In light of the recent disruptions to the infrastructure of the region and the academic calendar at many universities occasioned by Hurricane Isaac, the Program Committee of the Louisiana Historical Association has extended the deadline for submissions for the 2013 Program to September 17, 2012.

The Louisiana Historical Association invites proposals for its 55th Annual Meeting to be held in Alexandria, March 21-23, 2013. The meeting will be headquartered at the Best Western Inn and Suites.

We invite sessions on any aspect of Louisiana History, but we strongly encourage proposals in the fields of business and industrial history of Louisiana, broadly defined. Topics might range from the colonial fur trade, to 19th- and early 20th-century agriculture, lumber mills, and mining, to 20th- and 21st-century oil & gas, gambling, and film & television.

We also solicit proposals on Louisiana and borderlands studies as a secondary field of emphasis, in recognition of Alexandria’s reputation as the “crossroads of Louisiana.”

The program committee is open to submissions that take a novel approach to session design as well as traditional scholarly panels. We especially encourage the participation of graduate students, archivists, and other public historians. We prefer to receive proposals for complete sessions but will consider individual paper proposals as well. Proposals should be submitted in a single Microsoft Word document and include:

• A cover sheet with the session title as well as the names, affiliations and email address of all participants including the chair and commentator

• A summary of the focus and intent of the session as a whole not to exceed 250 words

• An abstract for each paper or presentation not to exceed 250 words

• A vita for each participant not to exceed 500 words

• All materials should be emailed to the program committee at LHAprog@latech.edu. Please include the name, affiliation and email address of the proposal organizer in the body of your message. Queries may be sent to the program chair, Dr. V. Elaine Thompson, at the same email address.

The submission deadline is Sept. 17, 2012.