CFP: Heidelberg Center for American Studies Spring Academy Conference in Heidelberg Germany (March 24-28, 2025)

Heidelberg Center for American Studies 22nd Annual Spring Academy Conference

Heidelberg, Germany, 24-28 March, 2025

Call for Papers

The twenty-second HCA Spring Academy on American Culture, Economics, Geography, History, Literature, Politics, and Religion will be held from March 24-28, 2025. The Heidelberg Center for American Studies (HCA) invites applications for this annual one-week conference that provides twenty international Ph.D. students with the opportunity to present and discuss their Ph.D. projects.

We encourage applications that pursue an interdisciplinary approach and range broadly across the arts, humanities, and social sciences. Papers can be presented on any subject relating to the study of the United States of America. We are also accepting applications that focus on the North American continent at large, including Canada, Mexico, and the Caribbean. Possible topics include American identity, migration, issues of ethnicity, gender, transatlantic relations, U.S. domestic and foreign policy, economics, as well as various aspects of American history, literature, religion, geography, law, musicology, and culture. Proposals should include a preliminary title and run to no more than 300 words.

Participants are requested to prepare a 20-minute presentation of their research project, which will be followed by a 40-minute discussion. The presentations will be arranged into ten panel groups.

In addition to cross-disciplinary and international discussions during the panel sessions, the Spring Academy aims at creating a pleasant collegial atmosphere for further scholarly exchange and contact.

Accommodation will be provided by the Heidelberg Center for American Studies.

Thanks to a small travel fund, the Spring Academy is able to subsidize travel expenses for participants registered and residing in soft-currency countries. Scholarship applicants will need to document the necessity for financial aid and explain how they plan to cover any potentially remaining expenses. In addition, a letter of recommendation from their doctoral advisor is required.