ASA Annual Meeting in Baltimore

The American Studies Association (ASA) holds a conference every year, and this October, it was in Baltimore. Students can attend fairly cheaply and since I enjoyed going to the British Association for American Studies conference this spring, I registered.

A cool little street near our hotel

Our flight out was at 6am, so after spending the night in Denver, got up at 3:15am for the flight to Baltimore and arrived in time to attend the afternoon panels. I went to ten panels over the three days and heard some great papers, including one on commemoration and the politics of the past, where they discussed a ‘mobile museum’ of Latino culture in southwest Detroit, a virtual community of Japanese-Americans and a bike ride as part of a class project looking into the experiences of ethnic groups in the now largely-homogeneous community of San Luis Obispo. It was great to see and feel a part of the larger American Studies community and everyone I spoke to was so friendly and interested. The comments that followed the papers made it very clear that the conference was about helping one another out, contributing ideas and suggesting sources. It was funny, however, to see the ways in which many of the attendees were not so different from the undergraduates they teach back at their universities – checking their phones behind their notepads, showing signs of nerves before giving presentations, falling asleep during sessions.

ASA student members were provided with a free breakfast by the students’ committee, which is always welcome. However, I saw no other MA students there, because at most places, it’s very hard for them to get funding. The American Studies program at UW has funding available for conferences, so the five grad students who applied were all provided with funds that helped cover the cost of travel, accommodation and attendance.

Nick Selby and Sarah Garland from UEA were both at the conference so we met up and chatted about the various panels. Over burritos, Nick and I discussed how American Studies was different in the UK from the US and what I have learnt about the field since coming to Wyoming. It was particularly interesting to see topics play out at the conference that we had discussed in class about the state of American Studies– issues of where its focus lies (flyers for the ‘Early American Studies Caucus’ criticized the ASA’s “way-presentist” stance), whether we need a method, what American Studies is and so on.

Occupy Baltimore was just a few blocks from the conference and I passed it a couple of times. One of the signs at the entrance to the site (much smaller than many similar sites in other parts of the country) listed all the committees that had been established to keep the site running safely and effectively, including Medical, Translation, Sanitation, Legal and Media. A sign stated that no drugs or alcohol were allowed and one poster based on Fairey’s famous Obama ‘Hope’ sign, had the face of The Wire’s Clay Davis, above his ever-famous catchphrase – a particularly appropriate poster, given its location. On Friday evening, while at the ASA reception, I saw two guys eating canapés who looked a little out of place. We exchanged a knowing look and soon after, one banged on his glass to make an announcement: “We are from Occupy Baltimore, a few blocks away. We would love it if you would come join us. Thanks for the food!”, which was met with loud applause. As they walked away, one shouted “We love you academics!” Just a couple of hours earlier, the President-elect of the ASA had announced “We are the 99%” so the men certainly had a sympathetic audience. Nick told an interesting story which illustrates well the individualistic attitudes of so many Americans (coupled with the absence of a fully thought-through argument). He saw a guy and his girlfriend passing the Occupy site and heard the guy angrily ask “Why don’t they just get jobs?” His girlfriend suggested that it may be harder for them to get jobs because of their backgrounds or other factors and his response was simply that they should work harder. It’s these kinds of attitudes that make fighting inequality that much harder.

Attending the conference got me thinking more about how I might like to (try to) use my Master’s once I’m done – about its possible practical applications, or how work in the public sector might complement research. I’m not sure yet exactly where I want to go with it, but it’s always good to start thinking. 

The Occupy Baltimore guys who came to the reception