Call for Proposals 2013 University of Missouri Graduate Conference Sponsored by the University of Missouri History Graduate Students Association (HGSA)

Co-Chairs: Chris Deutsch, Joshua Rice, and Jonathan Root

The biannual University of Missouri Graduate Conference will be held on Friday, May 31 and Saturday June 1, in Columbia, Missouri on the University of Missouri campus. The HGSA welcomes proposals from historians and scholars of related fields, regardless of institutional affiliation. As an encouragement to history majors, undergraduates from any Missouri college or university are invited to submit proposals as well.

The theme for the conference will be “First Impressions, Second Glances: Novel Approaches to the Past.” The HGSA wishes to promote two goals with this theme. First off, since conferences are often plagued by rehashed material, the HGSA encourages scholars to submit presentations based on fresh research, even (and especially!) when their analysis and conclusions are not yet fully formed. This is precisely the formative period, after all, when historians can best profit from the criticism of their peers. Second off, we are encouraging scholars to submit new approaches to well-worn historical topics. This may mean appropriating a methodological technique from another discipline, using comparative analysis, or recontextualizing a subject within a different framework. Hence, the HGSA welcomes submissions on the histories of all places and time periods, and on the uses of varied sources and methods.

We invite proposals for formal sessions and roundtable discussions. Scholars are encouraged to submit full panels, but the HGSA will also accept “wildcat” single paper proposals. To assure substantial time for interaction between speakers and audience, all panels are limited to a maximum of five participants including speakers, commentators, and the session chair.

Deadline for proposals: Jan 11, 2013