The NASA Annual Conference “Democracy in Action: Radical Cultures, Protest Movements & Resistance in the Americas” brought together a rich assemblage of American Studies scholars from all corners of the Netherlands, as well as from the United Kingdom, Spain, Germany, Ukraine, Mexico, Algeria and Qatar.
Our keynote speaker, Nicholas Grant from the University of East Anglia, offered a fascinating opening. Building on Grant’s work on Black internationalism during the Cold War, he examined the strategic patriotism of the renowned artist-activist Paul Robeson. A strong supporter of global anti-colonial struggles and American racism, Robeson claimed both his place in America and his Americanism fully, yet in a fashion that then enabled him to critique US imperialism and racial capitalism. In this regard, Robeson was not alone but part of a larger international cohort of Black and African thinkers, activists and politicians during the early Cold War for whom a rethinking of national affiliation and global relations were central. Tragically, Robeson’s deep patriotism was not enough to protect him from McCarthyism, with devastating personal consequences. Robeson remains a facinating example of how one can be both proudly patriotic and deeply critical of their country.
The panels and papers that followed during the conference were notable for the wide range of political ideologies, movements and styles they addressed (from the populist far-right to Angela Davis’ Communism and much in between); their historical range extending from nineteenth-century Black abolitionism and the history of water rights, to the Alt-Right afterlives of Confederate symbols and politics, to the more recent history of Mexican electoral malpractice. Trump and Trumpianism were of course regularly recurring topics, even as our speakers offered striking insights through approaches that addressed the intersection of the religious and the musical at Trump’s rallies to the carnivalesque at play in his rhetoric and politics.
The concluding roundtable on American Studies responses to US geopolitical crises began with personal, critical reflections by Manar Ellethy and Andrew Gawthorpe, before opening into a discussion with the entire audience addressing how best to make sense of the current moment The history and present of US social movements for justice, equality and rights remains a profound resource in reflecting critically on the present, as does the possibility of comparative approaches. In particular, the role of the United States in the ongoing crisis in the Middle East was discussed. Should scholars have the duty to remain neutral, or do they have the moral imperative to speak out? Should educational staff involve themselves with student activism, or is it preferable to maintain a distant outlook, separating the workplace from personal convictions? Multiple opinions were brought forward, and the discussion was held in a respectful manner.
After the roundtable, the conference came to an end. We thank everyone who participated, or simply came and listened to the wide array of insightful presentations. We hope many of you will join us for the next NASA conference!