AMERICAN STUDIES IN EUROPE N Neewwssllleetttttteerr IIIssssuuee NNoo...5522 MMaayy 22000044 IIISSSSNN 11335599---44992233 In This Issue 1 Address of the President- Elect Words of Thanks and Farewell of the Outgoing EAAS President 4 EAAS Board Members Reports on Prague Conference Workshops and Shoptalks 15 Constituent Associations of EAAS Dear Colleagues, Dear Colleagues and Friends, 20 Call for Papers A most enjoyable, impeccably Four more years have been added to organized and fruitful conference, for 22 Upcoming Conferences the history of the European Association which the organizers should be heartily Recipients of EAAS/Fulbright for American Studies since the Board thanked, our Prague reunion was also elected me, during its Graz meeting, to Travel Grants 2004 for me a moment of …well, moment…, be successor to Heinz Ickstadt and the as the Board members of EAAS there equally lustrous line of his predecessors. 23 EAAS Travel Grantee Reports and then saw fit to elect me as President It was an undeserved personal honor to succeed Josef Jarab. and, of course, a mere historical 26 American Studies Network As I thank them for their friendly coincidence, that by the end of my term American Studies Network trust, my first thoughts go to my the EAAS reached the 15th anniversary Members prestigious predecessors: Harry Allen, of its establishment, half a century of its without whom EAAS could not have existence. The Salzburg Seminar in 27 Recent Publications by Members found its new configuration, Maurice American Studies, which was the place Gonnaud (under whose luminous of its birth in the spring of 1954, will guidance I was lucky enough to commemorate the fact at a special event in organize the 1982 Paris Conference), early September 2004, as it rightfully WEBSITE: Sergio Perosa, Hans Bungert, Rob Kroes, should; but at our biennial conference in http://www.eaas.info Heinz Ickstadt -accomplices, all, in Prague in April this year we already had many a European Community research a chance to ponder over the decades of project-, Josef Jarab himself, whose WEBMASTER: efforts that hundreds and, indeed, thousands WEBMASTER: courage and dedication remain for me of scholars have performed in their Hans-Jürgen Grabbe, Institut für an example. Not only because of the Anglistik und Amerikanistik, Martin- studies of American history, culture and Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg, considerable tasks they assumed, but social and political reality. [email protected] also because I was fortunate enough to More importantly still, the work with them in some capacity or anniversary, and the current state of the EDITOR: other since the inception of the « new » field of research, the present state of affairs in the United States and in the Gülriz Büken EAAS at the Heidelberg Conference. Department of History, BilkentUniversity, Not only because of their human and world has faced us, European e-mail: [email protected] intellectual qualities, but because they Americanists, with new challenges as how to responsibly carry out our scholarly in turn represented the European impetus that brought so many of us to mission, how to usefully reflect on 1 together when the European Community was in a rather early stage of its “America in the course of human development. Not that we are anywhere near the goal yet, but we’ve come a events “ - for the benefit of our long way. Some things change: the EAAS that turned 50 in Prague is no longer knowledge and informed thought and the pre-Heidelberg EAAS, having mutated from a small group of colleagues into conduct. The deliberations at the Prague a thousands-strong federation of 20 national or regional associations. Some conference left me, for one, with a things change less: back in the 70s, Chris Bigsby and I presented to the Board of feeling, indeed a conviction, that the EAAS a report on the necessity to translate and make available European Transatlantic intellectual exchange and scholarship in American Studies written in European languages other than cooperation should not be allowed to English; the problem, to this day, has not been fully solved, even though the lose anything of the potential, and « European Contributions to American Studies » edited by R. Kroes in simultaneously I came to the conclusion Amsterdam, and the European issues of national journals have gone some way that there is a great need to listen to each towards that goal: in Prague, ASA President-elect Shelley Fisher Fishkin other within Europe. To be more remarked that the work done in Europe over the last decades should receive specific, I think of the urgent need to larger recognition in the United States than linguistic and publishing difficulties listen to each other more also within our have so far afforded it. European Association for American The European Association for American Studies has long been a source of Studies. To compare respectfully various energy and enthusiasm to me, among other reasons because it largely precedes views and ideas shaped by different political evolutions: several countries that are not part of the European Union historical experience in different parts contribute to the work of EAAS. I write these lines on the eve of May 1st 2004; of our continent can only enrich us and ten « new » countries will have joined the EU by the time you read this. can, hopefully, contribute to our wisdom Attendant challenges are quite obvious. They should motivate rather than daunt and mutual understanding. It should be us. The geographic area covered by our Association is distinct from that of our ambition to give space to fruitful political structures. So are our concerns and duties. Perhaps less than in the diversity of scholarly opinions even political sphere, the Western European mental and intellectual map of Europe, within unifying Europe. as C. Milosz once explained, is still covered with « white sectors », with what The four years as President of the 16th-century Portuguese explorers beautifully called « sleeping beauties ». EAAS provided me with many Western European Americanists still know too little about the activities exciting moments – a few quite and preoccupations of their Eastern and Central European colleagues. For all challenging, some naturally that, are we even sure Western European countries on the one hand and Central gratifying. It gave me the pleasure and Eastern European countries on the other have such a clear grasp of the and privilege to cooperate with many preoccupations of their immediate neighbors? One of Europe’s duties is to make colleagues, the officers and members of Europeans feel European again, and anew. And it will come as no revelation to the Board, organizers of our any member of EAAS that one of the perks of being a European Americanist is meetings. The highlights and that it is a substantial introduction to the meaning of Europe itself, a meaning culminations of our collaboration that transcends the mere addition of national identities. Having voiced the sense were, undoubtedly, the two biennial of pride and responsibility I feel at my new duties, I would like to seize the conferences -- the one in Bordeaux in opportunity of this first address to the odd 4700 members of EAAS to underline 2002 and the other in Prague two two or three preoccupations. years later. It was both drudgery and First, there is no such thing as a living association, of any kind, without fun to prepare the venues and the the contributions of its members. This truism is one I dare formulate only in the working conditions, to seek resources light of what consumer-oriented remarks once in a while manifest themselves. needed for the events, and it was EAAS can only be something towards which one turns if it is first something to good to see hundreds of colleagues which everybody contributes. It follows that EAAS can only be what its come together and share the harvest members wish it to be if the latter help define it by their remarks and proposals, of their scholarship, even to hear can only do what its members want it to do if needs and aspirations are words of appreciation. I believe it is expressed. And contributions proposed. To twist a famous phrase, « Do not ask those gatherings that make EAAS a what EAAS can do for you… » etc. Second, and therefore, I suggest special family of friends, and it is the communication channels between the EAAS Board and national associations role of the conferences to keep should be made the most of, utilized more extensively and intensively to allow communication in the community of the Board to be in closer and more regular touch with the only legitimate base it scholars alive between the meetings. has : its member national associations. Third, I believe the nature of EAAS I would like to extend my gratitude to compels it to try and formulate the specificity of European Americanist all those who have contributed in endeavors. We must learn about and discuss the variety of national intellectual what-ever way to the life of our and academic experiences vis-à-vis the United States, on the one hand, try and association – all those who took care formulate, on the other, the potential, real, feared, wished for, problematic of successful communication (and my specificities of European research in the field of « American Studies », debate apologies to those members who had the relative validity of competing intellectual paradigms for teachers, academics to experience occasional failures) and researchers working in our particular situation and environment. To that those who put us on the web, those end, I see no reason why European Americanists should not seize every who organized various activities that opportunity to provoke bi/multilateral local meetings alongside general the EAAS is pursuing (publications European gatherings.