In Hamlet’s soliloquy, the phrase “undiscovered country” refers to “death, The undiscovered country, from whose bourn / No traveler returns.” In this light, the phrase speaks to the urgency of global climate change as the earth passes benchmarks on the way to “irreversible” transformation, making significant parts of the globe uninhabitable by humans and other species. The recognition of this reality has spurred greater action at local, national and international levels to slow down or halt the process, generating new visions of the world economy. It is also particularly resonant in a moment when decolonial frameworks have become more prominent, facilitating conversations about how the residue of the past affects our present and future. “Undiscovered Country” is a utopian concept resonant with creators of speculative fictions and alternate histories who evoke places beyond our reckoning. The phrase can be read either as an invitation to colonial “exploration” or as a space where colonialism never happened.
For the 2023 conference of the Southeastern American Studies Association, to be held Sept 28-30 in Atlanta, Georgia, we call for papers addressing any aspect of the theme, “undiscovered country”: colonial, decolonial, catastrophic, utopian, and/or speculative. We also encourage papers and panels grounded in the study of place, space, and environment, including both natural and built environments. Finally, interdisciplinary/multidisciplinary explorations of climate change and climate activism are also welcomed. The deadline for proposals is March 31, 2023
We welcome papers on the following themes:
Environmental Justice
Sacrifice Zones
Climate Change
Built Environment
Gentrification
Resource Extraction
Colonial Dispossession
Criminal Justice and Abolition
Decolonial Frameworks for Politics and Scholarship
Speculative Fiction that Reimagines Physical and/or Social Space
Intentional Communities
Remapping Projects
“Forty acres and a mule” and Reparations
Black Migration(s) and Diasporas
Natural Disasters (Hurricane Katrina, etc.)
Public History
Memory and Place
Spatial Hierarchy
Sonic landscapes
Community Activism
The Green New Deal and other Climate-Related Proposals
Guidelines for Submissions:
Please follow the link to southeasternasa.org/atlanta2023 to submit your proposals by March 31, 2023
For individual papers, you will be prompted to submit an abstract for your proposed paper (500 words) and a brief bio (max 300 words).
For complete panel or roundtable proposals, you will be prompted to submit a title and description of the proposed panel or roundtable (300 words); a brief abstract for each presentation within the session (300 words per abstract); and a brief bio for each presenter (250 words per bio).
Have any questions? Contact us at conference@southeasternasa.org or contact Rebecca Hill at rhill54@kennesaw.edu
Rebecca Hill, SASA president, professor of American Studies, Kennesaw State University, rhill54@kennesaw.edu