Foreword

At first glance, a foreword to the sixth issue of aspeers might seem superfluous. After all, the previous five forewords have elaborately explained the purpose of the venture as a pedagogical project of the MA track at American Studies Leipzig and as a unique voice both in American studies and in European graduate-level education. Moreover, the successful pursuit of this purpose has been demonstrated: In its first five years of existence, the journal published contributions from seven countries and received submissions from many more. It introduced the distinct voices of five established professors of American studies working in Europe. Featuring foci on topics as transnational as Migration and Mobility (Aho et al.); as socially and culturally relevant as Crime in America (Herrmann et al.); as canonical to the field as Nature and Technology, Revisited (Betker et al.); and as current as American Food Cultures (Bast et al.), the journal has continually presented the vast breadth and impressive scholarly quality of the work being done by students in American studies programs across Europe. This sixth issue with its topical focus on the manifold meanings of American Memories is but one more step: Once again, the journal received more submissions than ever before, it showcases the voice of another distinguished European professor of American studies, and it raises the number of countries from which contributions have appeared in aspeers to ten. Indeed, as we noted in this space last year, the project has moved from confronting its participants—student editors and instructors alike—with the challenges of beginning to making them face “the challenges of furthering” (Koenen and Bast iv). Sustaining and growing what previous editorial teams have achieved has become a core task.

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