The Massachusetts Historical Society invites proposals for a conference on the environmental history of Boston. “Remaking Boston: The City and Environmental Change Over the Centuries” will take place at the Society in Boston on May 4-6, 2006. Each paper should consider an aspect of one of four broad themes: water and waterways; climate and weather; vegetation; and land use. For example, under water and waterways a contribution might discuss a topic such as wastewater, drinking water, or the physical modification of watercourses. Under climate and weather, an essay might address changing temperature patterns or the relationship between climate and disease. Conference organizers will consider papers dealing with any time period from the prehistoric to the present. They will also consider history-based papers with a policy focus. For the purposes of the program they are defining Boston broadly to include, for example, eastern New England and its relationships to the city. The organizers hope to foster a cross-disciplinary discussion, and they welcome submissions from every relevant scholarly field, including (but not limited to) anthropology, archaeology, botany, climatology, economics, engineering, geography, geology, history, medicine, political science, sociology, urban planning, and zoology.

Format: The conference will be organized into a series of topical panels. Each panel will be devoted to the discussion of papers circulated in advance. Essayists and assigned commentators will speak briefly at each session, but most of each meeting will be devoted to discussion incorporating the audience as well as the presenters.

The conference organizers will select papers from among the proposals submitted. Proposals should be one-paged and single-spaced. Please include an abridged CV.

Send proposals to: Remaking Boston, Massachusetts Historical Society, 1154 Boylston Street, Boston, MA 02215. Deadline for proposals: January 15, 2005. For questions about the conference or individual sessions, please contact Conrad E. Wright at the above address or at cwright@masshist.org.

Essayists selected will have to submit their papers no later than March 15, 2006, in order to allow time for them to circulate. After revisions, the Society hopes to publish a collection of essays from among those first presented at the conference.