by Unknown | 10/24/2007 08:03:00 PM
Since I'm now a formerly-pseudonymous blogger, I figured I might as well post this here. I'm on the organizing committee for this conference, which is primarily aimed at graduate students (but I'm not involved in paper selection, so plying me with large amounts of cash in order to get your paper accepted will only make you poor). If you decide to come up to Bloomington, let me know you heard about it at ProgressiveHistorians and I'll buy you a drink when you get here.

If you're interested in digital history, we're also interested in having a panel on that subject with regard to history and the public sphere (hint, hint).

Full CfP is over the fold. Submission deadline is December 1, 2007.


Call for Papers
The Paul Lucas Conference in History at Indiana University
“Public Spheres of History: Writing the Past and Representing the Profession”
Hosted by Indiana University History Graduate Student Association
Friday and Saturday, February 29 and March 1, 2008



Keynote Speaker: Michael Adas, Abraham E. Voorhees Professor of History

Rutgers University, New Brunswick

Saturday, March 1, Time: TBA



This year's conference explores the different spheres that historians study, while also emphasizing the multitude of publics in which history is crafted. Expanding on Jürgen Habermas's original definition of the "public sphere" as a category of analysis, historians increasingly highlight the valuable flexibility of the concept. Embracing this trend, our conference will investigate the different political, social, and cultural spheres studied and inhabited by historians. Conference participants might address wide-ranging subjects and traverse broad thematic, geographic and temporal boundaries, but some questions we hope to address include:



*What is the relationship between the private sphere and political or other larger publics?

*How does the political sphere affect or impinge on the individual? How is the personal of public significance and how does the individual affect or participate in a larger public?

*Does the changing scale of studying history affect ideas about the public? Can we speak of a transnational or global public?

*How do new technology and media impact and transform the way publics are created?

*How is history created or represented within a variety of public settings (museums, for instance), levels of education, or in the wider community?



Submissions of pre-organized panels are strongly encouraged. Individual paper submissions are also welcome and those selected will be assigned by the conference committee to a suitable panel. The panels will include three paper presentations that are each twenty minutes in length. Presentations will be followed by a brief commentary offered by a discussant. Please submit the items and information below no later than Saturday, 1 December 2007. The HGSA Conference Committee will evaluate proposals and inform participants by Saturday, 15 December 2007.



Submission Instructions:

1. names of all authors for panels (also note name of person presenting paper)

2. institutional affiliation and title/position

3. contact information: email address, postal address, telephone/fax numbers

4. title and an abstract of the paper, which is no more than 250 words - requests for any audio-visual equipment (overhead, projector, PowerPoint, etc.) must be cited in the abstract



If you would like to serve as a commentator, please submit a CV and a brief statement detailing your areas of expertise.

While the panels and keynote address will be take place on Saturday, 1 March 2008, participants are encouraged to attend organized events on Friday, 29 February 2008. These will include an additional lecture given by Michael Adas organized by the American Studies Department, a dissertation workshop for advanced IU graduate students, and a conference welcome reception held on Friday evening. This information will be provided to participants.



Submit this information *via email* as an attachment (.doc or .pdf formats preferred) to:

hgsaconf@indiana.edu, or submit a hard copy to:



The Paul Lucas Conference in History
History Department Indiana University
742 Ballantine Hall
Bloomington, IN 47405-7103
Fax: 812-855-3378


The conference is *free* to IU graduate students in any field. Non-IU students will submit a registration fee of $30 (checks payable to HGSA)

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