2024 OAH Call for Proposals
Call for Proposals:
"Public Dialogue, Relevance, & Change: Being in Service to Communities and the Nation"
- In-person: April 11- April 14, 2024, New Orleans
- Virtual Series in collaboration with NCPH: April 25-May 16, 2024
NEW DEADLINE: The Call for proposals for full panels is open until March 15, 2023
(If you are submitting a single paper please see special notice in the green box)
SUBMIT A PROPOSAL
The current cascade of crises—viral, racial, economic, political, constitutional and environmental—shape and shadow our communities and our nation. History and historians have a role to play in addressing these crises; documenting, writing, amplifying, and mediating stories that can inform our moment and promote social justice.
Join us in New Orleans, Louisiana or at the Virtual Conference Series in cooperation with NCPH, in 2024 as we honor and explore the ways in which individuals, communities, and historians work and learn together. Listening carefully to the intersections, richness, sorrows, and joys of the past, we’ll ask: How are historians in dialog with communities? How do we define respect and relevance for those we study and avoid extractive practices? How do historians partner with communities to create a more just, informed, and compassionate future in the United States and globally? How should practitioners of history be more accountable to diverse publics as we confront injustices in our contemporary moment? How do we identify and redress historic harms and seek restoration and reconciliation?
Public history will be a major thread through the conference as we invite all to share perspectives on how history can inform, repair, and recast current debates. We encourage proposals for panels, workshops, roundtables, and teaching sessions that transcend traditional disciplinary and geographic boundaries; explore new presentation formats, such as performance and active audience participation; and engage with new and broader audiences at the conference. As well, looking ahead to the semiquincentennial of the Declaration of Independence in 2026, we welcome panels and ideas that test how best to interpret this anniversary in unconventional ways.
As is the OAH tradition, the 2024 conference will aim to reflect the full diversity of the membership nationally and internationally. Of course, we aim to include public historians, archivists, journalists, and independent scholars as well as those teaching at universities, colleges, community colleges, and in PK-12 schools. Whenever possible, proposals should include presenters of different genders, different racial and ethnic backgrounds, and different levels of seniority and place in our allied professions.
This year, we are accepting proposals for complete sessions and will only rarely consider individual paper proposals, as we hope that this spirit of community will pervade even the conception and conceptualization of our offerings. To help those who are considering submitting single papers, we will call for single papers and interested chairs between November 1 and January 16 and offer all single paper submitters the opportunity to connect and build complete session submissions by the official deadline on March 1.
ATTENTION Single Paper Submitters and Chair/Commentator Volunteers:
Single Paper Submissions are now closed.
MERGE TOOL INSTRUCTIONS
New! Beginning with the 2024 Conference on American History, single paper submissions will no longer be accepted for consideration by the program committee during the regular Call for Proposals.
Single paper submissions will be accepted during a separate call between November 1 and January 16. At that time, those interested in commenting on and/or chairing sessions are also invited to submit their information.
After January 16, both those who submitted papers and those wishing to chair/comment will log into the system to identify possible co-panelists, connect with one another, and build complete panel submissions for consideration by the program committee. Please note that all rules regarding dual and repeat participation still apply to this new call.
2024 Program Committee
- Cochair: Kathleen Franz, National Museum of American History
- Cochair: Caroline Cortina, National Endowment for the Humanities
- Cochair: Sam Vong, National Museum of American History
- Robert Caldwell, Hampshire College
- Mandy Chalou, U.S. State Department
- Tiffany Gonzalez, James Madison University
- Theresa Jach, Houston Community College
- Robin Muhammad, Ohio University
- Katherine Ott, National Museum of American History
- Virginia Scharff, University of New Mexico
- Josh Sides, California State University Northridge
- Felicity Turner, Georgia Southern Univeristy
- Judy Tzu-Chun Wu, University of California Irvine
- Serena Zabin, Carleton College
PROPOSAL SUBMITTER RESPONSIBILITIES: Upon review of the submissions, the Program Committee will only announce a "pending acceptance" or a "rejection." If you receive a pending acceptance it is the proposal submitter's responsibility to ensure that each session participant, regardless of role, completes their speaker agreement within the requested deadline (typically July 1). Once all agreements have been completed, only then will the session be officially accepted. If the agreements are not received by the deadline, the pending acceptance is void.
The proposal submitter is also asked to inform the OAH at the close of the OAH Conference on American History if any session participants failed to appear without prior notification.
Please ensure each participant reads important notes prior to submission.
Session Types
Please remember that all sessions except workshops are 90 minutes in length and that 25 minutes should be reserved for discussion.
NEW: Lightning Rounds: 6-10 presenters and 1-2 chairs. Each participant is given 5-8 minutes to present an elevator pitch on their topic in quick succession (50 minutes). The chair(s) act as timekeeper and moderate 40 minutes of question and answer. Virtually this option is presented as a live webinar. Questions will be submitted
via a Q&A box. Questions will be submitted via a Q&A box. These sessions will be recorded.
Paper Presentation: (in-person only) The traditional session format, paper sessions feature a chair, three or four papers, and one or two commentators. A single paper can have one or more presenters.
Pre-circulated Paper Session: (Virtual Only) The traditional session format, paper sessions feature a chair, three or four papers, and one or two commentators. A single paper can have one or more presenters. Participants are asked to record their paper presentation as a group ahead of time. Registrants may access the recordings 2 weeks prior to the scheduled event. The scheduled live event consists of comment followed by Q&A and discussion between the commentator, participants, and attendees. Discussions are not recorded.
Panel Discussion: Panel discussions include a group of people discussing one topic, such as a film, a new text, or a tribute to a well-known scholar. Each panelist speaks on a distinct topic relating to the session theme. These sessions include a chair, three to five panelists, and no commentator. This is not a paper presentation. Virtually, this option will be presented as a live webinar. Questions will be submitted via a Q&A box. These sessions will be recorded.
Roundtable Discussion: Roundtable discussions include a group of experts discussing a topic. A moderator leads the discussion, but all participants speak equally about the topic, with no distinct topic assigned to each participant. These sessions include a chair, three to five participants, and no commentator. This is not a paper presentation. Virtually this option is presented as a live webinar. Questions will be submitted via a Q&A box. These sessions will be recorded.
State of the Field: In these panels senior historians and new professionals discuss a subfield of American history in depth. These panels have one chair, two or three panelists, and no commentator. These in-person sessions will be recorded. Virtually, this option is presented as a live webinar. Questions will be submitted via a Q&A box. These sessions will be recorded.
Workshop: A workshop is a training session where the presenters work directly with participants to teach them a new skill or concept. Workshops are usually small, so the group can participate in the learning and interact with the presenters.Please indicate the length needed for the workshop. These sessions often have one or two presenters. Virtually, this option is presented as an interactive Zoom Meeting and will not be recorded.
Debate: A debate is a regulated discussion of an issue with two matched sides. Debates have one moderator, two or more panelists, and no commentators. Virtually, this option is presented as a live webinar. Questions will be submitted via a Q&A box. These sessions will be recorded.
Single Paper: IMPORTANT CHANGE: Single paper submissions will no longer be accepted for consideration by the program committee during the regular Call for Proposals. Single paper submissions will be accepted during a separate call between November 1 and January 16. At that time, those interested in commenting on and/or chairing sessions are also invited to submit their information. After January 16, both those who submitted papers and those wishing to chair/comment will log into the system to identify possible co-panelists, connect with one another, and build complete panel submissions for consideration by the program committee.
Chat Seminar: (in-person only) 45-minute seminars that encourage discussion, debate, and conversation about topics trending in the field of American history. Each chat is led by 1-2 moderators who are not content providers, but instead direct and guide the conversation. Chats take place over the lunch period on the Saturday of the conference only. Chats include one or two moderators, and no commentators, panelists, or presenters.
Discussion Groups: (virtual only) Online 60-minute seminars that encourage discussion, debate, and conversation about topics trending in the field of American history. Each chat is led by 1-2 moderators who are not content providers, but instead direct and guide the conversation. Participants will take part in discussion over Zoom Meetings. This type will not be recorded.
Film Screening: Film screenings usually show all or a portion of a film and include a question-and-answer segment with the filmmaker and producers. Film screenings have a chair and one or more panelists. FILMS MUST BE CLOSED CAPTIONED to be accepted. Virtually, all films will be made available to registered attendees for at least one month following the live event. Presentations will take place as a live webinar. Questions will be submitted via a Q&A box. These sessions will be recorded.
Advance Text Session: Substantial papers are offered online three weeks prior to the convention to be discussed in detail during the meeting. These sessions include a chair, the paper author who will make introductory comments for 5 minutes only, and one or more commentators, with a minimum of 45 minutes reserved for audience discussion. Virtually, this option will be presented as a live webinar. Questions will be submitted via a Q&A box. Paper will be posted for registrants 2 weeks in advance. These sessions will be recorded.
