“Unfinished Declarations: Independence, Identity, and Imagination in American Culture”
Hosted by the Irish Association for American Studies
Date: 24th and 25th April 2026
Location: Ulster University, Coleraine Campus, Northern Ireland
The Declaration of Independence is often celebrated as a foundational moment in American history, yet its promises of liberty and equality remain contested and incomplete. Honouring the Declaration’s 250th anniversary, this interdisciplinary conference invites scholars from history, literature, film, and related American fields to explore the Declaration not only as a political document but as a cultural artifact that has shaped—and been reshaped by—American narratives of freedom, identity, and resistance.
We welcome papers that interrogate the Declaration’s legacy, its rhetorical power, and its reinterpretation across time, media, and communities. How has the Declaration been mythologised, critiqued, or reimagined? What does it mean to declare independence in different historical, literary, or cultural contexts?
Possible Topics Include (but are not limited to):
- Revolutionary rhetoric and the aesthetics of political writing
- The Declaration in transatlantic and global contexts
- Literary responses to and reworkings of the Declaration
- The role of race, gender, and class in shaping or challenging its ideals
- Cinematic portrayals of 1776 and the Founding Fathers
- The Declaration in popular culture, music, and digital media
- Comparative studies of independence movements and their cultural expressions • Indigenous and enslaved peoples’ responses to the Declaration
- The Declaration as archive: textual transmission and public memory
- Postcolonial critiques and reinterpretations of American independence
Submission Guidelines:
Please submit a 250–300 word abstract, for a 20 minute paper, along with a short bio (100 words) to conference@iaas.ie by 5th February 2026. We welcome individual papers, panels, roundtable
proposals, or joint proposals for panels of three papers, or panels with innovative formats. Applicants will be informed by mid-February as to their acceptance for the conference.
The IAAS is an all-island scholarly association dedicated to promoting interdisciplinary American Studies in Ireland. We are dedicated to equality, diversity, and inclusion, and we welcome proposals from under-represented groups. We also encourage proposals from researchers who are based at institutions around the world, whose research stems from a variety of disciplines and languages, and who are at any career stage. Some IAAS bursaries are available to support the participation of early career, precariously employed, or postgraduate researchers. You can apply for these at the IAAS website: https://iaas.ie/bursaries/
All presenters must be members of the IAAS to register for and attend the conference. More information is available here: https://iaas.ie/memberships/
Social Programme
We hope to run a social trip to the Giant’s Causeway (UNESCO World Heritage site) and the Bushmills Whiskey Distillery during the programme so that attendees can experience some of the wonders of the North Coast.
Contact & Further Information:
For questions or accessibility needs, please contact: conference@iaas.ie
Follow updates at: www.iaas.ie and on Facebook: The Irish Association for American Studies.