The American Studies Association of Korea
The American Studies Association of Korea
Call for Papers
The 55th International
Conference organized by
The American Studies
Association of Korea (ASAK)
“Identity Politics and Political Institutions”
Venue: Sogang University, Seoul, South Korea
Date: October 29-30, 2021
The American Studies
Association of Korea (ASAK) is pleased to announce an international conference
on the theme, “Identity Politics and Political Institutions” to be held in
Seoul, South Korea, from October 29 to 30, 2021.
These are turbulent times in U.S.
politics. The 2016 presidential election sparked heated confrontations that
quickly spilled over from party politics into renewed debates on and divisions
of every aspect of American society and its institutional underpinnings. Not
only branches of federal and state government but also courts, police forces,
schools, corporations, media outlets, and medical facilities have become
battlegrounds of virulent polemics. Some see in these political developments an
alarming fragmentation of society, worrying that the recent rise of identity
politics has eroded shared political values and public confidence in American
institutions. Others see the current crisis as symptomatic, instead, of a
nation whose core institutions have time and again succumbed to an identity
politics grounded in racial and gendered privilege, and warn that this deeply
entrenched political praxis cannot be dismantled unless Americans commit to fundamental
structural realignments comparable to the post-Civil War reconstruction, the
New Deal, and the civil rights revolution. By the same token, some hope that
the 2020 elections signal a return to normalcy in U.S. politics, while others
hope to further new political trends that emerged during this moment of crisis?whether
it be right-wing populism, democratic socialism, “woke” culture, or the Black
Lives Matter movement. These starkly divergent assessments and outlooks prompt
us to reconsider the nature of U.S. politics from every possible angle?whether
cultural, social, institutional, or historical.
For this year’s conference, we
are delighted to welcome Robin D. G. Kelley, Distinguished Professor of History
and African American Studies and Gary B. Nash Endowed Chair in U.S. History at
UCLA, as our keynote speaker. Professor Kelley has received numerous awards and
recognitions for his pioneering work on social movements, race relations, black
culture, and radical thought in modern America. His prolific output includes
acclaimed books such as Hammer and Hoe:
Alabama Communists During the Great Depression (1990), Race Rebels: Culture, Politics, and the Black Working Class (1994), Yo’ Mama’s Disfunktional!: Fighting the
Culture Wars in Urban America (1997),
Freedom Dreams: The Black Radical Imagination (2002), Thelonious Monk: The Life and Times of an American Original (2009), and
Africa Speaks, America Answers: Modern Jazz in Revolutionary Times (2012).
His forthcoming book Black Bodies
Swinging: An American Postmortem situates the recent uprisings against
endemic racism in the U.S. within a long history of racial capitalism,
state-sanctioned racialized violence, and grassroots resistance.
The 2021 ASAK conference calls
for thought-provoking analyses of the divergent assessments and expectations
that stem from continuing debates on identities and institutions in American
politics. Scholars across multiple disciplines are encouraged to examine the
current crisis in U.S politics and to consider its potential to produce new
political movements and communities, and to reevaluate the relevance of ongoing
struggles surrounding identities and institutions in American society.
Interdisciplinary perspectives
are encouraged and new research methodologies are welcome.
Proposals may be submitted for
either individual papers or sessions.
Individual paper proposals
should include an abstract of no more than 250 words and a one-page abbreviated
CV, along with a short bio.
Session proposals should
include a one-page proposal with a title and topics for a session of three to
four presentation papers, along with individual abstracts, one-page abbreviated
CVs, and short bios.
Delivered in either Korean or
English, each presentation will be no longer than 20 minutes, followed by
discussions and Q&A sessions. Graduate students are also welcome to submit
proposals and to participate in the conference.
All proposals should be sent
to the Organizing Committee at asakconference@gmail.com by April 30, 2021, Seoul standard
time. Applicants will be notified of acceptance of their proposals by May 31,
2021.
We hope that the global
pandemic will have subsided by the time of the conference, but in case
international travel is still untenable at the time, we will ask international
participants to join online. Please be advised, however, that once your
proposal has been accepted, the expectation is that you will be physically
present unless there are COVID-related travel restrictions.
For further inquiries, please
contact the Organizing Committee.
Important Dates:
Deadline for submitting proposals:
April 30, 2021
Notification of acceptance: May
31, 2021
Submission of papers for the
conference proceedings: August 31, 2021
Registration Fee (includes
conference proceedings, dinner reception, and two lunches):
Standard: 60,000 won
Student: 30,000 won
Call for Papers
The American Studies Association of Korea
The 54th International Conference
“America, Nation of Great Divide and Tolerance”
Organized by The American Studies Association of Korea (ASAK)
Venue: Korea University, Seoul, South Korea
Date: September 20-21, 2019
The American Studies Association of Korea (ASAK) is pleased to announce an international conference on “America, Nation of Great Divide and Tolerance” to be held in Seoul, South Korea, from September 20 to 21, 2019.
Early in the last century, American playwright William Vaughn Moody dramatized the American theme of ‘East-West contrast’ in his play The Great Divide (1906). It revealed the distinct difference between a wild landscape in southern Arizona and a civilized town in Massachusetts, as well as the ‘divides’ at various levels, such as those among people, culture, customs, and social values inherent in the two regions. Starting as a nation of immigrants with diverse national and ethnic backgrounds, the United States had from birth an inexplicably heterogeneous identity that cannot be explained in simple terms. Accordingly, she has been exhibiting divides from the beginning in various fields and levels such as region, language, religion, economy, politics, culture, and related values. She has suffered and finally overcome the many conflicts that stem from these divides. The moments of history that have overcome each of the divides offer us a lesson, which is the virtue of ‘tolerance.’ The divides can be causes of disagreements and discord. But, on the other hand, they can be opportunities to lead to more productive agreements and consensus. In this respect, divide and tolerance are not entirely confrontational but can be complementary and cooperative. With the new millennium, the United States has been given a weightier responsibility and mission in an unprecedented and rapidly changing international order. At this point, the virtue of ‘tolerance’ is more in demand than ever, and this virtue is of greater value in redefining the relationship between the United States and the international community.
The 2019 ASAK conference will look into how the terms ‘divide’ and ‘tolerance’ have been redefined in the process of shaping the culture of the Unites States from various perspectives and dimensions: historical, cultural, social, political, and economical. In addition, we will situate the terms within the global and transnational context by tracing how they have been appropriated across the world in relation to America. Finally, and most importantly, this conference hopes to anticipate how the virtue of tolerance will be applied to redefining US domestic and international relations and what changes it will bring in the future.
Paper topics include, but are not limited to, the following areas:
Race, ethnicity, class, gender, and sexuality
Racism, xenophobia, and segregation
Immigration, citizenship, and globalization
Crossing borders vs. border walls
Imperialism, exceptionalism, expansionism, and regionalism
Urbanization, suburbanization, and gentrification
Nation and nationality
Multiculturalism, transculturalism, transnationalism, and cosmopolitanism
Memory, identity, and representation
Democracy and its discontents
Puritanism, Manifest Destiny, American Dream
Political correctness and social justice
Wars, disasters, and crimes
History and historiography
Religion and ethics
Activism and protests
Economy and neoliberalism
Media cultures of television, cinema, theater, and SNS
Fashion and cuisines
Civil rights movements and human rights movements
Nature and the environment
Proposals may be submitted for either individual papers or sessions. ? Individual paper proposals should include an abstract of no more than 250 words and a one-page abbreviated CV, along with a short bio. ? Session proposals should include a one-page proposal with a title and topics for a session of three to four presentation papers, along with individual abstracts and short bios. Delivered in either Korean or English, each presentation will be no longer than 20 minutes, followed by discussions and Q&A sessions. Graduate students are also welcome to submit proposals and to participate in the conference. All proposals should be sent to the Organizing Committee at 2019asak@gmail.com by April 15, 2019. Applicants will be notified of the acceptance of their proposals by April 30, 2019. For further inquiry, please contact the Organizing Committee.
Important Dates:
Deadline for submitting abstracts: April 15, 2019
Notification of acceptance of papers: April 30, 2019
Submission of papers for the conference proceedings: June 30, 2019
Registration Fees:
Standard: USD 50
Students: USD 30
Registration Fee includes:
2 lunches (September 20-21, 2019)
Reception and dinner banquet (September 20, 2019)
Two daily refreshment/coffee/snack breaks
Conference program and proceedings
Accommodation Information
Sotetsu Hotels The Splaisir Seoul ‘Dongdaemun’
Address: 226, Jangchungdan-ro, Jung-gu, 04565 Seoul, Korea
Location & Access: check the website
(https://seouldongdaemun.splaisir.com/location/)
Conference Rate: 121,000 KRW (breakfast & VAT; approx. 110 USD)
* Participants of the Conference will be offered standard king-size bed rooms. Please note that Organizing Committee will book the rooms for the Conference participants and the hotel will give you a discount. Please do not book the room directly at the Hotel - in this case you will lose the Discount. The participants are required to pay the room rate individually when checking out of the hotel.