The John Morton Center for North American Studies, established at the University of Turku in 2014, invites proposals for previously unpublished papers for its inaugural conference, “Bridging North America: Connections and Divides,” to be held on August 28-30, 2014. The conference seeks to bring together junior and senior scholars from inter/disciplinary backgrounds
from the social sciences and the humanities to explore various cultural, socioeconomic, geographic, and political connections and divides between the United States, Canada, and Mexico, and their global ramifications. The papers may deal with either historical perspectives or contemporary issues, and they may include both empirical and theoretical considerations. We particularly encourage submissions that engage in interdisciplinary and multi-methodological discussions on the study of North America.
Topics for paper presentations may include:
• bridges, borders, and boundaries
• the movement of people, goods, and services
• information flows, leaks, and security
• continental economies, policies, and politics
• transnational relationships
• identity formations, identity transformations, and identity politics
• cultural expressions, sporting practices, and visual representations
• interdisciplinary theories and practices
Please email abstracts of 250 words for 20-minute paper presentations, together with a max. 150-word bio, including name, institutional affiliation and position, phone number and email address, to Research Coordinator Johanna Leinonen, email johlei@utu.fi. Abstract Deadline: May 31, 2014. Participants will receive notifications of acceptance by June 15, 2014. Selected papers will be published in a peer-reviewed anthology, to be published in 2015. The book will follow the Chicago Manual of Style, 16th Ed.
Keynote Speakers
*Dr. Christine Bold* (Professor of English, University of Guelph, Canada),
“‘Aboriginally Yours’: Vaudeville Performers, Transnational Circuits, Research Challenges”
*Dr. Josiah Heyman* (Professor of Anthropology, Endowed Professor of Border Trade Issues, University of Texas at El Paso, USA), “Relationship through Inequality and Difference: The U.S.-Mexico Border Case”
For further information, please visit the conference website at http://www.utu.fi/en/units/jmc/bridging2014/Pages/home.aspx.
For general inquiries, please contact us at jmc@utu.fi.
