Call for Papers

CFP as PDF

CFP as Word Document

Approaching Native American Cultures from an Inter-American Perspective: Similarities and Differences

The 2011 workshop plans to examine Native American Cultures from an Inter-American vantage point, both from a contemporary as well as a historical perspective. Within the wider field of American Studies, Inter-American Studies is taking on the role of transcending national boundaries – both in Europe and the Americas – in order to establish new structures of research and teaching with the potential to revolutionize not only how we think about the Americas (including their relationships with Europe and Africa and their pre-Columbian worlds) but about the various disciplines involved, as the scholar Earl Fitz has pointed out (1). This redefinition of research areas – away from national connotations towards regional (hemispheric) denotations, should also lead to a discussion in the field of Native American Studies in terms of interconnectedness within the Western Hemisphere. By looking at similarities and differences of Native American Cultures both in North and South America, scholars can re-conceptualize the Americas through comparative research transcending linguistic, political, and geographical borders that divide the Americas, and thus also position Native American Cultures within a new field of research.

By an emphasis of an Inter-American perspective, this workshop wants to explore a new approach to Native American cultures, and thus offer the possibility of defining Native American cultures by an interregional and interdisciplinary approach in the context of two continents – often seen as one.

Contributions are invited which will address the following general themes:

1. Native American History from an Inter-American Perspective

2. Borders and Boundaries of the Continent/Continents

3. Inter-American Studies as an Approach to Native American Topics

4. Current Research

Please submit proposals for presentation, including a title, an abstract of up to 200 words, and a short bio, to Heidrun Moertl (heidrun.moertl@uni-graz.at).

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(1) Cf. Earl E. Fitz. Rediscovering the Americas: Inter-American Literature in a Comparative Context. Iowa City: University of Iowa Press, 1991.