CASE - Council on American Studies Education

CASE Conference 2007 - The City

Save the date!

The CASE (Council for American Studies Education) Conference -- "The City: Chicago and Beyond" -- is coming soon: Friday, February 23, 3007 at the newly renovated Chicago History Museum at 1601 N. Clark St. in Chicago. 

We welcome everyone to submit proposals for break-out sessions related to the theme or to American Studies in general. We are accepting registrations.

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The city always seems to be secondary to the country in the American imagination. From Frederick Jackson Turner's "frontier thesis" to the imagery of the "heartland" and "Main St.," sparsely populated areas either on the edge of a great wilderness or amidst sweeping fields of bounty have been what traditionally define the American identity.

City life, however, became the dominant experience for the great majority of Americans in the 20th century. From union halls, public schools and factories to high-rise office buildings, sprawling public transportation systems and ethnic enclaves, the city has created its own sense of awe. The city is a site of real power -- political, economic, and social. It is also the site of symbolic power -- as the stage for American strength, determination and community as well as American arrogance, greed and division.

The 2007 CASE conference will explore the complex role of the city in American culture, with a special emphasis on the history, literature and arts from and about Chicago. We will provide each other with practical ways of integrating the city – both its representations and reality – into the American Studies classroom. We will also discover creative ways to bring the classroom into the city.

Our venue fits our mission perfectly: the newly renovated Chicago History Museum. We hope to see you there.

About CASE

The Council on American Studies Education (CASE) is a Chicago-area organization whose mission is to provide leadership for and services to those who practice and support American cultural studies. CASE, as an educational organization, is open to individuals and groups interested in supporting American Studies and interdisciplinary education. It is comprised of educators from throughout the area.

CASE pursues the following objectives:

1) To provide information and training through publications, annual meetings, an annual conference, seminars, workshops and the identification and analysis of issues critical to the discipline.

2) To recognize and honor excellence in achievement in interdisciplinary studies.

3) To encourage communication between individuals involved in the field of American Studies, including promoting connections with experts who may assist CASE in the development of curriculum and special interest projects.