CfP: Austrian Studies Association Annual Conference 2025
March 27-30, 2025
Gettysburg College, Gettysburg, PA
Call for Proposals
In 2025, the annual conference of the Austrian Studies Association take place from March 27-30 at Gettysburg College in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The organizers invite paper proposals that examine the literature, history, or culture of Austria, Austria-Hungary, or former Habsburg territories.
While proposals devoted to any of the above topics are welcome, the organizers have also selected the theme of “dedication” (Deutsch: weihen/sich weihen) as a way of linking the (American) historical significance of our conference location to the field of Austrian Studies. Specifically, Abraham Lincoln’s 1863 Gettysburg Address hinges on the double meaning of “dedication.” The speech was given to dedicate the National Cemetery in the months following the Battle of Gettysburg, and yet, as Lincoln writes, this act of dedication seems unrealistic:
“But, in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate — we cannot consecrate — we cannot hallow — this ground. […] It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us…”
It is impossible, Lincoln argues, to dedicate a place with words when others have already dedicated it through actions. Rather, we must dedicate ourselves to completing the unfinished work of preserving American nationhood. The power of Lincoln’s speech resides in its ability to inhabit the tension between dedication as an act of inscribing, defining, or sanctifying a space and dedication as an individual commitment to a specific set of practices, tasks, or purposes.
Whether via on-going debates over Denkmalschutz or the particular nostalgia that characterizes reactions to the Wiener Moderne (consider, for instance, Stefan Zweig’s Die Welt von Gestern), the concept of “dedication” in the context of Austrian Studies informs both cultural attitudes towards the past and future-oriented work of change through action. Through the duality of this concept, we hope to inspire contributions from diverse disciplinary, theoretical, and (literary-)historical perspectives. Forms of inquiry may include dedication as a tactic for securing cultural memory or shaping historical narrative, an author/artist’s dedication to a medium, genre, aesthetic mode, political cause, etc., adaptation as a form of dedication to the original work, to provide only a few examples.
Please submit your abstract of 250-300 words along with a brief bio (150 words max.) to ASAGettysburg25@gmail.com by November 1, 2024. Acceptances will be communicated in mid-December 2024. Proposals in either English or German are welcome. Panel proposals are also encouraged (no more than 2 participants from the same institution). All conference participants must be current dues-paying members of the ASA at the time of the conference. Please contact conference organizer Tres Lambert (rlambert@gettysburg.edu) with any questions related to submissions or proposals.
At this year’s conference, we will also offer an open-topic poster session specifically for undergraduate students. Please encourage outstanding undergraduates to submit an abstract (150-200 words) on any topic related to Austrian literature, culture, history, and film to participate in the poster session.
Gettysburg College is a liberal arts college located in south-central Pennsylvania. It is located within 90 minutes of Baltimore and Washington, DC, and is served by four major airports: Dulles (IAD), Washington National (DCA), Baltimore (BWI), and Harrisburg (MDT). College transportation options will be available to help attendees reach Gettysburg from these destinations.