We are seeking scholars to join a panel centered on the theme of “Change and Continuity in Rural Communities: New Perspectives on Modernity” planned for the 2008 American Historical Association annual meeting in Washington, DC, Jan. 3-6. We invite researchers to participate whose work examines major historical transformations in culture, politics, and economics within the context of non-urban communities. Scholarship has conventionally focused on the urban experience as the pivotal site for new developments in consumption, gender construction, class, and language. This panel hopes to challenge such interpretations by investigating the means by which rural people and settings actively engaged and shaped forces of modernity. There are no constraints on methodology or time period, and we welcome projects concentrating on any geographic region.

We are also interested in inquiries from those interested in chairing the panel.

Further information about the conference can be found at www.historians.org

Interested scholars please submit an abstract (200-300 words) and a brief (1-2) page CV by February 8 to Greg Shealy at gpshealy@wisc.edu or Nicholas Wolf at nicholaswolf@wisc.edu