American (Anti-)Heroes

aspeers is the first and currently only peer-reviewed print journal for MA-level American studies scholars in Europe. It is a platform for the best work done by American studies graduate students below the PhD level. It aims to foster academic exchange among young Americanists across Europe and to advance the field thereby as well as its genuine European perspective on ‘America’ and its presences and effects around the world.

aspeers features a general section in addition to a topical one that brings academic works into a dialogue on one common theme. For the upcoming issue, this topical section will be organized around different notions of "American (Anti-)Heroes." Please feel free to send in work to have it considered for publication in aspeers if

  • you are a student of American studies (or related fields) at a European university and are looking to publish a paper without a topical restriction.
  • or you are a student of American studies (or related fields) at a European university and are looking to publish a paper on "American (Anti-)Heroes."

Please see the following Calls for Papers for details. Please also note our style guide at www.aspeers.com/style, which will provide you with many helpful instructions on how to prepare your submission for maximum success.

general academic contributions | due October 20, 2024 | pdf

topical academic contributions | due October 20, 2024 | pdf

Please see our submission guidelines and FAQ section. Submissions should be directed to submit@aspeers.com.

1) General Call for Papers

For the general section of its seventeenth issue, aspeers seeks outstanding academic writing demonstrating the excellence of graduate scholarship, the range of concerns scrutinized in the field, and the diversity of perspectives employed. We thus explicitly invite revised versions of term papers or chapters from theses written by students of European Master (and equivalent) programs. For this section, there are no topical limitations. Contributions should be up to 7,500 words (including abstract and list of works cited). The submission deadline is October 20, 2024.

2) Topical Call for Papers on "American (Anti-)Heroes"

From the popularity of superhero comics to cult movements around religious leaders, from venerating political figures to idolizing pop-culture celebrities, images and constructions of ‘heroes’ play a significant role in US culture. Simultaneously, there are people and actions outside of the limelight that have been revered as heroic, for example the voluntary work of nurses in homeless shelters and hospitals. While often tied to individuals, heroism occurs not just in these personified forms but can be attached to larger movements, events, or groups in more abstract ways as well. Both the figure of the hero and heroization more generally have equally frequently been weaponized throughout US history or used as a tool for political manipulation. Ultimately, such a larger ‘hero culture’ in the US invites complex nuances and ambiguities, visible for instance in the veneration of explicit anti-hero figures in literature and popular culture, from Jay Gatsby or Holden Caulfield to Dirty Harry, Hannibal Lecter, or Walter White.

At the core of all these phenomena lie processes of heroization: the conscious construction of something as ‘heroic,’ ascribing certain values meant to glorify a particular person, act, or event. The widespread cultural visibility of US (anti-)heroes and heroism begs a number of questions: Is there perhaps a particular penchant for heroization in US culture, and if so, why? What are the specific (gendered, racialized, classed, etc.) characteristics that turn some figures into heroes and others into anti-heroes? Which forms, genres, or media lend themselves particularly well to heroization? How have attributions of heroism changed or have been reassessed throughout US history? How (anti-)heroic do aspects of the US seem from a global or transnational perspective, e.g. in the face of US imperialism?

For its eighteenth issue, aspeers dedicates its topical section to “American (Anti-)Heroes” and invites European graduate students to critically and analytically explore US literature, (popular) culture, history, politics, society, and media through the lens of the ‘(anti-)hero.’ We welcome papers from all disciplines, methodologies, and approaches comprising American studies and related fields, and especially those that critically engage constructions and narrations of heroism. Potential papers could cover (but are not limited to):

  • Representations of (anti-)heroes and heroism in literature, film, TV, games, etc.

  • The construction of superheroines and (anti-)heroines

  • Political or religious leadership; cults; political polarization

  • Celebrity culture, e.g. in music, art, and literature, or as interwoven with social media and digital culture

  • Reevaluations of historical or political figures and events in later decades (e.g. the ‘Founding Fathers’)

  • Veterans as (anti-)heroes of war; ‘heroic’ figures in sports or science

  • Heroism in specific decades, e.g. within the Civil Rights Movement

  • Notions of ‘everyday heroism’ (e.g. within family units, constructions of mother-/fatherhood)

  • Connections between hero culture and memory culture

  • Leadership and hero cultures in different (sub)cultures and groups, e.g. from a Native American perspective

aspeers, the first and currently only graduate-level peer-reviewed print journal of European American studies, encourages fellow MA students from all fields to reflect on the diverse meanings of “American (Anti-)Heroes.” We welcome term papers, excerpts from theses, or papers specifically written for the eighteenth issue of aspeers by October 20, 2024. If you seek to publish work beyond this topic, please refer to our general Call for Papers. Please consult our submission guidelines and find some additional tips at www.aspeers.com/2025.

PDF icon aspeers_cfp_2025_topical.pdfPDF icon aspeers_cfp_2025_general.pdf