PGF 2023 - Spaces of Affect in the Americas

Conference Theme and Format

Since the 1990s, various fields, such as behavioral economics, psychology, neuroscience, sociology, philosophy, literary studies, and history, have increasingly engaged in the critical study of affects and emotions. The intensified engagement with emotions has been identified as an “affective turn”: Scholars register and interrogate the role of emotions as incentive or disincentive for human action, as sources of individual and social empowerment/emancipation, but also as a powerful political tool. Wider public discourses in North America are also marked by an attention to emotions. In 2016, Donald Trump’s election made pundits question whether facts win voters over more effectively than affective truths. In 2020, Covid-19 brought a sudden focus on public health, but also on individual emotional well-being and the consequences of pandemic life in lockdown, self-isolation, or the throes of medical care. Social movements like #MeToo and Black Lives Matter refer explicitly to the affective charges energizing the activists (anger, frustration, repulsion). In light of these pressing discourses, the 2023 PGF-conference seeks to discuss how the scholarly focus on emotions clarifies individual and communal identity, experience and action, social and political movements, historic crises, change, and continuity.

We welcome submissions on intersections with affect across media, eras, and disciplines. Topics may include (but are not limited to):

• Emotions in literature, arts, film, video games, and other media
• Emotions and materiality (bodies, spaces, objects…)
• The spatial dimension of affect and emotions
• Trauma
• Affective encounters with the environment; climate/ecological emotions
• Politics and affect
• Emotions in English Language Teaching
• Challenges and limits of Affect Theory
• Queerness and affect
• Affective labor
• Memory and the affectivity of the past

Alongside submissions dedicated to spaces of affect in the Americas, we also invite and encourage contributions from the broader field of American studies, including, among other disciplines, literary studies, cultural studies, history, political science, TEFL, sociology, and economics. Participants are welcome to present their work in progress, give an overview of their project, present essays, discuss case studies with the group, or focus on methodological or theoretical questions. We especially encourage young researchers who have little or no conference experience to participate and present their current research.

Application

We invite early career researchers of all disciplines of American studies to submit an abstract of 250-300 words for a 15-minutes presentation and a short biography of around 150 words, to be send in a single PDF file. Please send all proposals to pgf@dgfa.de by October 6, 2023.

Selected contributions will be published in a special issue of the peer-reviewed online journal Current Objectives of Postgraduate American Studies (COPAS).

Accessibility

As organizers of the 2023 PGF, we aim to ensure all events and contents accessible to all. Feel free to communicate with us about your accommodation needs when sending in your proposals, or whenever it arises. Please do not hesitate to reach out to us if you have any concerns.

Please check back regularly as the website will be updated progressively as we move closer to the conference date.

We are looking forward to seeing you in Hannover in November!

The Hannover PGF conference team 2023:

Alejandra Bulla, Stefan Dierkes, Katerina Steffan, Lujain Youssef

Conference:

Königsworther Platz 1, 30671 Hannover
"Niedersachsensaal", Building 1501.

How to arrive:

By subway (approx. 10 minutes): From Hannover main train station you have to take any subway to Kröpcke station (lines 1 (Sarstedt), 2 (Peiner Str.), 8 (Messe Nord)) where you have to change the tram; both line 4 (Garbsen) or 5 (Stöcken) will take you to Königsworther Platz.

By foot (approx. 20 minutes): Exit Hannover main station towards Ernst-August-Platz, turn right into Kurt Schumacher Str., then turn left into Goseriede. After about 50m turn right into Lange Laube which will directly lead you to Königsworther Platz.

The program can be downloaded as a PDF here.

Abstracts and bios of all speakers can be downloaded here.