For the last three decades, Amerikanistendag has convened students from within and beyond the Netherlands to present their work, connect with peers, and engage with scholars in the field. The event offers the structure of a professional academic conference in a welcoming atmosphere, with plenty of room for informal conversations and networking.
On April 17, the American Studies department at the University of Amsterdam hosted this year’s Amerikanistendag, with additional support of the America in the World Research Group.
Thirty-two students at the BA, MA, and PhD levels presented their work, which encompassed literature, environmental studies, civil rights, politics, international relations, queer history, and media studies. Overall, almost one hundred people attended, coming from as far afield as the United States, United Kingdom, and Poland, as well as from universities and research institutes across the Netherlands (Amsterdam, Groningen, Leiden, Maastricht, Middelburg, Nijmegen, Rotterdam, and Utrecht).
Morning plenary sessions took place in the impressive Surgical Theater in the new UvA library. Katy Hull, who organized the event, offered some words of welcome. Frank Mehring, NASA President, reflected on the importance of both activism and intellectual connections at a tumultuous moment in transatlantic relations. Nic Turner, the editor of the Netherlands American Studies Review, encouraged students to submit their written work to the journal. Sean Cotter-Lem, Program and Community Coordinator at the John Adams Institute, showcased the institute’s program and highlighted opportunities for student engagement.
Debby Esmeé de Vlugt, lecturer in the History of International Relations at Utrecht University, gave the keynote for this year’s Amerikanistendag. Her talk—“Black Internationalism between the United States and the Dutch Atlantic”—emphasized connections among Black activists across borders, with a particular focus on the Dutch Caribbean. De Vlugt challenged prevailing understandings of Black internationalism as preponderantly African American. She pointed to a complex interchange of Black liberationist ideas, as evidenced by the history of Garveyism and Black Power in Suriname and the Netherlands Antilles.
Students’ research lies at the center of Amerikanistendag, which welcomes work in progress so as to support the advancement of BA, MA, and PhD theses. This year, there were nine panels, stretching across two sessions. The panel titles (and respective chairs) were: Feminist Perspectives (George Blaustein, UvA); Environmental (in)Justice (Manon Parry, UvA and VU); Racism and Resistance (Marcella Schute, EUR); Action and Inaction (Frank Mehring, RU); Re-envisioning America and the World (Jeanine Quené, RIAS); National (in)Security and Foreign Policy (Gaetano Di Tommaso, RIAS); Contested Identities (Spencer Morrison, RUG); Diplomacy and Its Limits (Debby Esmée de Vlugt, UU); and Worlding America (Sara Polak, LU).
More details, including the names of all presenters and the titles of their presentations, can be found in the final program linked here.
The Theodore Roosevelt American History Award ceremony also took place at this year’s Amerikanistendag. The TRAHA is awarded annually for the best-written MA thesis on American history at a Dutch university. The TRAHA is organized by the RIAS, and this year the jury (Jeanine Quené (RIAS), Jennifer Schnepf (RUG), George Blaustein (UvA), and Maud Rijks (TRAHA 2025 winner/ LU)) awarded the prize to Lucy den Elzen for her thesis “Shielding the Homeland: The Imperial Logic of Security Through Civilian Response Training in Post-9/11 Detroit.”
Amerikanistendag closed with an informal reception in the Bushuis of the UvA. Participants continued to exchange ideas and make new friends, over drinks and snacks, before heading out into a cool and dry Friday evening in Amsterdam.