Austrian Studies Association Conference 2025
MARCH 27-30, 2025
Gettysburg College, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania (Baltimore-DC Metro Area)
Conference Registration
Please register for the conference using the following link: https://commerce.cashnet.com/AustrianStudiesConf
Getting to Gettysburg
Gettysburg College is located in south-central Pennsylvania and is accessible via four major transportation centers: Harrisburg International Airport, Baltimore-Washington Thurgood Marshall International Airport, Washington Dulles International Airport and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. Gettysburg College operates a shuttle service to Harrisburg, BWI, and Washington Dulles, as well as to the Harrisburg and BWI Amtrak stations. The College also operates a shuttle service to the Shady Grove Metro Station, which can be used to access Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
More information regarding the shuttle and available times can be found here. Shuttles can also be chartered, though this is somewhat more expensive. The charter option also allows direct travel to and from Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. For travelers arriving via flight or train, the Gettysburg-operated shuttles will almost certainly be the most economical way to reach campus.
Reservations for both regular and chartered shuttle travel can be made here. Please note that reservations must be made for either shuttle option. Select the appropriate option under “Alumni and Guest Travel” and be prepared to provide information regarding your flight or train travel plans. Reservations must be made at least 72 business hours in advance. We encourage participants to reach out to Transportation Service as soon as possible to book transportation to and from campus.
Accommodations
The Conference has reserved a block of rooms at the Hotel Gettysburg for conference guests. The hotel is located in the heart of town and is approximately a five-minute walk from campus. More information about the hotel is available on their website. Rooms will be available at a nightly rate of $159, plus state and local taxes, and can be booked via the link included in your acceptance email or by calling the hotel. Reservations must be made before February 28, 2025.
There are several other options for hotels within walking distance of campus, including several historic Bed and Breakfasts. Please be aware, however, that Airbnb availability in Gettysburg is typically very limited.
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.