1776-2026: Visions of Freedom
Bologna September 1-4, 2026
In the introduction to his book The Story of American Freedom (1999), Eric Foner wrote:
“Americans’ love of liberty has been represented by poles, caps, and statues, and acted out
by burning stamps and draft cards, running away from slavery, and demonstrating for the
right to vote. If asked to explain or justify their actions, public or private, Americans are likely
to respond, ‘It’s a free country’”. Published at the dawn of the new millennium, this statement
poses a lasting challenge, at once historical, cultural, literary and political: what does the
idea of freedom here imply? What do a series of images mean, considering that they can be
appropriated by different if not opposing perspectives? How many visions of freedom have
been pursued, accomplished, abused or exploited in the past 250 years? EAAS 2026
intends to address these questions, investigating the ever-changing reality of the United
States.
The Declaration of Independence (1776) famously recognized three main unalienable rights
– Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness. Indeed, after pointing out the “tyranny” of the
British Crown, the Declaration described the subjects of the colonies as “free people,”
deeming the ruler “unfit,” while urging the Colonies to become “free and independent
States.” The newly acquired freedom granted the new federated States the power to levy
war, sign peace treaties, contract alliances, establish commerce, paving the way to future
colonial/imperialist projects. Since the Revolution, pundits and politicians have celebrated
the exceptional character of American freedom (and empire), which they interpreted as a
pioneering achievement, capable of inspiring other nations, contributing through their
example to the larger cause of “liberty” and “democracy” around the world. From this
moment onward, American cultural productions, literature, visual art and film have
constituted a precious output to observe, map and question this national mythmaking, each
time celebrating or problematizing the nation’s ability to hold on to its promises and
premises: from the transcendentalists to the masters of American Renaissance, from the
novels and pamphlets of the Gilded Age, to the voices emerging from many margins (African
Americans, women, Indigenous people, Asian Americans, among others). American artists
of all genres and disciplines have contributed to redefine the very idea of American freedom.
Despite the importance granted to both freedom and liberty, since that beginning, the US
articulation of freedom has been exclusive, as gender, race, religion, and class have
determined who could benefit from such unalienable rights and in what manner. Notably, in
different ways, women, Black and Indigenous people would not be granted the rights
promised by the Constitution, and neither the 13th (abolition of slavery), nor the 14th
amendments (right to citizenship) passed soon after the Civil War brought about a truly equal
and just society. The promises of citizenship granted by the Constitution were quickly
jeopardized. Racial divide was complicated by industrialization, urbanization, and Jim Crow.
While class conflicts sometimes led to outbreaks of violence.
Despite such evident contradictions between the universal ideals professed and the law, the
centrality of freedom as a defining characteristic of US national identity has been confirmed
and renewed by its constant retooling for diverse propaganda purposes. “The land of the
free, the home of the brave” is an identity statement proudly sang by a variety of audiences;
yet increasingly during the 20th century, it was one that was consistently reappropriated by
marginalized groups, as well as by counter-cultural narratives, social movements and
discourse, to question the nation’s founding ideals in light of evolving and complex
international scenarios. The visions of (American) freedom were problematized after 9/11,
affecting not only politics inside and outside the nation, but also the rhetoric of the nation’s
ideals, in turn questioning the solidity, as well as the actual meaning of American democracy.
“How do we imagine and struggle for a democracy that does not spawn forms of terror, that
does not spawn war, that does not need enemies for its sustenance? […] How do we imagine
a democracy that does not thrive on this racism, that does not thrive on homophobia, that is
not based on the rights of capitalist corporations to plunder the world’s economic and social
and physical environments?” asked Angela Davis in The Meaning of Freedom and Other
Difficult Dialogues (2012). These questions are even more urgent today in the frame of a
growing democratic backsliding, and considering the threat posed by the illiberal regimes
around the world.
EAAS 2026 invites scholars to address the above by investigating the role that freedom
played/plays in the conceptualization of the United States as a real and an imagined
community. Possible topics include but are not limited to:
• (American) Freedom / American Liberty
• Freedom, Peace, War
• “Land of the Free, Home of the Brave”: Freedom & Militarism
• The Rhetoric(s) of Freedom: Then, Now, Next
• Systemic Freedom and/or Systemic Slaveries
• Academic Freedom
• Freedom of Speech, Free Will, Censorship, Dissent
• Freedom, Media, Communication
• Technology and Freedom (as in Printing, Propaganda and the Dissemination of Ideals)
• Freedom/Unfreedom and Digital Media (AI, Language Models, Algorithmic Biases, Data Collections, Open Access, Open Sources)
• Freedom of Movement, Immigration & Mobility
• Freedom, Democracy, Security, Detention
• Economic Freedom (and Inequality), Consumerism, the Market
• Individual Freedom, Societal Wellbeing
• Freedom & Race and Ethnicity
• Indigenous Perspectives on Freedom: Sovereignty and Resistance
• Freedom, Labor & Social Movements
• The Limits/Borders of Freedom
• Freedom of Choice (Euthanasia, Abortion, Stem Cell Research, etc.)
• Freedom from Fear & National Security
• Freedom and Human Rights
• Religious Freedom, Conscience Claims, Tolerance
• Freedom, Federalism, Political Institutions (Presidency, Courts, etc.)
• Freedom & (National) Sovereignty
• Freedom in Art and Literature
• Freedom and Education
• Women and Freedom
• Teaching Freedom
• Freedom and Sustainability or Climate Change as a Challenge to National and GlobalFreedoms
• Health as Freedom (Disease, Epidemics, and Medicine) and Freedom from Illness (Public Health and Access to Care)
• Freedom and the Frontier: Expansion, Indigenous Displacement, Settler Colonialism, and Indigenous Sovereignty
• Freedom and the Family
• Gender and Sexual Freedom
• LGBTQIA+ Interpretations of Freedom
• Freedom: Global Perspectives and Legacies (e.g. Anti-colonial Movements and Comparative Freedoms)
• The commemoration, contestation, and denial of American values and rights of freedom
• The use and abuse of the American Civil Religion in freedom discourses
Submission Instructions
All proposals are to be sent starting from August 1st through the link posted
on this platform: Deadline October 15.
Panel proposals (three to four presenters and a Chair – with the possibility of one person
fulfilling both roles) are strongly encouraged and will be given priority. Proposals must
include:
• 350-word overview of the panel theme
• 350-word abstracts for each paper
• 150-word author biography
Individual proposals must include:
• 350-word abstracts for each paper
• 150-word author biographies
In addition, EAAS 2026 will include a poster exhibition presenting thematic explorations in a
different format, also proofed and selected. Posters will be on display online (conference
website) and in one of the conferences venues. Poster proposals must include:
• 350-word poster rational
• Graphic Pre-view (Format: pdf)
• 150-word author(s) biography/biographies
IMPORTANT DATES
• Abstract Submission from August 1, 2025
• Deadline: October 15, 2025
• Notification of Acceptance/Rejection: December 15, 2025
• Registration deadline for authors: April 30, 2026
• Conference Dates: September 1-4, 2026
For additional information please contact: visionsoffreedom@unibo.it