Call for Papers

The twelfth HCA Spring Academy on American History, Culture, and Politics will be held from March 23-27, 2015. 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.

The HCA Spring Academy will also offer participants the chance to work closely with experts in their respective fields of study. For this purpose, visiting scholars will hold workshops on topics related to their expertise.

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 of America. Possible topics include American identity, 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.

Participants are requested to prepare a 20-minute presentation of their research project, which will be followed by a 40-minute discussion. Proposals should include a preliminary title and run to no more than 300 words. These will be arranged into ten panel groups.

In addition to cross-disciplinary 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 the Herbert A. Jung Travel Fund, the Spring Academy is able to subsidize 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.


START OF APPLICATION PROCESS: AUGUST 15, 2014

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS: November 15, 2014

SELECTIONS WILL BE MADE BY: January 15, 2015

PLEASE USE OUR ONLINE APPLICATION SYSTEM: http://www.hca.uni-heidelberg.de/spring/applicationspring_en.html

FOR FURTHER QUESTIONS: springacademy@hca.uni-heidelberg.de