JAAAS Vol. 7, No. 1 (Spring 2026) Published

Dear friends of JAAAS,

we are excited to announce the publication of the latest issue of JAAAS: Journal of the Austrian Association for American Studies!

The special issue (vol. 7, no. 1, spring 2026) is guest edited by Ingrid Gessner and Angelika Ilg and entitled “American Studies in the Classroom: Arts, Culture, and Critical Pedagogy.” It explores how the arts and cultural analysis shape teaching practices in American studies. The contributions examine literature, Indigenous poetry, film, and photography as ways of approaching questions of history, memory, and social relations in the classroom. Across different contexts – from university seminars to digital projects and museum exhibitions – the authors ask how these materials can support critical engagement and open up new perspectives on US American history and culture. The issue includes the following articles:

 

Indigenous Poets as Cartographers of Crisis and Memory: Joy Harjo’s Poet Laureate Signature Project Living Nations, Living Words
Nassim W. Balestrini

Can Literature Come to the Rescue When History Is Under Siege? How One Novel Can Be a Trojan Horse to Engage Questions Some Politicians Don’t Want Us to Ask
Shelley Fisher Fishkin

Paneling to Avoid ‘Deer in the Headlights’ Moments in Class: Critical Race Theory Counterdialogues in a Seminar on Percival Everett’s Novel James (2024)
Vanessa Vollmann

Investigative Aesthetics in the American Studies Classroom: Approaching 9/11 through Alejandro González Iñárritu’s 11’09’’1: September 11
Juliane Gamböck-Strätz

Pictures at an Environmental Exhibition: Reflections on the Art of Photography Curation

Steven Hoelscher and Stephanie Zeller

 

Furthermore, it includes the following two book reviews:

Narrative in the Anthropocene by Erin James
Nassim W. Balestrini

Narrative in Crisis: Reflections from the Limits of Storytelling edited by Martin Dege and Irene Strasser
Mahshid Mayar

 

We hope you enjoy the read!

Warmest wishes,
Cornelia Klecker
Editor-in-Chief