Visual Culture/Art History Caucus of the American Studies Association,
Call for Sessions for the Annual Meeting in Albuquerque, New Mexico,
October 16-19, 2008

Deadline: January 14, 2008

The Visual Culture/Art History Caucus (VC/AH) of the American Studies
Association (ASA) is currently seeking complete session proposals for
the ASA's 2008 annual meeting, which will be held October 16-19 in
Albuquerque, New Mexico. Sessions should explore historical,
theoretical, and/or methodological issues in American visual culture.
They should also address the 2008 meeting theme, "Back Down to the
Crossroads: Integrative American Studies in Theory and Practice." The
ASA is particularly interested in work that promotes "integrative"
American studies by advancing "multicultural, transnational, public
and civic scholarship" or by exploring the relations, tensions, and
pathways among these and other critical concepts in the field (see
http://www.theasa.net/annual_meeting/). The meeting theme and location
present an important opportunity to examine the visual dimensions of
cultural interaction within the American West and Southwest and across
national borders; exchanges between different forms of visual culture,
such as the official and the vernacular; the relationship between the
fields of art history and visual culture studies; and many other rich
topics.

Please submit session proposals by January 14, 2008 to Tanya Sheehan,
Chair of the VC/AH Program Committee, at
94tsheehanbluelink.andover.edu. The VC/AH Caucus encourages proposals
for traditional sessions with scholarly papers as well as sessions
that use alternative formats such as open dialogues, workshops and
site visits. All proposals should follow the ASA's submission
guidelines for session descriptions, paper abstracts, and CVs, which
are described on the ASA website. Submissions will be reviewed by a
panel of VC/AH Caucus members; notification of VC/AH sponsorship will
be made before January 25, but we cannot guarantee that a
Caucus-sponsored session will be approved by the ASA National Program
Committee. Although the VC/AH Caucus does not consider individual
papers for sponsorship, it can offer support to individuals who are
looking to make connections with other members of the VC/AH community.
If you have a paper proposal for the ASA's annual meeting and want
help forming a session, please contact Tanya Sheehan as soon as
possible.

The VC/AH Caucus provides a home within the ASA for scholars working
in the fields of American visual culture and art history. Its members
include teachers, museum curators, librarians, and others who research
a variety of visual forms and media, such as painting, photography,
sculpture, film, television, advertisements, cartoons, visual
ethnographies, and the Internet. The VC/AH Caucus works closely with
the national organizing committees and councils of the ASA; organizes
and sponsors sessions, conducts business, and co-hosts a reception at
the ASA's annual meeting; and supports a community blog on the ASA
website that functions as a clearinghouse and bulletin board for
members. Membership in the VC/AH Caucus is free and steadily
expanding. If you study American visual culture, we urge you to add
your name to our membership list at
http://www.theasa.net/caucus_visual/. For further information about
Caucus events and activities please contact the Chair of the VC/AH
Caucus, Elizabeth Hutchinson, at ehutchinbarnard.edu.