The Boston Environmental History Seminar

The Boston Environmental History Seminar invites proposals for sessions in its 2009-2010 series. Programs take place at the Massachusetts Historical Society, usually on the second Tuesday evening of the month between September and April. The Seminar’s steering committee welcomes suggestions for papers dealing with all aspects of American environmental history. In the past, contributions have addressed a wide variety of topics, including land use, water and waterways, climate and weather, the environmental consequences of transportation policy, public health, vegetation change, and natural disasters. Papers comparing the American experience with developments elsewhere in the world are also welcome. The seminar steering committee hopes to foster cross-disciplinary discussion; it welcomes 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. For a full list of past Seminar programs, see its page on the Massachusetts Historical Society’s website, http://www.masshist.org/events/behs.cfm

Each session focuses on the discussion of a precirculated paper. The essayist and an assigned commentator will each have an opportunity for remarks before the discussion is opened to the floor. Papers must be available for circulation at least a month before the seminar date.

The seminar’s steering committee would like to fill at least two sessions through this call for papers. If you would like to be considered for a slot, please send your CV and a one-page précis of your paper by March 15 to Conrad E. Wright, Massachusetts Historical Society, 1154 Boylston Street, Boston, MA 02215, or to cwright@masshist.org. In your proposal, please indicate when your paper will be available for distribution. If there are special scheduling conditions, such as a planned trip to Boston or an extended period when you cannot make a presentation, please so indicate in your proposal.