32nd Annual Conference of the Postgraduate Forum (PGF) of the German Association for American Studies (GAAS/DGfA)
University of Regensburg, Regensburg/Germany, November 10-12, 2022 (hybrid)
Deadline: September 18, 2022
Since its inception in 1989, the PGF has been a platform for early career researchers in the broader field of American studies, offering them the opportunity to present and discuss their on-going projects and to engage in critical conversations with scholars working in similar as well as different disciplines. The organizers of the 2022 Postgraduate Forum are pleased to announce the call for papers for the 32nd annual conference to be hosted at the University of Regensburg from November 10-12, 2022.
Conference Theme and Format
In light of current academic debates and wider public discourses on cultures of memory and its uses, we want to reflect on how early career researchers can benefit from approaching American studies through the multidirectional lens of memory studies. More specifically, we seek to engage in discussions of how acts, ethics, practices, and rituals of remembrance should be cultivated in 2022, a year which has shown how distorted versions of history and memory are not only reduced to abstract self-fulfilling narratives but also turned into justifications for actual warfare in the most extreme case. With that in mind, we ask the questions: What roles do academic research and education play in cultures of memory and remembering? What are the transnational dimensions of cultural memory? What are our responsibilities as emerging scholars, as teachers, as human beings in shaping cultures of memory? What are the possible pasts, presents, and futures of memory studies as American studies?
Alongside submissions dedicated to transnational memory cultures, we also invite and encourage contributions from the broader field of American studies.
In addition to thematic panels, a keynote lecture, and the annual PGF meeting, we are also planning an excursion to the Flossenbuerg Concentration Camp Memorial and Museum to get insights into their work, as well as workshops on mental health and academic accountability and responsibility.
Application
We invite early career researchers of all disciplines of American studies to submit an abstract of 250-300 words for a 15-minutes presentation and a short narrative biography of ca.150 words in a single PDF file. Please send all proposals to pgf@dgfa.de by September 18, 2022.
Selected contributions will be published in a special issue of the peer-reviewed online journal Current Objectives of Postgraduate American Studies (COPAS).
Accessibility
As organizers of the 2022 Postgraduate Forum, we are committed to ensuring all events and contents are accessible to all. Please feel free to communicate with us about your accommodation needs when sending in your proposals, or as it arises. Do not hesitate to approach us at any time if you have any concerns.
We plan to host the 2022 Postgraduate Forum as a hybrid event.
For further information, please visit our conference website at: https://www.uni-regensburg.de/language-literature-culture/american-studies/research/conferences/pgf-2022/index.html. Please check back regularly as the website will be updated progressively as we move closer to the conference date.
We are looking forward to seeing you in Regensburg this fall!
Your Regensburger PGF Conference Team 2022
Contact Email: pgf@dgfa.de