The Exotic States of Americana

Call for Papers

The Exotic States of Americana

Journal:Consumption Markets & Culture

Manuscript deadline: 31 August 2026

This special issue invites critical, creative, and theoretically rich work on American consumer culture as something exotic in itself—treating “Americana” not as the invisible norm but as a strange, excessive, and historically specific formation. It focuses on US-led consumer capitalism as soft power, ideology, fantasy, and libidinal machinery rather than just an economic system or neutral backdrop.

Special Issue Editors

• Alan Bradshaw, Royal Holloway, University of London

• Joel Hietanen, University of Helsinki

Core themes (illustrative)

• Histories of consumer culture as US soft power and “Yankee imperialism”

• Attempts to imitate, translate, or localise Americana around the globe

• American hegemony in CCT/marketing knowledge and journals

• Anthropological or Gonzo-style accounts of “exotic America”

• Contemporary forms of vassalisation and dependency

• Experiments that resist or overplay American consumerism (e.g., counter-brands like Mecca Cola, hyper-consumerism as critique)

• Stylistically radical, affective, libidinal, or speculative pieces inspired by Baudrillard, Adorno, Ballard, etc., that deliberately break conventional academic tone

Submissions are expected to go beyond standard globalization narratives or moralising critique, and instead explore the affective, phantasmatic, and symbolic excess of American consumer culture (e.g., soft power, pop culture, branding, celebrity, and political spectacle). Manuscripts should follow the journal’s author guidelines and be submitted through the regular online system, clearly marked for the special issue “The Exotic States of Americana.”

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