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15th Biennial HAAS conference - Call for papers
15th Biennial HAAS conference - Call for papers
The American Legacy of 250 Years: Continuity and Change in the United States of America
May 28–30, 2026
Eszterházy Károly Catholic University, Eger, Hungary
Department of English and American Studies
Institute of English, American and German Studies
July 4, 2026, will mark the 250th birthday of the United States of America. Without a doubt, this event was a dening moment in modern world history, whose implications can still be strongly felt in the 21st century. After a successful War of Independence (1775–1783) and a lasting Constitution (1787), the United States began its early stirrings of a potential regional power in the Western Hemisphere. With wars, diplomacy, and sometimes luck, America managed to successfully spread westward and take a large swath of the North American continent. By 1853 the continental form of the United States became nal that has been the home of the contiguous 48 member states, while about a hundred years later two outlying territories became also member states: Alaska and Hawaii, in 1958 and 1959, respectively.
From the very beginning, the Founding Fathers dreamed of their country becoming a rich commercial empire, which they managed to achieve in the following century and beyond. Thanks to the Spanish-American War (1898), the United States became a colonial empire and an important factor in international diplomacy, which trend gained further momentum with World War I. By the end of World War II, the United States was in the position of a superpower and relying on this status fought a Cold War against the Soviet Union and its allies. After a brief historic moment of seeming omnipotence, the 9/11 terror attack in 2001 brought on serious changes in American domestic and foreign policy, and together with the so-called rise of China, at the age of 250 years the United States nds itself in a world that is full of challenges and dangerous traps regarding diplomatic, economic, and military strategy and conduct.
Although the gradual rise of the United States can be seen as a constant, and its Constitution has proved to provide a wide framework for a democratic development, America and Americans have always been on the forefront of change. Economy, population, organization, societal changes all point to the steady transformation of the United States, while its original WASP culture has also given way to changes in many aspects throughout the centuries.
What is remarkable about the story and history of the United States is that, in parallel with the abovementioned aspects, America has become in the 20th century a magnet of such cultural supremacy that the world has probably never seen. Allies or foes, the overwhelming majority of the world’s countries and peoples follow the American culture to a large degree, often trying to mimic it, sometimes subconsciously following the various trends coming from North America whether it pertains to movies, music, food, or clothing.
Continuity and change have been manifest in other areas as well. The European traditions that the colonists had brought with themselves have always been in contrast with the need and desire to nd new ways of production and being. In addition, the idea of enlightenment of the 18th century was in tension with the institution of slavery, the wish to stay away from European trends and policies and the necessity to intervene in the two world wars, or the rural conservativism and continuity versus big city liberalism and dynamic change. The United States all throughout its history has produced two sides of a coin.
With the above in mind, the Hungarian Association for American Studies, or HAAS, 2026 conference invites contributions that address the various aspects of continuum and change in the 250-year-old history of the United States. The presentations should explore the angles of history, literature, linguistics, politics, and culture widely dened that tell about the United States and have meaningful dialogue with the past, present, and future. The past quarter millennium provides ample opportunity to engage with the American historical landscape, the many crises and triumphs that the nation has gone through and has achieved. Therefore, established scholars as well as PhD students from various elds are welcome to contribute to the conference’s theme and oer their insights to any aspect of American culture past and present.
Keynote speakers:
Richard Gamble, Professor of History, Anna Margaret Ross Alexander Chair in History and Politics,
Hillsdale College, Michigan, United States.
“The Declaration of Independence as History and Ideology: A Cold War Debate”
Eric Peter Sandberg, Associate Professor, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
“Pynchon’s Americas”
Potential paper and panel submissions can address but are not limited to:
• narratives of historic episodes of crisis and change
• changing concepts of continuity and change in US intellectual history
• new forms of knowledge production recycling old forms: institutional, technological, and
nancial contexts
• continuity and change in culture wars
• the theory, practice, and institutional networks of American Studies: old, new, and comparative
• concepts of Americanness: from exceptional to transnational, interAmerican, and postnational America
• developments, regressions, and revisions in US literature
• continuity and change in notions of the “American” literary canon
• continuity and change in education, profession, and research: reform and hybrid forms of teaching American Studies, available degrees and research grants
• sites of continuity and change: borders and border crossings
• changing cultural geographies of the US
• changing notions of the Other in relation to power structures in the US
• the various steps of the rise and nature of the American empire
• migration to the United States past and present
• American business organization and management
• the diplomatic presence of the United States in world aairs in the 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries
• linguistic changes and constants in English in North America
• trends in education and methodologies
• clear and present danger: climate change and natural disasters
• public health, biotechnology and biopolitics
• the meaning and interpretation of the US Constitution
• American economic supremacy and its benecial and / or baneful effects
• anti-Americanism in the world
• literary development in the United States
• multiculturalism in American arts and literature
• rural and urban spaces in American literature
• the exotic and the quaint in American arts and literature
• highbrow and popular forms of literature
• America in the media
• haunting memories of the American past
• artistic and literary representations of ecological catastrophes
• Inter-American relations
• the Real and the Virtual
Please submit your abstracts for 20-minute presentations and proposals for panels and a short bio-note (about 100 words) at https://uni-eszterhazy.hu/haas15 between November 15, 2025,
and January 31, 2026. No late submissions will be accepted.
Abstracts should be around 200 words in English and should include name, email address, affiliation, and the title of the paper. Also, each submitter is kindly required to submit a short bio of
themselves (maximum 100 words).
Submitters will receive notication of acceptance by February 15, 2026.
The conference will be arranged as an onsite conference at Building A (Líceum) of Eszterházy
Károly Catholic University (3300, Eger, Eszterházy tér 1.)
Conference e-mail: haaseger15@gmail.com
Conference website: https://uni-eszterhazy.hu/haas15
CONFERENCE FEES
HAAS members PhD Students Non-HAAS
Early bird registration fee HUF 18,000 HUF 15,000 HUF 23,000
(until March 31)
Regular registration fee HUF 23,000 HUF 18,000 HUF 28,000
(between April 1 and 30)
Registration and Payment
For further details, please visit the conference website.
Conference grants for EAAS 36
Conference grants for EAAS 36
HAAS offers 5 grants for its members in two categories. Deadline: Jan. 2.
HAAS Public Lecture Fall 2025 Lithic Folk Horror
HAAS Public Lecture Fall 2025 Lithic Folk Horror
Dawn Keetley, Professor of English & Film Studies, Lehigh University, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
Thursday, November 6 · 5.30 – 7.30pm https://meet.google.com/jbf-eqrc-ikz
EAAS Postgraduate Grants for Active Participation in the Biennial EAAS Conference
EAAS Postgraduate Grants for Active Participation in the Biennial EAAS Conference
The Postgraduate Conference Grant allows successful applicants to actively participate in an EAAS Biannual Conference. Grantees will receive a maximum of 300 EUR to cover travel expenses and/or accommodation and/or meals.
The European Association for American Studies supports postgraduate students in the Humanities and Social Sciences who are registered for a higher research degree at any European university and are members of an American Studies association belonging to the EAAS.
The eligibility for these grants is restricted to early career scholars and/or scholars from countries with a nominal GDP of less than 30,000 USD per capita (according to the most recent IMF list). Please review the following points before applying:
Applications must be submitted electronically to the EAAS Vice-President by December 15 of the year before an EAAS biennial conference takes place. (Please note that EAAS biennial conferences are scheduled between April-May in even years.)
Applicants must enclose an application form with the confirmation letter from the organizers stating that their abstract was accepted and that it is included in the program of the conference.
Applicants can apply for a maximum of 300 EUR, to cover travel and/or accommodation and/or meals. Application forms should only be sent after receiving confirmation of acceptance onto the conference program.
Successful applicants will be notified by January 31 of the year of the biennial conference and should then promptly confirm their attendance.
Successful applicants should submit a personal receipt outlining the expenses covered by the grant to EAAS Treasurer by June 30 of the year the biennial conference took place.
1776-2026: Visions of Freedom
EAAS 36th Biennial Conference, Bologna Sept. 1-4, 2026
In the introduction to his book The Story of American Freedom (1999), Eric Foner wrote: “Americans’ love of liberty has been represented by poles, caps, and statues, and acted out by burning stamps and draft cards, running away from slavery, and demonstrating for the right to vote. If asked to explain or justify their actions, public or private, Americans are likely to respond, ‘It’s a free country.’” Published at the dawn of the new millennium, this statement poses a lasting challenge, at once historical, cultural, literary and political: what does the idea of freedom here imply? What do a series of images mean, considering that they can be appropriated by different if not opposing perspectives? How many visions of freedom have been pursued, accomplished, abused or exploited in the past 250 years? EAAS 2026 intends to address these questions, investigating the ever-changing reality of the United States.
The Declaration of Independence (1776) famously recognized three main unalienable rights - Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness. Indeed, after pointing out the “tyranny” of the British Crown, the Declaration described the subjects of the colonies as “free people,” deeming the ruler “unfit,” while urging the Colonies to become “free and independent States.” The newly acquired freedom granted the new federated States the power to levy war, sign peace treaties, contract alliances, establish commerce, paving the way to future colonial/imperialist projects. Since the Revolution, pundits and politicians have celebrated the exceptional character of American freedom (and empire), which they interpreted as a pioneering achievement, capable of inspiring other nations, contributing through their example to the larger cause of “liberty” and “democracy” around the world. From this moment onward, American cultural productions, literature, visual art and film have constituted a precious output to observe, map and question this national mythmaking, each time celebrating or problematizing the nation’s ability to hold on to its promises and premises: from the transcendentalists to the masters of American Renaissance, from the novels and pamphlets of the Gilded Age, to the voices emerging from many margins (African Americans, women, Indigenous people, Asian Americans, among others). American artists of all genres and disciplines have contributed to redefine the very idea of American freedom.
Despite the importance granted to both freedom and liberty, since that beginning, the US articulation of freedom has been exclusive, as gender, race, religion, and class have determined who could benefit from such unalienable rights and in what manner. Notably, in different ways, women, Black and Indigenous people would not be granted the rights promised by the Constitution, and neither the 13th (abolition of slavery), nor the 14th (right to citizenship) amendments passed soon after the Civil War brought about a truly equal and just society. The promises of citizenship granted by the Constitution were quickly jeopardized. Racial divide was complicated by industrialization, urbanization, and Jim Crow, while class conflicts sometimes led to outbreaks of violence.
Despite such evident contradictions between the universal ideals professed and the law, the centrality of freedom as a defining characteristic of US national identity has been confirmed and renewed by its constant retooling for diverse propaganda purposes. “The land of the free, the home of the brave” is an identity statement proudly sang by a variety of audiences; yet increasingly during the 20th century, it was one that was consistently reappropriated by marginalized groups, as well as by counter-cultural narratives, social movements and discourse, to question the nation’s founding ideals in light of evolving and complex international scenarios. The visions of (American) freedom were problematized after 9/11, affecting not only politics inside and outside the nation, but also the rhetoric of the nation’s ideals, in turn questioning the solidity, as well as the actual meaning of American democracy. “How do we imagine and struggle for a democracy that does not spawn forms of terror, that does not spawn war, that does not need enemies for its sustenance? [...] How do we imagine a democracy that does not thrive on this racism, that does not thrive on homophobia, that is not based on the rights of capitalist corporations to plunder the world’s economic and social and physical environments?” asked Angela Davis in The Meaning of Freedom and Other Difficult Dialogues (2012). These questions are even more urgent today in the frame of a growing democratic backsliding, and considering the threat posed by the illiberal regimes around the world.
EAAS 2026 invites scholars to address the above by investigating the role that freedom played/plays in the conceptualization of the United States as a real and an imagined community. Possible topics include but are not limited to:
● (American) Freedom / American Liberty
● Freedom, Peace, War
● “Land of the Free, Home of the Brave”: Freedom & Militarism
● The Rhetoric(s) of Freedom: Then, Now, Next
● Systemic Freedom and/or Systemic Slaveries
● Academic Freedom
● Freedom of Speech, Free Will, Censorship, Dissent
● Freedom, Media, Communication
● Technology and Freedom (as in Printing, Propaganda and the Dissemination of Ideals)
● Freedom/Unfreedom and Digital Media (AI, Language Models, Algorithmic Biases, Data Collections, Open Access, Open Sources)
● Freedom of Movement, Immigration & Mobility
● Freedom, Democracy, Security, Detention
● Economic Freedom (and Inequality), Consumerism, the Market
● Individual Freedom, Societal Wellbeing
● Freedom & Race and Ethnicity
● Indigenous Perspectives on Freedom: Sovereignty and Resistance
● Freedom, Labor & Social Movements
● The Limits/Borders of Freedom
● Freedom of Choice (Euthanasia, Abortion, Stem Cell Research, etc.)
● Freedom from Fear & National Security
● Freedom and Human Rights
● Religious Freedom, Conscience Claims, Tolerance
● Freedom, Federalism, Political Institutions (Presidency, Courts, etc.)
● Freedom & (National) Sovereignty
● Freedom in Art and Literature
● Freedom and Education
● Women and Freedom
● Teaching Freedom
● Freedom and Sustainability or Climate Change as a Challenge to National and Global Freedoms
● Health as Freedom (Disease, Epidemics, and Medicine) and Freedom from Illness (Public Health and Access to Care)
● Freedom and the Frontier: Expansion, Indigenous Displacement, Settler Colonialism, and Indigenous Sovereignty
● Freedom and the Family
● Gender and Sexual Freedom
● LGBTQIA+ Interpretations of Freedom
● Freedom: Global Perspectives and Legacies (e.g. Anti-colonial Movements and Comparative Freedoms)
● The commemoration, contestation, and denial of American values and rights of freedom
● The use and abuse of the American Civil Religion in freedom discourses
Conference Format
Conference Format
EAAS 2026 will be held primarily in-person. We will, however, reserve a limited number of slots for online panels. These panels must be wholly online (all presenters and the chair will participate online). If you wish your panel to be delivered wholly online, please explain briefly when making your submission why this needs to be the case and/or why the panel would benefit from this form of delivery. Individual paper submissions will not be accepted for online delivery.
Submission information
IMPORTANT: All proposals are to be sent starting from August 1st through the link that will be posted on this platform. Deadline October 15, 2025.
Panel proposals (three to four presenters and a Chair - with the possibility of one person fulfilling both roles) are strongly encouraged and will be given priority. Proposals must include:
• 350-word overview of the panel theme
• 350-word abstracts for each paper
• 150-word author biography
Individual proposals must include:
• 350-word abstracts for each paper
• 150-word author biographies
In addition, EAAS 2026 will include a poster exhibition presenting thematic explorations in a different format, also proofed and selected. Posters will be on display online (conference website) and in one of the conferences venues. Poster proposals must include:
• 350-word poster rational
• Graphic Pre-view (Format: pdf)
• 150-word author(s) biography/biographies
For additional information please contact: visionsoffreedom@unibo.it
Scientific Board and Organizing Committee
Scientific Board and Organizing Committee
SCIENTIFIC BOARD:
UNIVERSITY OF BOLOGNA: Raffaella Baritono, Matteo Battistini, Elena Lamberti, Giacomo Manzoli, Mattia Arioli, Chiara Patrizi, Angela Santese.
AISNA: Andrea Carosso.
EAAS: Kate Dossett.
ORGANIZING COMMITTEE: Raffaella Baritono, Martina Basciani, Matteo Battistini, Elena Lamberti, Mattia Arioli, Federico Gabriele Ferretti, Chiara Patrizi, Angela Santese, Paolo Viganò
AHEA conference Pécs, 2025
Massive HAAS participation and keynote lecture on American Studies in Hungary
The 49th annual conference of the American Hungarian Educators Association was held at Pécs between 19-21 June 2025. Members of HAAS played an active role: Mónika Fodor was part of the organizing dream-team. Anna Fenyvesi chaired a roundtable on Education/Ethnic history. Thomas Williams, Éva Mathey, Anna Fenyvesi, Máté Huber, Ágnes Zsófia Kovács, Máté Balogh, Tibor Glant, Mónika Fodor, and Nóra Deák (in the order of appearance) made presentations and chaired sessions. Enikő Bollobás's keynote lecture "The Evolution of American Studies in Hungary, 1970s to the present" highlighted, among other things, the role of HAAS in the narrative of American Studies in Hungary. AHEA Conference.
György Novák dies at 76
György Novák dies at 76
Members of HAAS will be deeply saddened to learn of the death of György Novák (1949-2025), associate professor of the Department of American Studies at the University of Szeged. Prof. Novák nurtured several generations of like-minded students and colleagues who all remember his knowledgeable and funny classes on American history, literature, and literary translation. He will be missed by interlocking networks of ex-students and colleagues. Our deepest condolences to the family. May he rest in peace.
Zsolt Virágos dies at 83
Zsolt Virágos dies at 83
It is with deep sadness that we report the passing of Professor Zsolt Virágos (1942-2025), of the North American Department at the University of Debrecen. Prof. Virágos will be remembered for his commitment to the cause of American Studies and for mentoring generations of students. He will be missed by ex-students and colleagues alike. Our deepest condolences.
1776-2026: Visions of Freedom
EAAS Biennial Conference, Bologna Sept. 1-4, 2026
The CFP is coming soon. Participation is for members of national organizations, with daily audit possibility for non-members. Application: from Oct. 15 – Dec, 15, 2026. Regular fee: E150, student: E80.
37th OTDK: Award Reward Forward
37th OTDK: Award Reward Forward
The first HAAS Student Reward for an outstanding OTDK (Endorsing Excellence) presentation was awarded to Makovinyi Luca Borbála, ELTE, for her paper "Neither Here nor There: The Cultural Hybridity of Second Generation Immigrants in Jhumpa Lahiri's Interpreter of Maladies" on April 16, 2025.
Report from the EAAS Board Meeting
Report from the EAAS Board Meeting
April 9, 2025 - Karlstad, Sweden and online. The Board meeting accepted the EAAS Budget from 2024. It also reviewed plans for the Bologna 2026 EAAS conference. Conference travel grants are continued. https://eaas.eu/grants-awards/ Applications by Apr. 15 annually. Travel grants to Bologna for early career scholars, applications by Jan. 31, 2026. Research grants are continued. Applications by Apr. 15 annually. https://eaas.eu/grants-awards/
HAAS YouTube video channel
HAAS YouTube video channel
The recording of the first HAAS Public Lecture can be watched online now. The American Corner of Debrecen hosted the event and produced the recording, their assisstance is greatly appreciated. PLS visit the HAAS video channel at: https://www.youtube.com/@HAASHungaryPublicLecture
HAAS Conference travel grant 2025
HAAS Conference travel grant 2025
HAAS offers two conference travel grants of HUF 80,000 each for junior members and three conference grants of HUF 100,000 each for regular members to contribute towards the cost of participation at an international AS conference.
Please note that HAAS can only pay grant money by reimbursing invoices that are addressed to HAAS, i.e. to Amerikanisták Magyarországi Társasága (HAAS), H-4032 Debrecen, Egyetem tér 1. Adószám: 18182958-1-09
Application deadline: June 1, 2025.
Application materials: completed application form (1 document) via email to: haas@ieas-szeged.hu
Results: by June 30, 2025.
HAAS Conference organization grant 2025
HAAS Conference organization grant 2025
HAAS offers conference organization grant/s of max. HUF 200,000 altogether to assist the organization of (an) international conference/s by HAAS members in Hungary on any American Studies topic.
Please note that HAAS can only pay grant money by reimbursing invoices that are addressed to HAAS, i.e. to Amerikanisták Magyarországi Társasága (HAAS), H-4032 Debrecen, Egyetem tér 1. Adószám: 18182958-1-09
Application deadline: June 1, 2025.
Application materials: completed application form (1 document) via email to: haas@ieas-szeged.hu
Results: by June 30, 2025.
HAAS conference grant application
HAAS conference grant application
The General Assembly has approved a new system of modest conference grants for junior and senior members and conference organization. TBA.
HAAS Reward for OTDK student
HAAS Reward for OTDK student
HAAS is to hand over the first HAAS Student Reward at the 37th OTDK (2025), Szeged.
HAAS Public lecture 2025 Spring
HAAS Public lecture 2025 Spring
US Foreign Policy: The first Pax Americana - by Dr. Tibor Glant, former HAAS president. March 20th, 2025, 4 pm. American Corner Debrecen -- ZOOM. In Hungarian.
HAAS Public Lecture series
HAAS Public Lecture series
A new lecture series is initiated by HAAS: 60 minute lectures of general interest about some aspect of US culture for members, colleagues, students, and interested parties, annual or semi-annual, in English or in Hungarian, delivered by a colleague, online.
HAAS General Assembly 2025
HAAS General Assembly 2025
Our annual General Assembly took place on Januar 31, 2025 at the University of Szeged. The president's report and the treasurer's report about 2024 were accepted. The secretary's plans were approved.
HAAS General Assembly 2024
HAAS General Assembly 2024
University of Szeged: new Board elected
5th EAAS Women's Network conference 2023
5th EAAS Women's Network conference 2023
Access to Equality: Reproductive Justice in the United States. IEAS University of Debrecen, March 31-April 1, 2023
EAAS Board Meeting 2023
EAAS Board Meeting 2023
IEAS University of Debrecen
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