Portrayals of the Fourth of July in American Culture and Literature: Reimagining American Identity at USA 250 (Call for Book Chapters)
Event: Call for Book Chapters
Call for Book Chapters
Portrayals of the Fourth of July in American Culture and Literature:
Reimagining American Identity at USA 250
On July 4, 2026, the United States of America will commemorate the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence—an occasion often referred to as the Semiquincentennial or America250. While the nation’s history precedes 1776, this milestone invites reflection on its founding ideals—life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness—its evolving identity, and the role of cultural and literary works in shaping and challenging national narratives as well as international debates. This substantial historical date offers a critical opportunity to reflect on the past, acknowledge contributions and contradictions, and reevaluate American culture and literature. Specifically, this landmark offers a moment to reassess national myths, foundational ideologies, and the evolving meaning of American identity as reflected in various literary and cultural works.
As the United States of America approaches its 250th anniversary in 2026, this edited volume seeks original, interdisciplinary, analytical, and previously unpublished essays that examine what it means to be American, and ask, as Michel-Guillaume Jean de Crèvecoeur did, “What, then, is the American, this new man?” and what, to the American, is the United States of America? The collection aims to (re)define American identity by exploring cultural and literary portrayals of Independence Day across history. As Michael Kammen explains, the Fourth of July is not a static tradition but a dynamic cultural practice that reflects broader shifts in American values, politics, and identity. Therefore, how do cultural and literary works that depict or refer to July 4 festivities represent, forge, and (re)shape American identity, unity, nationalism, and/or culture at any stage of the country?
Portrayals of the Fourth of July in American Culture and Literature: Reimagining American Identity at USA 250 seeks contributions that analyze literary texts (short stories, poems, plays, and novels), songs, commercials, films, and musicals which explore the complexities of American history, culture, politics, and society—examining both celebratory and contested aspects of the nation’s legacy. How can Americans commemorate a founding that was both revolutionary and exclusionary? What do portrayals of July 4 rituals and celebrations reveal about American dilemmas? Do they foster consensus or dissent? Do they challenge the hypocrisy of celebrating liberty in a nation that does not always sustain unalienable rights?
This collection invites scholarly essays that explore how Independence Day has been depicted in cultural and literary works across genres and periods. Through analysis, contributors are encouraged to interrogate how July 4 has functioned as a cultural site of celebration, critique, inclusion, and erasure. What stories are elevated or silenced during such commemorations? How do cultural or literary works confront or reinforce dominant myths? What role does cultural or literary imagination play in envisioning more inclusive futures?
Original, thought-provoking, analytical, and unpublished academic essays are invited for inclusion in Portrayals of the Fourth of July in American Culture and Literature: Reimagining American Identity at USA 250 to be published in 2026. This volume aims to contribute to broader conversations on memory, nationalism, and the future of democracy in the United States of America by critically reexamining how July 4 has been depicted and interpreted over time. The book invites essays that explore the many facets of American identity as represented in cultural and literary works.
Suggested Topics (include but are not limited to):
· Advertising, branding, and mass media during Independence Day
· The American Dream vs. American reality
· American myths and foundational narratives
· Anti-war movements, civil rights, July 4 as a site of protest
· Colonial resistance and the meaning of freedom in early American texts
· Comparative reflections on Bicentennial (1976) vs. Semiquincentennial (2026)
· Consumerism, spectacle, and the commodification of patriotism
· The Declaration of Independence as a literary text: rhetoric, style, and legacy
· Depictions of July 4 in children’s literature and educational texts
· Disability, access, and representation in Independence Day festivities
· Expansionism, the American Frontier and Manifest Destiny
· Environmental histories and futures as tied to national celebrations
· Engagements with American symbols (anthem, eagle, fireworks, flag, etc.)
· Food, fashion, and performative patriotism in cultural texts
· Forgiveness and reconciliation in patriotic celebrations
· Fourth of July in speculative fiction, dystopia, and alternate histories
· Frederick Douglass, abolitionist critiques, and July 4 as a site of protest
· Gender, sexuality, class, and national identity
· Historical erasures in national celebrations
· Immigration, citizenship, and belonging
· Independence Day in marginalized and minority literatures
· Indigenous sovereignty and resistance
· July 4 in exile, diaspora, and transnational perspectives
· Literary critiques of American exceptionalism
· Literary representations of national rituals and pageantry
· Memorization, trauma, and historical amnesia
· National holidays as “civil sacraments:” liturgy and ritual
· National parks, tourism and July 4 festivities
· Nationalism, patriotism, and dissent in literature
· Policing and surveillance during July 4
· The politics of memory and forgetting in Independence Day narratives
· Pop culture, music, illustrated text and film depictions of July 4
· Post-Vietnam, post-9/11 and post-pandemic readings of national identity and celebration
· Public vs. private celebrations: community, intimacy, privacy
· Regional differences, rural vs. urban representations in commemorating the Fourth of July
· Religious minority perspectives on July 4 celebrations
· Revolutionary legacies and contested freedoms
· Rewriting Independence Day: revisionist or alternative histories in literature
· The role of religion and civil religion in July 4 celebrations
· Sacredness of the US founding
· Slavey, abolition, and racial justice
· Veterans, military service, and national memory in July 4 representations
Submission Guidelines:
Abstract: Maximum 350 words
Short Bio: Maximum 250 words
Style: MLA 9th edition
Format: Times New Roman, size 12; one-and-a-half spacing, text justified
Margins: 2.5 cm on all sides
Paragraphs: Indented
Each chapter should be a minimum of 6000 words, including references.
Only previously unpublished and unpresented work will be considered.
Final versions must adhere to the provided publication guidelines.
Non-compliant texts will not be considered for publication.
Peer Review:
Abstracts will undergo editorial screening.
Full chapters will be subject to double-blind peer review, followed by final editorial revisions.
Key Deadlines:
- Abstract submission: September 01, 2025
- Extension: September 15, 2025
- Notification of abstract acceptance: October 01, 2025
- Full chapter submission: February 15, 2026
- Peer review results: April 15, 2026
- Revised version due: May 15, 2026
- Anticipated publication: July 04, 2026
Contact: usa250book@gmail.com
Ece Saatcioglu, PhD
Mugla Sitki Kocman University, Faculty of Letters,
Department of Western Languages and Literatures
Mugla, Turkiye
ece_s@hotmail.com or eces@mu.edu.tr
eces77