Call for Papers

How American is Globalization / How Globalized is America?

Akademie für Politische Bildung, Tutzing (Germany)
February 14-16, 2003

Since the early 1990s globalization has been much debated in public as well as among scholars. As an increasingly politicized catchword its explanatory value has been called into question. The 2003 Tutzing meeting of the historians in the German Association of American Studies aims at giving historic specificity to those processes that have been discussed as obvious signifiers of globalization, such as the improvement of cross-cultural communication structures, the growth of international trade and investment, the emergence of international organizations, the cross-cultural sharing of values and cultural goods, as well as the arrival of a general consciousness of interconnectedness among people in various countries, reacting in part to global problems such as migration, environmental concerns, terrorism, and global military threads.

Especially among Europeans the most recent phase of globalization is often seen as an outgrowth of the emergence of the United States as a superpower since World War II. The Tutzing meeting also aims at exploring the question whether and how globalization can be linked to the growth of the American military, political, economic, and cultural power before and after 1945. At the same time we would like to address the question what impact globalization has had on American life, whether, how, and to what degree the political culture, government, the economy, and society have been influenced by globalization. What, for example, is the role of the media in the “globalizing of America”? Has the very nature of American society, its multi-ethnic and multi-cultural makeup, any impact on the particular shape globalization has taken?

We welcome proposals on various aspects of the “outer” and “inner” story
of globalization within the context of America’s “national” and
“international” history. Also welcome are inquiries into the analytical
value of “globalization” as a heuristic tool for historians. In addition,
we look for contributions that explore early and pre-20th century phases
of cross-cultural interaction that may help to place more recent debates
in historical perspective.

Deadline: September 30, 2002.

Philipp Gassert (Universität Heidelberg)
Bernd Greiner (Hamburger Institut für Sozialforschung)
Detlef Junker (Universität Heidelberg)
Wilfried Mausbach (Freie Universität Berlin)
Reinhold Wagnleitner (Universität Salzburg)