Reminder:
Call for Papers American History, Culture & Politics Spring Academy 2012 Conference, March 26 to March 30, 2012, Heidelberg, Germany.

We welcome applications for the ninth Spring Academy, which will take place at Heidelberg University from March 26 to March 30, 2012. The annual Spring Academy is an interdisciplinary conference hosted by the Heidelberg Center for American Studies (HCA). A group of twenty Ph.D. students will be given the opportunity to present and discuss their Ph.D. projects. Experts in different fields of American Studies will comment on the papers and will offer workshops on various topics. Further conference details are available at www.hca-springacademy.de.

We encourage applications that range broadly across the arts, humanities, and social sciences and pursue an interdisciplinary approach. Papers can be presented on any subject relating to the study of the United States. Previous Spring Academies included panels on:
- Political Activism and Protest Coalitions,
- (De)Constructing Race,
- African American Visual Culture and Literature,
- Ethnic Identities,
- American Society and Public Opinion,
- U.S. Legal Regulations
- Trade and Politics,
- U.S. and the Far East,
- Intellectual Designs
as well as several panels on gender, religion, popular culture and sports, and various aspects of American history in general.

For the 2012 Spring Academy, panels are still being put together to cover all the conference’s various research areas.

We are especially interested in papers completing the panels on:
- Religion and Identity
- Film & Cinema
- Native American Studies
- History of Sexuality
- Environmental History; Historical disaster/climate impact research
- Urban Studies and Metropolitan History
- Public Intellectuals
- Education/Social Justice

Topics not mentioned here are also welcomed for consideration.

Participants will prepare a 20-minute presentation of their research project, which will be followed by a 40-minute discussion. Presentations will be arranged thematically in ten panel groups.
Accommodation will be covered by the Heidelberg Center for American Studies.
Thanks to the generous support of HCA benefactor Herbert A. Jung, we have a small Travel Fund available to cover travel expenses for participants registered and residing in developing and 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.

Applications will be accepted until: December 15, 2011

Selections will be made by: January 15, 2012

Please use our online application system: http://www.hca-springacademy.de

More information: http://www.hca.uni-heidelberg.de

For further questions: springacademy@hca.uni-heidelberg.de