The Pioneer America Society: Association for the Preservation of Artifacts & Landscapes (PAS: APAL) will hold its 40th annual conference at the recently restored Hilton Capitol Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on October 16-18, 2008.

This event will be held in conjunction with the Eastern Historical Geographers Association (EHGA) meeting and will be hosted by the Department of Geography & Anthropology at Louisiana State University.

The 2008 Conference theme is: Landscapes at Risk. There will be a pre-Conference tour on Thursday led by cultural anthropologist, Jay Edwards through the extensive areas of devastation and renewal in New Orleans. Creole cottages, shotguns, and doubles will be staple fare for the day. Professor Edwards, an authority on Creole-Caribbean architecture, will highlight the preservation challenges facing the city and its home owners in a place of perpetual risk from hurricanes. On Saturday, cultural geographer, Craig Colten will lead the River Road field trip that will explore the landscapes that face a different sort of risk. It will include stops in Carville, Donaldsonville, and Plaquemine, LA. Risks from these sprawling chemical complexes and the emissions that rift from them present many challenges to communities and landscape preservation. Featured stops will include a hospital built to reduce the spread of Hansen’s disease in the early 20th century, and communities that risk the loss of important structures due to population loss and economic decline.

The conference committee will be soliciting proposals for papers, special sessions, and panel discussions relating to the conference theme in the Spring. However, papers on all material culture topics of interest to the Society will be welcome.

For further conference information, contact:

Craig E. Colten
Department of Geography and Anthropology
Louisiana State University
Baton Rouge, LA 70803
telephone: 225/578-6180
email: ccolten@lsu.edu

or visit the Society’s website at: http://www.pioneeramerica.org.