*Call for Papers*

Sixth Annual New Perspectives Conference presented by the Triangle African American History Colloquium at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill

*Defining Freedom in African American History and Culture*

*February 24-25, 2012*

The Conference Committee invites proposals for single papers or complete session panels related to the theme of freedom in African American history and culture, across a range of time periods, areas, and disciplines. As Americans commemorate the 150th anniversary of the beginning of the Civil Waran event that cast African Americans’ varying and complex definitions of freedom into sharp reliefscholarly recognition of the ways African Americans have expressed and acted upon individual and communal concepts of freedom seems particularly appropriate. This theme, however, is neither restricted to the Civil War-era nor to a specific historical sub-field. Rather, this conference seeks cultural, economic, political, social, and other interpretations of African Americans’ definitions ofor, potentially, debates onfreedom from the colonial era through the twentieth century.

This conference seeks to address questions such as: How have African Americans defined and debated freedom within their communities and within a broader American or global context? What forces and motivations shaped these concepts of freedom? Answering these questions helps to shed light not only on the African American experience but also the historical construction and contestation of one of America’s central ideals. Topics of exploration might include: literary and artistic expressions; social movements; black politics; gender history; slavery; religious practices and ideologies; and myriad others. Papers on any topic relevant to the conference theme are welcome.

The Conference Committee is also pleased to announce that this year’s conference will feature a keynote address given by Davarian L. Baldwin, the Paul E. Raether Distinguished Professor of American Studies at Trinity College.

Eligibility: Faculty and graduate students. Papers from advanced undergraduate students from universities in the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill area will be considered for a special panel session.

Deadline: The deadline for proposals is Saturday, November 12, 2011. Please respond via email to unctaahc@gmail.com with your name, institution, title, email address, proposed paper title, a 150-word abstract, and curriculum vitae. Please put “Conference Proposal” in your subject line. Conference papers should have a historical focus and be a maximum of ten pages in length, excluding endnotes. Final papers are due no later than February 3, 2012.

Questions and concerns may be addressed to Brandon Byrd and sent to unctaahc@gmail.com