Lecture with Prof. Dr. Margaret Stephenson on 12/15/15: “Comparative Perspectives on Indigenous Rights: Australia and North America”

Lecture with Prof. Dr. Margaret Stephenson on 12/15/15: “Comparative Perspectives on Indigenous Rights: Australia and North America”

Events, Lectures

Lecture with

Professor Dr. Margaret Stephenson

“Comparative Perspectives on Indigenous Rights: Australia and North America”

 

The Atlantic Academy and the Transnational American Studies Institute at Mainz University jointly invite you to this event.

December 15, 2015; 4-6 pm
Senatssaal NatFak-Gebäude
Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz

For indigenous communities in the U.S. and around the globe, the question of rights has been a central one. In recent debates, this question has been closely connected to issues of land and water rights, as well as to concepts of indigenous sovereignty.

Margaret Stephenson (University of Queensland, Australia), a renowned expert in comparative indigenous law, will compare current debates on indigenous rights in Australia and North America, looking both at the specificity of national histories and at the possibility of a comparative, transnational perspective on indigenous rights.

For more information, download the poster here.

CfP: “The American Short Story: An Expansion of the Genre” Symposium, Oct. 20-22, 2016

Call for Papers, Conferences, Events, News

CALL FOR PAPERS

The American Short Story: An Expansion of the Genre

A Symposium of the American Literature Association organized by

The Society for the Study of the American Short Story (SSASS)

October 20-22, 2016

Hyatt Hotel, Savannah, GA

The Society for the Study of the American Short Story (SSASS) requests proposals for papers and presentations at an international symposium on the short story to be held in Savannah, October 20-22, 2016, at the Hyatt Hotel.

Proposals need be only a single page with one paragraph that describes the subject of the paper and another that gives the credentials of the speaker. In addition to traditional panels, the symposium will also hold discussion forums, seminar conversations, and roundtable sessions. Creative writers are also invited to present work in progress. All papers will also be considered for publication in the first volume of the new Society journal scheduled to appear in 2018.

A central focus of the symposium will be the expansion of the genre through the discovery of new writers from all racial and ethnic groups, the development of innovative types of stories (flash fiction, micro-fiction, and other forms), the recovery of fiction published in languages other than English, and the reconsideration of the contributions of other writers to the expansion of the genre. Close readings of stories by any American author are appropriate as are broad discussions of historical periods and movements. Examinations of the contributions of minority authors are especially welcome as are explorations of stories originally written in languages other than English.

The Savannah symposium will be followed a year later by an international conference in Germany, October 26-29, 2017, directed by Professor Oliver Scheiding, University of Mainz. More details about this event will be posted on the society website late in 2016.Please send all proposals and program suggestions for the Savannah symposium to the president of the society, Jim Nagel, at jnagel@uga.edu.

Deadline for proposals: July 1, 2016

Dowload the full CfP here.

CfP: “The Refuge of Objects/Objects of Refuge” Symposium, Dec. 14-18, 2016

Call for Papers, Conferences, News

CALL FOR PAPERS

The Refuge of Objects/Objects of Refuge

An International Symposium organized by

University of Delware—Center for Material Culture Studies and Universität Mainz—Center for Social and Cultural Studies (SOCUM), Transnational American Studies Institute

December 14-18, 2016

Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz

We invite proposals for papers or workshops to be given at the first collaborative symposium organized by the University of Delaware’s Center for Material Culture Studies (CMCS) and the Center for Social and Cultural Studies (SOCUM) at the Johannes Gutenberg Universität Mainz, Germany. The symposium will take place December 14-18, 2016 and will be hosted by the Johannes Gutenberg Universität Mainz, the Center for Social and Cultural Studies, and the Transnational American Studies Institute.

The theme of the symposium is the material culture of “Refuge.” In view of recent political events and natural catastrophes that have displaced millions and created international humanitarian crises, this term has acquired a new sense urgency for students and teachers working in the fields related to material culture studies. Definitions dating back to the great trans-Atlantic migrations of the seventeenth- and eighteenth centuries have characterized “refuge” in mostly spatio-political terms as insular settings of escape or privilege, as colonial enclaves or postnational territories, or as secular or sacred retreats. Rather than rehearse the spatial premise of these terms, however, the aim of this symposium is to reflect historically, methodologically, and theoretically on the material dimensions of “refuge,” that is, on the way in which objects generate or confound refuge, or accompany or encumber refugees, in short, the materiality conditioning both the refuge and refugees.

The invite papers that consider the materiality of refuge across the disciplines, periods, and geographies in all the diversity of material objects involved. In tandem with the conference theme of “The Refuge of Objects/Objects of Refuge,” the conference committee invites papers that showcase material culture scholarship in three different formats: conference papers, roundtable presentations, and hands- on workshops.

Possible topics include (but are not limited to):

  • Fugitive Things
  • Things of Im/Migration
  • Sanctuary Objects, objects of respite
  • Material Witness/Witness Matters
  • Objects in Translation
  • Objects as Transition
  • Safe Things
  • Survivor Objects
  • In/direct objects
  • Object Relations
  • Sentimental Objects
  • Remembered things, forgotten objects
  • Traumatic Objects

A one-page proposal and a brief biography of the author (one that includes full name, professional designation) should be submitted to: scheiding@uni-mainz.de. Proposals will be vetted by an interdisciplinary committee.

Deadline: January 30, 2016

Dowload the CfP here.

“Karl Dietz Memorial Lecture“ & Symposium in Honor of Prof. Herget & Prof. Lubbers

“Karl Dietz Memorial Lecture“ & Symposium in Honor of Prof. Herget & Prof. Lubbers

Events, Lectures, News

“Karl Dietz Memorial Lecture“ & Symposium in Honor of Prof. Herget & Prof. Lubbers

 

+++ UPDATE +++

You can now download the speeches given by PD Dr. Gessner and Prof. Achilles in honor of Prof. Herget and
Prof. Lubbers:

Laudatio Professor Herget and Slides
Laudatio Professor Lubbers

Also, Prof. Kelleter kindly sent a video message with greetings (in German) which you can watch here.

 

11/26/2015

10:15am-3:45pm, Philosophicum, Hörsaal P5

The faculty and staff of the Transnational American Studies Institute are pleased to invite to this year’s Karl Dietz Memorial Lecture on Thursday, 26 November 2015. It is a great pleasure to combine this annual event with a symposium in honor of two eminent members of Mainz American Studies, Professor Winfried Herget and Professor Klaus Lubbers, to celebrate their 80th birthday. We have selected Thanksgiving for this special occasion to recognize the important achievements of these American Studies scholars.

Lectures:
Prof. David Hall (Harvard University): “New Life in Old Bones? The State of ‛Puritan Studies’ in America and Britain“ (10:15am-11:45pm)

Prof. Julie Rak (University of Alberta): “Mountaineering and First Nations People: Min Aodla Freeman“ (2:15-3:45pm)

For more information, please see the flyer.

Lecture with Prof. Dr. Erik Redling on 12/10/15: “Ideology of Form and Framing Devices”

Lecture with Prof. Dr. Erik Redling on 12/10/15: “Ideology of Form and Framing Devices”

Lectures, News

Lecture with

Professor Dr. Erik Redling

“Ideology of Form und Framing Devices in Dialekterzählungen der amerikanischen Literatur des 19. Jahrhunderts”

This lecture is part of the lecture series “Ideology of Form” (co-organized by the Transnational American Studies Institute and the Romanisches Seminar)

December 10, 2015; 6 pm (18 Uhr c.t.)
Philosophicum P204
Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz

Bisherige Studien zu Rahmenerzählungen unterschiedliche Funktionen und Wirkungen des narrative Rahmens (wie etwa die Beglaubigungsfunktion oder die Herbeiführung einer Erzählsituation) und vernachlässigen dabei dessen sozialpolitische Dimension. Dieser Vortrag rückt die linguistisch markierte Beziehung zwischen Binnenteil (Dialekt) und Rahmen (Standardsprache) von amerikanischen Dialekterzählungen in den Vordergrund und illustriert mit Rückgriff auf Fredric Jamesons einflussreiches Konzept einer “Ideologie der Form” die divergierenden sozialpolitischen Ideologien derselben erzählerischen Form. Der Vortrag diskutiert die Kurzprosa der “Southwestern Humorists” (1830er und 40er Jahre) und der “plantation tradition” (1880er Jahre) sowie die “conjure tales” des afroamerikanischen Autors Charles W. Chesnutt.

Download the poster here.