July 4, 2026, will mark the 250th birthday of the United States of America. Without a doubt, this
event was a dening moment in modern world history, whose implications can still be strongly felt
in the 21st century. After a successful War of Independence (1775–1783) and a lasting Constitution
(1787), the United States began its early stirrings of a potential regional power in the Western
Hemisphere. With wars, diplomacy, and sometimes luck, America managed to successfully spread
westward and take a large swath of the North American continent. By 1853 the continental form of
the United States became nal that has been the home of the contiguous 48 member states, while
about a hundred years later two outlying territories became also member states: Alaska and
Hawaii, in 1958 and 1959, respectively.

From the very beginning, the Founding Fathers dreamed of their country becoming a rich
commercial empire, which they managed to achieve in the following century and beyond. Thanks
to the Spanish-American War (1898), the United States became a colonial empire and an important
factor in international diplomacy, which trend gained further momentum with World War I. By the
end of World War II, the United States was in the position of a superpower and relying on this status
fought a Cold War against the Soviet Union and its allies. After a brief historic moment of seeming
omnipotence, the 9/11 terror attack in 2001 brought on serious changes in American domestic and
foreign policy, and together with the so-called rise of China, at the age of 250 years the United
States nds itself in a world that is full of challenges and dangerous traps regarding diplomatic,
economic, and military strategy and conduct.

Although the gradual rise of the United States can be seen as a constant, and its Constitution has
proved to provide a wide framework for a democratic development, America and Americans have
always been on the forefront of change. Economy, population, organization, societal changes all
point to the steady transformation of the United States, while its original WASP culture has also
given way to changes in many aspects throughout the centuries.

What is remarkable about the story and history of the United States is that, in parallel with the
abovementioned aspects, America has become in the 20th century a magnet of such cultural
supremacy that the world has probably never seen. Allies or foes, the overwhelming majority of
the world’s countries and peoples follow the American culture to a large degree, often trying to
mimic it, sometimes subconsciously following the various trends coming from North America
whether it pertains to movies, music, food, or clothing.

Continuity and change have been manifest in other areas as well. The European traditions that the
colonists had brought with themselves have always been in contrast with the need and desire to
nd new ways of production and being. In addition, the idea of enlightenment of the 18th century
was in tension with the institution of slavery, the wish to stay away from European trends and
policies and the necessity to intervene in the two world wars, or the rural conservativism and
continuity versus big city liberalism and dynamic change. The United States all throughout its
history has produced two sides of a coin.

With the above in mind, the Hungarian Association for American Studies, or HAAS, 2026
conference invites contributions that address the various aspects of continuum and change in the
250-year-old history of the United States. The presentations should explore the angles of history,
literature, linguistics, politics, and culture widely dened that tell about the United States and have
meaningful dialogue with the past, present, and future. The past quarter millennium provides
ample opportunity to engage with the American historical landscape, the many crises and
triumphs that the nation has gone through and has achieved. Therefore, established scholars as
well as PhD students from various elds are welcome to contribute to the conference’s theme and
oer their insights to any aspect of American culture past and present.

Keynote speakers:
Richard Gamble, Professor of History, Anna Margaret Ross Alexander Chair in History and Politics,
Hillsdale College, Michigan, United States.
“The Declaration of Independence as History and Ideology: A Cold War Debate”

Eric Peter Sandberg, Associate Professor, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
“Pynchon’s Americas”

Potential paper and panel submissions can address but are not limited to:
• narratives of historic episodes of crisis and change
• changing concepts of continuity and change in US intellectual history
• new forms of knowledge production recycling old forms: institutional, technological, and
nancial contexts
• continuity and change in culture wars
• the theory, practice, and institutional networks of American Studies: old, new, and comparative
• concepts of Americanness: from exceptional to transnational, interAmerican, and postnational
America
• developments, regressions, and revisions in US literature
• continuity and change in notions of the “American” literary canon
• continuity and change in education, profession, and research: reform and hybrid forms of
teaching American Studies, available degrees and research grants
• sites of continuity and change: borders and border crossings
• changing cultural geographies of the US
• changing notions of the Other in relation to power structures in the US
• the various steps of the rise and nature of the American empire
• migration to the United States past and present
• American business organization and management
• the diplomatic presence of the United States in world aairs in the 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries
• linguistic changes and constants in English in North America
• trends in education and methodologies
• clear and present danger: climate change and natural disasters
• public health, biotechnology and biopolitics
• the meaning and interpretation of the US Constitution
• American economic supremacy and its benecial and / or baneful eects
• anti-Americanism in the world
• literary development in the United States
• multiculturalism in American arts and literature
• rural and urban spaces in American literature
• the exotic and the quaint in American arts and literature
• highbrow and popular forms of literature
• America in the media
• haunting memories of the American past
• artistic and literary representations of ecological catastrophes
• inter-American relations
• the Real and the Virtual

Please submit your abstracts for 20-minute presentations and proposals for panels and a short
bio-note (about 100 words) at https://uni-eszterhazy.hu/haas15 between November 15, 2025,
and January 31, 2026. No late submissions will be accepted.

Abstracts should be around 200 words in English and should include name, email address,
aliation, and the title of the paper. Also, each submitter is kindly required to submit a short bio of
themselves (maximum 100 words).
Submitters will receive notication of acceptance by February 15, 2026.

The conference will be arranged as an onsite conference at Building A (Líceum) of Eszterházy
Károly Catholic University (3300, Eger, Eszterházy tér 1.)
Conference e-mail: haaseger15@gmail.com
Conference website: https://uni-eszterhazy.hu/haas15

CONFERENCE FEES

HAAS members                 PhD Students                Non-HAAS members

Early bird registration fee (until March 31)            HUF 18,000                     HUF 15,000                   HUF 23,000

Regular registration fee (between April 1 and 30) HUF 23,000                    HUF 18,000                   HUF 28,000

Registration and Payment
For further details, please visit the conference website.