APRIL 21–23, 2022
—On the campus of the University of Iowa in Iowa City—

“German Americans in Multicultural Societies”

When German speakers came to the Americas, their experiences were profoundly affected by the cultural, linguistic, environmental, social, and aesthetic landscapes of the places they settled and explored. And vice versa, German speakers and their descendants contributed to the fabric of emerging societies in the Americas.

We invite proposals for presentations centering on the dynamic contact, past and present, between Germans in the Americas and their neighbors of different backgrounds, both indigenous and immigrant, with a special focus on the records and sources (written, oral, or other media) that are available to scholars today. As is our tradition, we also accept proposals dealing with other aspects of German-American studies. Speakers should plan on 20 minutes for their presentations plus 10 minutes for discussion.

This year’s symposium will feature a Saturday afternoon excursion on April 23 to the Amana Colonies, where we will visit the Colonies’ unique historical archives and other sites of interest. This will be followed by the SGAS banquet at the same site on Saturday evening.

Membership in the Society for German-American Studies is required of those whose papers are presented. Jointly authored proposals are welcome, but only the names of authors who are present at the Symposium will be listed in the program.

Using the subject line “SGAS Symposium 2022,” please email to SGAS President Mark Louden  an abstract of your proposed presentation (not more than 250 words) as a Word document by January 7, 2022. The abstract should include your paper title, your full name as you wish it to appear in the program, your email address, your complete mailing address, and your academic affiliation, if any.

Note that we are planning that the symposium will take place in person. Should the University of Iowa, the Amana Colonies, and/or public health authorities require us to impose restrictions due to the pandemic (e.g., a requirement that all participants be masked indoors), we will communicate that to participants in a timely fashion.