SAAS organizes biannual themed conferences, every other year, hosted by different universities across Spain. As a complement to these national conferences open to all Spanish scholars and international scholars who are members of SAAS, there is also a doctoral seminar, more specifically oriented toward early-career researchers in American studies. From this page, you can navigate to full information on current / oncoming SAAS conferences and the Felix Martín Doctoral seminar.
SAAS Alicante 2025
American Dreams, American Nightmares, American Fantasies
In the last hundred years, the US has produced many new dreams, nightmares and fantasies that perpetuate or challenge the Foundational Dream. Examples of the wonders and the perils of the dream are easily found in literature, cinema, video games, TV series, music and other artistic forms both in high and popular culture. Rather than perpetuating iconic perspectives on the American Dream, we invite panels that challenge or expand the original American Dream or that focus specifically on new readings of The Great Gatsby. The theme of the conference intends to open new paths of research around the “American Dream” and its counterparts, “the “American nightmare” and the “American fantasy”.
17th SAAS Conference website University of Alicante, 8-10 April 2025
past conferences
Since its foundation in 1993, SAAS has organized biennial three-day conferences hosted by local universities across Spain. Our conferences have drawn international participants and attendees from the United States and Europe.
Most of the plenary lectures have been addressed by prestigious literary, artistic or academic personalities, such as Robert Coover, William Kennedy, Philip Levine, Mary Gordon, Leo Marx, Robert Brustein, Emory Elliott, Robert Allen, Shirley Lim, Heinz Ickstadt, Ilan Stavans, Bobbie Ann Mason, Maxine Hong Kingston, Louise Erdrich, Karen Tei Yamashita and Marjorie Perloff.
FELIX MARTIN DOCTORAL SEMINAR
Complutense university, madrid · 12-13 march 2026
The Spanish Association for American Studies invites graduate students engaged in Ph.D. research to participate in the Félix Martín Doctoral Seminar to take place every two years alternating with the year of the celebration of the SAAS Conference.
The seminar aims to provide a space for Ph.D. students to present and discuss their current research in a more relaxed environment than that of a full conference panel and in dialogue with other doctoral students in a highly stimulating and collaborative environment.
Proposals should be sent electronically to saasyoungscholars@gmail.com by December 15, 2025
Spanish Association for American Studies 