British Association for American Studies (BAAS) Conference 2026

The College of Arts & Humanities and Andrew Hook Centre for American Studies at the University of Glasgow are delighted to invite submissions for the 71st annual British Association for American Studies conference at the University of Glasgow, to be held from Thurs 9th to Sat 11th April 2026. We look forward to welcoming the international American Studies community to our beautiful West End campus.

This will be the first BAAS conference in Glasgow since 1999, and the first in Scotland since 2008. The conference coincides with the 250-year anniversary of 1776 and thus offers opportunities for new scholarly appraisal; 2026 also marks the University of Glasgow’s 575th Anniversary. We are delighted to announce Professor Mia Bay (Cambridge), Professor Sinéad Moynihan (Exeter), and Professor Simon Newman (Institute for Research in the Humanities) as, respectively, the 2026 Journal of American Studies, Eccles Centre and Andrew Hook Centre keynote speakers.

The University has long been a hub for the study, understanding and teaching of American, Transatlantic, Canadian, and Caribbean Studies. The College of Arts & Humanities at Glasgow is strongly committed to interdisciplinary studies and we work in long-term partnership with the cultural sector (both locally, for example, we are home to the Hunterian Museum and Art Gallery – and thus important Whistler and Charles Rennie Mackintosh collections) and internationally. We are renowned for our pioneering research on Glasgow's – and Scotland’s – Atlantic history, particularly in relation to slavery, and we are home to the Beniba Centre for Slavery Studies. We also host the Scottish Council on Global Affairs with its expertise in diplomacy, politics and intelligence studies, and the Scottish Graduate School for the Arts & Humanities, currently the only national DTP and a hub for PhD students from 17 institutions across Scotland. The Andrew Hook Centre is Scotland’s only centre for American Studies, and sponsors an extensive lecture and seminar series, which is open to academics, students and the general public.

The conference programme will draw on all of the above interests and will take the broader context of Scottish-American history, culture and exchange as a key theme. However, we will be open to proposals for panels and papers on any current or emerging area of American Studies, as broadly conceived. We hope to attract a range of papers across eras, geographies, and disciplines. We are delighted also to invite proposals taking a comparative approach, such as panels or papers on Canada and the Americas. Beyond research, we are interested in receiving session proposals that address American Studies pedagogy, impact and knowledge exchange, and the shape and future of the discipline. Along these lines, we welcome panels that include activists, teachers, artists, and other community practitioners alongside, and in dialogue with, academic colleagues.

The conference will take place on the University’s Gilmorehill campus; the opening evening will be marked by a Civic Reception at Glasgow’s City Chambers. Overnight accommodation is plentiful in Glasgow. The Glasgow visitor bureau provides useful links. Glasgow is easily accessible by rail or coach with direct services from across the UK. Public transport within the city (by subway - the famous Clockwork Orange - or by bus) is straightforward. For more information on travel and accommodation, conference rates (including subsidised rates for Postgraduate Research Students and Early Career Academics), details of keynote speakers, networking opportunities, and social events, please visit our website and booking page, which will be updated regularly.

Please note that by registering for the conference, you are agreeing to abide by BAAS’s Code of Conduct. This can be found here: https://baas.ac.uk/about/baas-code-of-conduct/

Please also note that due to fixed costs and arrangements with suppliers, ticket refunds for those attending are not normally available.

We encourage individual paper proposals, fully formed panel proposals or roundtable discussions. All sessions at the conference will be a maximum of 1 hour 30 minutes.

We welcome creative and experimental session formats that reconfigure the traditional three-paper panel and encourage audience interaction, including (but not limited to): flash papers, keyword/image sessions, work-in-progress discussion of pre-circulated papers, reading groups, and workshops. Please contact the conference organisers ([email protected] ) informally to discuss your ideas or if you anticipate a session duration in excess of 1h 30m.

BAAS is dedicated to fostering a culture of diversity and inclusion. We will give preference to panels that reflect the diversity of our field in terms of gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and institutional affiliation. We will also give preference to panels that include a mix of participants from across the career spectrum (i.e., from postgraduate to professor). All-male panel proposals will not be accepted.

All proposals should be sent to [email protected], with a copy to [email protected] by Friday November 28th 2025.

Panel proposals should be submitted by the panel chair and should include a proposed title, a 250-word abstract for each constituent paper, and an abstract of no more than 250 words describing the panel session as a whole. Proposals should also include a 200-word biography (including institutional affiliation, where appropriate, and preferred pronouns, if desired) and an email address for each participant.

Roundtable proposals should be submitted by the roundtable chair and should be no longer than 500 words total (including, where appropriate, short summaries of each participant’s contribution, an overall rationale for the session, and a session title). In addition, proposals should include a 150-word biography (including institutional affiliation, where appropriate, and preferred pronouns, if desired) and an email address for each participant.

Individual paper proposals for c. 20-minute presentations should consist of an abstract of no more than 250 words, along with a 150-word biography (including institutional affiliation, where appropriate, and preferred pronouns, if desired) and an email address.

If you or any of your panellists are interested in applying for a bursary for childcare or accessibility purposes, please see details and form here.

As in previous years, we are pleased to invite applications for two successive annual Targeted Research Panels. Targeted Research Panels aim to support, promote, and feature the production of research by people of colour, LGBTQ+ communities and disability communities. BAAS will provide funding of £5000 over three years, to facilitate research culminating in panels/presentations at Glasgow 2026 and the 2027 BAAS conference.

The deadline for Targeted Research Panel applications is TWO WEEKS PRIOR TO THE GENERAL CfP deadline i.e. by 14TH November 2025. The convenor will submit a proposal for a fully formed panel as outlined in the 2026 BAAS Annual Conference Call for Papers in addition to a short statement of no more than 500 words explaining how the proposed panel addresses the production of research by people of colour, LGBTQ+ communities, disability communities and scholars without regularised institutional support. The panel convenor might, for example, use funds to subsidise the travel and accommodation of the panellists. Whilst proposals from international scholars are welcome, because BAAS seeks to foster research networks and support scholars in the UK, we would ask that at least 50% of panellists are UK-based.

Email submissions should include ‘Targeted Research Panels’ in the subject line, and be sent to [email protected], copying in [email protected]. Convenors should also specify whether they want their panel proposal to be considered for the 2026 Annual Conference if it is not selected as a Targeted Research Panel.

To discuss ideas informally, please contact the conference organisers and/or the BAAS TRP lead Dr Riziki Millanzi ([email protected]).

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