The fifty-fourth annual meeting of the Missouri Conference on History, co-sponsored by the University of Missouri-Columbia Department of History and The State Historical Society of Missouri, will be held March 29-30, 2012, at the Courtyard by Marriott in Columbia, Missouri. The keynote lecture will be delivered by Colin Gordon, professor of history at the University of Iowa and author of Mapping Decline: St. Louis and the Fate of the American City.

Proposals for conference sessions and papers are welcome on *any* historical topic or era. The conference is particularly interested in proposals for complete sessions, including panelists, chair, and commentator. Anyone wishing to present a paper should submit a one-page abstract and a one-page curriculum vitae. Panel proposals should include a brief abstract of the panel’s purpose, short (approx. 250-word) descriptions of the individual papers, and one-page cvs for all participants. All proposals should be submitted by email no later than December 15, 2011. Emails should be addressed to John McKerley, assistant editor of the Missouri Historical Review and adjunct professor of history, at mckerleyj@umsystem.edu.

The program committee would like to make a special appeal to graduate students. We hope that the conference can provide a friendly and inviting space for graduate students to present their work.