The symposium "1812: Harrison Takes Command," is the third of four annual educational symposia that will be held to commemorate the War of 1812 Bicentennial. The first symposium, "The Gathering Storm: the Rise of Tecumseh," was held in June 2010 and featured R. David Edmunds, the Watson Professor of American History at the University of Texas at Dallas and Andrew Cayton (Miami University), as well as members of the Eastern Shawnee and the Absentee Shawnee. The second symposium, “1811: The Year of the Decision,” was held in June 2011 and featured Jonathon Hooks (Mississippi University for Women), Lisa Morales (North Central Texas College), Charles Niemeyer (USMC), James Buss (Oklahoma City University), and a keynote address by David Skaggs, Professor Emeritus at Bowling Green State University.

Historic Southern Indiana, a regional resource program of the University of Southern Indiana's Division of Outreach and Engagement, is sponsoring the symposium. The history departments at the University of Southern Indiana and Vincennes University are assisting with the program. The event will be held at the Indiana Center for Applied Technology on the Vincennes University campus in Vincennes, Indiana. The symposium is scheduled for June 30, 2012 and will be held on the last Saturday of June through 2013. The symposium day will feature scholarly lectures and/or panel discussions. This year's theme will deal with the events of 1812, with particular emphasis on political themes and the militia of Kentucky and Indiana. Papers that challenge existing histories and offer new approaches to the topic are of particular interest for this year's symposium. In that vein, possible themes for panels and submissions may include but are not limited to: Militia, Free Masons, Finances, Native American Perspectives, Popular Memory of the War and Commemoration, the War of 1812 as a National Event, and the War of 1812 as a classroom topic. Roundtable discussions and individual papers will be considered. Poster sessions are also welcome.

Participants will have the opportunity to tour local historical sites such as Grouseland, the Indiana Territory Capitol State Historic Site, and George Rogers Clark National Historical Park. The event is open to the public.

Information about the 2011 program is available at http://www.usi.edu/newsinfo/release/press_detail.asp?num=4008 Interested presenters and participants should send a one page paper proposal along with a short c.v. to Kristalyn M. Shefveland (kmshefvela@usi.edu) no later than March 2, 2012. Participants will be notified of the status of their proposals by April 6, 2012. Financial assistance for travel will be available on a limited basis.

Kristalyn M. Shefveland, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of History
University of Southern Indiana
3039 LA
8600 University Blvd.
Evansville, IN 47712
(812) 461-5434
kmshefvela@usi.edu