Northern Illinois University Fifteenth Annual History Graduate Student Association Conference

“Imagining the Past: Fact, Fiction, and the Historian’s Pursuit of Truth”

The 2022-23 Northern Illinois University History Graduate Student Association Conference focuses on the historian’s relationship to the conceptually intertwined notions of fact and fiction, and their role in how we construct the past. This theme is designed to muster a broad range of panels that collectively highlight the shared methodological, archival, and temporal spaces between various fields of history. Moreover, we hope the conference will provide a space that engenders lively presentations, discussions, and questions that allow participants to consider how their research participates in or is influenced by historians’ pursuit of “truth.” We therefore wish to encourage further discourse about the role of “fact” and “fiction” in our work, and how those notions enable or disable accurate portrayals of the past.

The Northern Illinois University History Graduate Student Association cordially invites graduate students in history or other related fields to submit abstracts for this year’s annual conference on Friday April 7^th, 2023, to be held primarily in-person at Northern Illinois University’s campus (Specific location TBA), with options for hybrid presentations.

• We welcome paper and panel proposals that address any geographical area, time period, or field of historical study.
• Abstracts should not exceed 300 words. Please submit abstracts and presentation titles to niuhgsa@gmail.com
• In your submission email, please include your name, institutional affiliation, and a brief biographical statement indicating your academic status, along with a return address, current email, and other pertinent contact information. 
• Panels will be selected based on the submissions received.
• We are prioritizing in-person participation, but we will accept virtual submissions via Zoom. Please consider sending in a pre-recorded presentation that does not exceed 15 minutes.
• Please submit abstracts and information no later than Friday, February 17^th, 2023. When panels have been organized and panel chairs selected, the NIU HGSA will contact you about submitting papers ahead of the conference.
• Please feel free to contact HGSA President J. Hollis Harris at jharris25@niu.edu with any questions or concerns regarding the conference or the acceptance process.