theoretical or methodological question.
Proposals may be for complete panel sessions, or participants may submit individual proposals. SEA warmly welcomes proposals from graduate students. Please see the guidelines below. PLEASE NOTE THAT ALL TECHNOLOGY REQUESTS MUST BE INCLUDED IN YOUR COMPLETED PROPOSAL. Each presenting/performance space has PowerPoint and internet capabilities.
Proposals are due September 15, 2011. Please send your proposal-or your questions-- via e-mail to seaconference2012@gmail.com. If you require additional A/V equipment, we must know by September 15, 2011. We will notify participants concerning accepted or rejected proposals by October 15, 2011. All participants should expect to hear from the Conference Planner or their Panel Chair by the end of October, 2011.
Proposal formats
1. Panel session
2. Roundtable (focusing on one or more texts, theories, methodologies, performances, or objects)
3. Performance event
4. Interdisciplinary Exploration
Panel session:
Proposing a panel topic -- Please include the following information:
· Title of the panel and of the papers to be presented
· Names and e-mail contact information for the panel organizer and each panel participant
· 300-word description of the panel and a 250-worddescription of each paper
Completed proposals (with all panel members assembled) should be submitted directly to seaconference2012@gmail.com by September 15, 2011
Proposing an individual paper -- Please include the following information:
· Title of paper
· Name and e-mail contact information for the presenter
· 300-word abstract of the proposed paper
Individual paper proposals should be submitted directly to seaconference2012@gmail.com by September 15, 2011
Roundtable: Please include the following information for a roundtable proposal:
· Title of the panel
· Names and e-mail contact information for the roundtable organizer and each proposed participant
· 300-word description of the roundtable topic and proposed format
Roundtable proposals should be submitted directly to seaconference2012@gmail.com by September 15, 2011
Performance Event -- Please include the following information for a performance proposal:
· Title of the performance
· Names and e-mail contact information for the performance organizer and each proposed participant
· 300-word description of the project
· Space requirements if known (number of cast members, dance floor required, etc.)
· Detailed technical requirements (if any), which may include proposed seating or staging layouts; requests for music stands (if for a staged reading), and any AV or tech support requests.
Performance proposals should be submitted directly to seaconference@gmail.com by September 15, 2011. While there are performance venues available to us in the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center at the site of the conference, options for technical support are limited. PLEASE NOTE THAT YOU NEED TO SPECIFY ANY TECHNOLOGY REQUEST IN YOUR COMPLETED PROPOSAL.
Interdisciplinary Exploration -- include the following information for an interdisciplinary proposal:
· Title of the proposed project and format (roundtable, panel, other...)
· Names and e
-mail contact information for the event organizer and each proposed participant
· 300-word description of the goals of the project, plus a description of the proposed guidelines for participation. These may include readings that all participants will complete in advance, pre-conference web discussions, etc.
Interdisciplinary proposals should be submitted directly to seaconference@gmail.com by September 15, 2011
Here for your convenience are the guidelines the Society of Early Americanists follows for all of its conference events:
To ensure maximum attendance at the conferences and in an effort to allow as many members as possible to appear on the program, the following guidelines have been adopted:
•A member may appear on a panel in a substantive role (paper presenter or roundtable speaker or respondent) only once.
•A member may also appear as a panel chair in addition to having a substantive role on another panel.
•Each participant will need to be a current member of the SEA at the time of the conference. To renew a membership or to become a SEA member, please visit the SEA Membership page: www.societyofearlyamericanists.org/membership.html
•Each participant will need to register for the conference. To register, please go to the SEA African American Experience Conference Registration page.
If you are proposing a panel, these are the SEA panel guidelines:
•Panel Sessions will be one hour and a half, which will allow for brief introductions, 3 papers of 20 minutes each; 4 papers of 15 minutes each; or a Roundtable with 5 speakers of 10 minutes each, followed by 15 minutes for discussion.
•Please remember to keep your papers short enough to fit into the time allotted. For instance, a paper that is 10-pages, double-spaced, 12-point, with the font Courier New will take about 20 minutes to read. If you plan to make extemporaneous remarks during the reading of the paper, then please limit your typed paper accordingly.
•Panels work best when we can hear all the papers and then have enough time for discussion.
•We encourage panels composed of panelists from a variety of institutions and with a range of scholarly experience.
•Thanks for your help in making the sessions rewarding experiences for all.
CALL FOR PROPOSALS:
'Triumph in my Song':
18th & 19th Century
African Atlantic Culture, History, & Performance
at the University of Maryland, May 31-June 2, 2012
'Triumph in my Song':
18th & 19th Century
African Atlantic Culture, History, & Performance
at the University of Maryland, May 31-June 2, 2012
The Society of Early Americanists and the School of Theatre, Dance, and Performance Studies at the University of Maryland invite proposals for this exciting interdisciplinary conference, May 31-June 2, 2012.
We invite colleagues to explore a wide range of definitions of culture, history, historiography, and performance as they connect to the experiences of Africans in the Atlantic world up to the Civil War. As the study of the black experience in pre-Civil War America grows, it incorporates increasingly diverse fields of scholarship, each of which has the potential to make enormously valuable contributions to our understanding of this topic. The conference program will feature live performances, roundtables on methodologies and analyzing evidence, and colloquies with established authors in the field.
Questions/Topics may include:
-What are the particular challenges in writing a history of performance, a phenomenon that, by definition, disappears?
-How do we define and analyze the "evidence" for our scholarship? How does moving across disciplinary boundaries transform our interpretations of what constitutes evidence?
-How can we consider history and culture not just as contained narratives of the past, but as living performances of memory, repertoires of behaviors from the past?
-How are these challenges in writing a history of performance compounded when writing about race, racial performance, and people of African descent during the time of slavery?
-How have the material culture and performance culture of African peoples traveled across geographical boundaries, and what historiographical or theoretical lenses should we apply to chart their movement?
-Given the need for historicization, what are the relative strengths of history vs. memory? -What does each mode of encountering the past en/dis-able?
-Regarding such topics as minstrelsy, lynching, slave narratives, miscegenation, incarceration, gendered constructions of blackness, parallels/divergences between slavery and post-bellum sharecropping, and others, how can we actively engage in questions of how pre-Civil War history and culture reverberate forward to post-Civil War history and culture)?
We look forward to hearing from colleagues across the disciplines of American Studies, African American Studies, Anthropology, Comparative Literature, Dance, English, Ethnomusicology, History, LGBT Studies, Music, Performance Studies, Theatre, and Women's Studies who share our interest in discussing interdisciplinary theories and methodologies connected to the study of African peoples in the pre-Civil War Atlantic world. We are planning a conference that not only explores the rich fields of history, culture, and performance, but helps to develop dynamic new ways to bring these fields together. Through this collaboration and cross-pollination, we hope to encourage new scholarly approaches and offer new opportunities for colleagues to explore seemingly familiar topics or materials.
While the conference will feature conference papers and panels, we also encourage participants to propose sessions that fall outside the normal panel/seminar design. Alternate session formats might include staged readings of long-lost texts; performances of traditional music or dance pieces; performances exploring issues of embodiment and identity; explorations of documents or material objects from interdisciplinary perspectives; or roundtables coordinated around a performative event or theoretical or methodological question.
Proposals may be for complete panel sessions, or participants may submit individual proposals. SEA warmly welcomes proposals from graduate students. Please see the guidelines below. PLEASE NOTE THAT ALL TECHNOLOGY REQUESTS MUST BE INCLUDED IN YOUR COMPLETED PROPOSAL. Each presenting/performance space has PowerPoint and internet capabilities.
Proposals are due September 15, 2011. Please send your proposal-or your questions-- via e-mail to seaconference2012@gmail.com. If you require additional A/V equipment, we must know by September 15, 2011. We will notify participants concerning accepted or rejected proposals by October 15, 2011. All participants should expect to hear from the Conference Planner or their Panel Chair by the end of October, 2011.
Proposal formats
1. Panel session
2. Roundtable (focusing on one or more texts, theories, methodologies, performances, or objects)
3. Performance event
4. Interdisciplinary Exploration
Panel session:
Proposing a panel topic -- Please include the following information:
· Title of the panel and of the papers to be presented
· Names and e-mail contact information for the panel organizer and each panel participant
· 300-word description of the panel and a 250-worddescription of each paper
Completed proposals (with all panel members assembled) should be submitted directly to seaconference2012@gmail.com by September 15, 2011
Proposing an individual paper -- Please include the following information:
· Title of paper
· Name and e-mail contact information for the presenter
· 300-word abstract of the proposed paper
Individual paper proposals should be submitted directly to seaconference2012@gmail.com by September 15, 2011
Roundtable: Please include the following information for a roundtable proposal:
· Title of the panel
· Names and e-mail contact information for the roundtable organizer and each proposed participant
· 300-word description of the roundtable topic and proposed format
Roundtable proposals should be submitted directly to seaconference2012@gmail.com by September 15, 2011
Performance Event -- Please include the following information for a performance proposal:
· Title of the performance
· Names and e-mail contact information for the performance organizer and each proposed participant
· 300-word description of the project
· Space requirements if known (number of cast members, dance floor required, etc.)
· Detailed technical requirements (if any), which may include proposed seating or staging layouts; requests for music stands (if for a staged reading), and any AV or tech support requests.
Performance proposals should be submitted directly to seaconference@gmail.com by September 15, 2011. While there are performance venues available to us in the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center at the site of the conference, options for technical support are limited. PLEASE NOTE THAT YOU NEED TO SPECIFY ANY TECHNOLOGY REQUEST IN YOUR COMPLETED PROPOSAL.
Interdisciplinary Exploration -- include the following information for an interdisciplinary proposal:
· Title of the proposed project and format (roundtable, panel, other...)
· Names and e
-mail contact information for the event organizer and each proposed participant
· 300-word description of the goals of the project, plus a description of the proposed guidelines for participation. These may include readings that all participants will complete in advance, pre-conference web discussions, etc.
Interdisciplinary proposals should be submitted directly to seaconference@gmail.com by September 15, 2011
Here for your convenience are the guidelines the Society of Early Americanists follows for all of its conference events:
To ensure maximum attendance at the conferences and in an effort to allow as many members as possible to appear on the program, the following guidelines have been adopted:
•A member may appear on a panel in a substantive role (paper presenter or roundtable speaker or respondent) only once.
•A member may also appear as a panel chair in addition to having a substantive role on another panel.
•Each participant will need to be a current member of the SEA at the time of the conference. To renew a membership or to become a SEA member, please visit the SEA Membership page: www.societyofearlyamericanists.org/membership.html
•Each participant will need to register for the conference. To register, please go to the SEA African American Experience Conference Registration page.
If you are proposing a panel, these are the SEA panel guidelines:
•Panel Sessions will be one hour and a half, which will allow for brief introductions, 3 papers of 20 minutes each; 4 papers of 15 minutes each; or a Roundtable with 5 speakers of 10 minutes each, followed by 15 minutes for discussion.
•Please remember to keep your papers short enough to fit into the time allotted. For instance, a paper that is 10-pages, double-spaced, 12-point, with the font Courier New will take about 20 minutes to read. If you plan to make extemporaneous remarks during the reading of the paper, then please limit your typed paper accordingly.
•Panels work best when we can hear all the papers and then have enough time for discussion.
•We encourage panels composed of panelists from a variety of institutions and with a range of scholarly experience.
•Thanks for your help in making the sessions rewarding experiences for all.
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Applications for Fall Grant-In-Aid Due Sept 19th, 2011
Applications are being accepted for the fall Grant-In-Aid of Research, Artistry, and Scholarship Program in the Office of the Vice President for Research. The grants promote the scholarly and artistic activities of faculty and their graduate students. Proposals must be submitted electronically by Sept. 19. For more information, see grant applications.
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
CFP: "The Presence of 'America' in India"
The International Forum for U.S. Studies and South Asian Studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign announces a call for papers. The conference,"The Presence of 'America' in India", will take place April 5-8th, 2012. Application deadline: October 15th.
Description: During the last decade, thecirculation of ideas, commodities,cultural practices, and cultural products perceived as coming from the U.S. and gaining traction in India has accelerated. We understand this processas a dialectical one, full of multiple transformations/translations/ andeffects, and with a substantial history, where India is not merely a"receiving" region, but rather a complex set of national and subnationalcultural and political groups actively involved in articulating relationshipsto "America." We use the term "America" advisedly as it does not presumeto reference all of the Americas but rather to capture the sense of the U.S. asboth a geo-political entity and a cultural imaginary, that is, not only as apolitical actor, mediating between Pakistan and India, but also as a culturalinfluence in many of the contemporary changes in Indian daily life andinstitutional structures. These include shifting practices of food consumption,modes of fashion, notions of secular democratic politics, the restructuring ofIndian higher education institutions, the emphasis on "American" accents inEnglish speech, employment in U.S. corporation customer service "callcenters," the impact of the presence of the US business corporations (such asIBM), new developments in Indian agriculture and engineering, themigration of hip hop style dancing into Bollywood musicals, the much contested"brain drain" to the United States, and so on.
We welcome paper proposals from a wide range of disciplinesand topics that seek to understand the complexities of these processes andrelations. These include but are not limited to: media studies, securityissues, food, agriculture and ecology, diaspora studies, performance andthe performing arts, fashion, business and economics, literatures andlanguage, religion, engineering, architecture and landscape, travel andtourism, and social relations. Proposals should explicitly address theconference theme. Panels will be organized to give each speaker approximately 20 minutes each. Other formats beyond the usual paperpresentation mode, such as posters and performances, will also be considered.
Please submit via email a proposal detailing yourresearch and how it addresses the conference theme in the form of a briefabstract of no more than 300 words. Please include your name,title, affiliation, and contact information (mailing address and email), as wellas a brief C.V. of no more than two pages BY OCTOBER 15TH to:
Ms. Anita Kaiser, Conference Coordinator
International Forum for US Studies
arkaiser@illinois.edu
www.ips.illinois.edu/ifuss
Participantswill be notified of acceptance no later than Dec. 31, 2011, and will beresponsible for their own travel and accommodation expenses. Aregistration fee of $50 ($25 students) participants will cover special mealevents. Registration fee waived for UIUC participants.
The Presence of "America" in India: Where and How Does"America" Appear and What Are The Effects?
April 5th-8th 2012
Description: During the last decade, thecirculation of ideas, commodities,cultural practices, and cultural products perceived as coming from the U.S. and gaining traction in India has accelerated. We understand this processas a dialectical one, full of multiple transformations/translations/ andeffects, and with a substantial history, where India is not merely a"receiving" region, but rather a complex set of national and subnationalcultural and political groups actively involved in articulating relationshipsto "America." We use the term "America" advisedly as it does not presumeto reference all of the Americas but rather to capture the sense of the U.S. asboth a geo-political entity and a cultural imaginary, that is, not only as apolitical actor, mediating between Pakistan and India, but also as a culturalinfluence in many of the contemporary changes in Indian daily life andinstitutional structures. These include shifting practices of food consumption,modes of fashion, notions of secular democratic politics, the restructuring ofIndian higher education institutions, the emphasis on "American" accents inEnglish speech, employment in U.S. corporation customer service "callcenters," the impact of the presence of the US business corporations (such asIBM), new developments in Indian agriculture and engineering, themigration of hip hop style dancing into Bollywood musicals, the much contested"brain drain" to the United States, and so on.
We welcome paper proposals from a wide range of disciplinesand topics that seek to understand the complexities of these processes andrelations. These include but are not limited to: media studies, securityissues, food, agriculture and ecology, diaspora studies, performance andthe performing arts, fashion, business and economics, literatures andlanguage, religion, engineering, architecture and landscape, travel andtourism, and social relations. Proposals should explicitly address theconference theme. Panels will be organized to give each speaker approximately 20 minutes each. Other formats beyond the usual paperpresentation mode, such as posters and performances, will also be considered.
Please submit via email a proposal detailing yourresearch and how it addresses the conference theme in the form of a briefabstract of no more than 300 words. Please include your name,title, affiliation, and contact information (mailing address and email), as wellas a brief C.V. of no more than two pages BY OCTOBER 15TH to:
Ms. Anita Kaiser, Conference Coordinator
International Forum for US Studies
arkaiser@illinois.edu
www.ips.illinois.edu/ifuss
Participantswill be notified of acceptance no later than Dec. 31, 2011, and will beresponsible for their own travel and accommodation expenses. Aregistration fee of $50 ($25 students) participants will cover special mealevents. Registration fee waived for UIUC participants.
Conference Co-Organizers: Prof. Jane Desmond and Prof.Rajeshwari Pandharipande, UIUC
DGS Fall Semester Office Hours
The Director of Graduate Studies, Kevin Murphy, will be holding office hours on Mondays from 10am - 12pm for fall semester. To make an appointment please call the front desk at 612-624-4190 or email amstdy@umn.edu with the preferred time, date, and topic/description for the appointment.
PCard Reminder
Please submit receipts for all August PCard purchases to Laura by Thursday, September 1st.
generic coversheet: COVERSHEET generic-1.xlsx
generic coversheet: COVERSHEET generic-1.xlsx
AFRO 5625: Black Women Writers in Diaspora
AFRO 5625: Black Women Writers in the Diaspora will be taught Fall 2011 by Dr. Njeri Githire on Wednesdays from 5 - 7:30pm in Hubert H. Humphrey Center room 35 . This upper level undergraduate/graduate seminar explores the dynamics of black women's expressivity in literary texts from Africa through Europe to the Americas and beyond.
Click here for a course flyer:AFRO 5625-FLYER.pdf
Click here for a course flyer:AFRO 5625-FLYER.pdf
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
"A Song In My Heart" book discussion by Local Author & U of M alumnae Roma Calatayud-Stocks
Local author and University of Minnesota alumnae, Roma Calatayud-Stocks, will discuss her book, A Song In My Heart, on Wednesday, September 14 at 4:00 p.m. at the University of Minnesota Bookstore in Coffman Memorial Union. A Song In My Heart highlights the American, Latino, and European cultures through music, the arts, and American and world history during the early 1900's.
A Song In My Heart is set in the early 1900's in Minneapolis, Mexico, New York, Spain and other cities around the world; and it is about the life of Alejandra Stanford who is born into a bi cultural family. As a young pianist and budding composer, Alejandra is inspired by legendary composers and Minnesota's Musical Pioneers and dreams of one day becoming an orchestral conductor. (For a Complete synopsis please see the University of Minnesota: Alumni Association page).
A Song In My Heart is set in the early 1900's in Minneapolis, Mexico, New York, Spain and other cities around the world; and it is about the life of Alejandra Stanford who is born into a bi cultural family. As a young pianist and budding composer, Alejandra is inspired by legendary composers and Minnesota's Musical Pioneers and dreams of one day becoming an orchestral conductor. (For a Complete synopsis please see the University of Minnesota: Alumni Association page).
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Graduate Student Health Insurance
To register for Graduate Student Health Insurance please follow this steps on this web page. Be sure to review your student account and ensure you are charged for the Graduate Health Plan, not the Student Insurance Plan. http://www.shb.umn.edu/twincities/graduate-assistants.htm Please contact Colleen at 612-624-1871 if you have any questions.
Note About Letters of Recommendation Files
Each year the department sends out letters of recommendation for students that are ABD. Continue reading for instructions on how to initiate the file and use the service.
The Department of American Studies sends out letters of recommendation for graduate students applying for jobs and/or fellowships. Typically a file consists of 3-4 letters, and you may update this file annually.
Students may initiate a file once they are ABD:
To request letters of recommendation service:
NOTE: Discuss with those who write letters of recommendation if they think it best serves your interest to have a "generic" letter sent from them. You may find yourself applying for a variety of jobs or fellowships that would make a single letter unsuitable for your purposes.
The Department of American Studies sends out letters of recommendation for graduate students applying for jobs and/or fellowships. Typically a file consists of 3-4 letters, and you may update this file annually.
Students may initiate a file once they are ABD:
- students should e-mail amstdy@umn.edu with the subject: Initiate Letters of Rec File. The body of this request should indicate the names of the letter writers and the total number of letters that will be submitted (sometimes a letter writer will include more than one version of a letter).
- Students should have recommenders write letters and mail them directly to American Studies, Attn: Laura. Alternatively, you may collect letters and drop them off to the main office, but they must be sealed with the recommender's signature across the seal.
- Once all letters have been received, Laura will notify you that initiation is complete. You can begin using the service at this time.
To request letters of recommendation service:
- E-mail amstdy@umn.edu with the subject: Letters of Rec. The body of this request should include complete mailing address information and specific information about which letters to send (if applicable).
- Your request needs to be made at least 5 business days in advance of the date you would like us to put the letters in the mail.
- Laura will reply to your request letting you know the file(s) has been sent.
- When your file is sent out, we also include a return postcard that notifies us that the institution received your file. Those postcards are kept on file in the main office so that we can verify receipt if necessary. If you would need to verify, please stop in to see Laura during regular business hours.
NOTE: Discuss with those who write letters of recommendation if they think it best serves your interest to have a "generic" letter sent from them. You may find yourself applying for a variety of jobs or fellowships that would make a single letter unsuitable for your purposes.
Submissions for 'Present Tense' Journal's Spring 2012 Special Issue
The editors of Present Tense: A Journal of Rhetoric in Society are recruiting submissions for a spring 2012 special issue on medical, gender, and body rhetorics. They are seeking submissions on topics including but not limited to: healthcare research and industry, healthcare practice, technology, aesthetics, veterinary medicine, and power relations in medicine. Priority deadline for the special issue is January 6, 2012, and they anticipate publishing the special issue in April of 2012.
The special issue will continue the fruitful investigations by scholars who have written on current developments in public health and medicine in order to delineate issues of persuasion, politics, and power.
A complete list of topics for the special issue is available at:
http://www.presenttensejournal.org/news/medical-rhetorics-special-issue-cfs/
Priority deadline for the special issue is January 6, 2012, and we anticipate publishing the special issue in April of 2012. Authors for the special issue should submit their work through the official submission process, which is described at:
http://www.presenttensejournal.org/submissions/
Present Tense will continue to accept submissions on all topics as we
recruit submissions for the special issue. We invite both multimedia
and textual submissions for the special issue and prospective
publications.
The special issue will continue the fruitful investigations by scholars who have written on current developments in public health and medicine in order to delineate issues of persuasion, politics, and power.
A complete list of topics for the special issue is available at:
http://www.presenttensejournal.org/news/medical-rhetorics-special-issue-cfs/
Priority deadline for the special issue is January 6, 2012, and we anticipate publishing the special issue in April of 2012. Authors for the special issue should submit their work through the official submission process, which is described at:
http://www.presenttensejournal.org/submissions/
Present Tense will continue to accept submissions on all topics as we
recruit submissions for the special issue. We invite both multimedia
and textual submissions for the special issue and prospective
publications.
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Tenure-track Assistant Professor in American Studies at Smith College
The American Studies Program at Smith College invites applications for a tenure-track position at the rank of Assistant Professor. Candidates must be well prepared to teach the range of theoretical and methodological questions, both established and emerging, central to American Studies scholarship, and they should be prepared to teach an Early American survey in the History department. Ph.D. in hand and prior teaching experience preferred. Review of applications will begin August 20, 2011.
We seek a candidate who will not replicate our current strengths in 19th and early 20th century history; we are particularly interested in candidates who work with Native American materials and/or cross-cultural encounters in early America.
Located in the Connecticut River Valley in Massachusetts, Smith is especially well suited for such work. Founded in the early 1960s, the American Studies Program at Smith is one of the oldest and most highly regarded among undergraduate institutions. The College's membership in the Five College Consortium (with Amherst, Hampshire, and Mount Holyoke Colleges and the University of Massachusetts, Amherst) makes available various modes of interaction and engagement with colleagues and students beyond Smith as well. We especially value intellectual versatility, a commitment to interdisciplinary scholarship, ability to work across periods, and alertness to the transnational and comparative perspectives that have reshaped American Studies work in recent years. Ph.D. in hand and prior teaching experience preferred.
Submit application at http://jobs.smith.edu with letter of application and curriculum vitae.
Questions regarding the search should be directed to Professor Michael Thurston, Director of the American Studies Program (mthursto@smith.edu).
Review of applications will begin August 20, 2011. Interviews with semifinalists will be held at the American Studies Association meeting in Baltimore, MD (October 20-23), or, if necessary, by telephone.
Smith College is an equal opportunity employer encouraging excellence through diversity.
We seek a candidate who will not replicate our current strengths in 19th and early 20th century history; we are particularly interested in candidates who work with Native American materials and/or cross-cultural encounters in early America.
Located in the Connecticut River Valley in Massachusetts, Smith is especially well suited for such work. Founded in the early 1960s, the American Studies Program at Smith is one of the oldest and most highly regarded among undergraduate institutions. The College's membership in the Five College Consortium (with Amherst, Hampshire, and Mount Holyoke Colleges and the University of Massachusetts, Amherst) makes available various modes of interaction and engagement with colleagues and students beyond Smith as well. We especially value intellectual versatility, a commitment to interdisciplinary scholarship, ability to work across periods, and alertness to the transnational and comparative perspectives that have reshaped American Studies work in recent years. Ph.D. in hand and prior teaching experience preferred.
Submit application at http://jobs.smith.edu with letter of application and curriculum vitae.
Questions regarding the search should be directed to Professor Michael Thurston, Director of the American Studies Program (mthursto@smith.edu).
Review of applications will begin August 20, 2011. Interviews with semifinalists will be held at the American Studies Association meeting in Baltimore, MD (October 20-23), or, if necessary, by telephone.
Smith College is an equal opportunity employer encouraging excellence through diversity.
1 year Visiting Position in American Studies at Wesleyan University
The American Studies Program at Wesleyan University invites applicants for a one-year, full-time position from January to December 2012; rank of either Visiting Assistant Professor (completed Ph.D.) or Visiting Instructor (without completed Ph.D.). Applicants with teaching fields in queer studies and/or 20th-century cultural history are especially encouraged to apply. Review of applications will begin immediately; applications received by August 15, 2011 are guaranteed consideration.
Wesleyan is a highly selective liberal arts college; teaching load is two courses per semester.
Submit, via email, letter of application, C.V., article-length writing sample, and three letters of reference to Professor Patricia Hill phill@wesleyan.edu, American Studies Program, Center for the Americas, Wesleyan University, 255 High Street, Middletown, CT 06459.
Review of applications will begin immediately; applications received by August 15, 2011 are guaranteed consideration.
Wesleyan University is an equal-opportunity and affirmative-action employer and welcomes applications from women and members of historically underrepresented minority groups.
Wesleyan is a highly selective liberal arts college; teaching load is two courses per semester.
Submit, via email, letter of application, C.V., article-length writing sample, and three letters of reference to Professor Patricia Hill phill@wesleyan.edu, American Studies Program, Center for the Americas, Wesleyan University, 255 High Street, Middletown, CT 06459.
Review of applications will begin immediately; applications received by August 15, 2011 are guaranteed consideration.
Wesleyan University is an equal-opportunity and affirmative-action employer and welcomes applications from women and members of historically underrepresented minority groups.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)