CFP: OAH/NCPH Virtual Conference Series

Hajni Selby Announcement
Subject Fields
American History / Studies, Teaching and Learning, Public History, Contemporary History

Call for Proposals for the 2024 OAH/NCPH Virtual Conference Series (this is an online only event) 

"Public Dialogue, Relevance, & Change: Being in Service to Communities and the Nation"
Submissions will be accepted  from December 1 to March 1, 2023
*Single papers can be submitted from November 1 to January 16

This CFP is for sessions via the OAH only. NCPH will conduct a separate CFP for this event

Visit the Call for Proposals: Collaboration Group to find session participants

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 2024, at the Virtual Conference Series in cooperation with NCPH, 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 Chairs/Commentators:
Open November 1 to January 16 only.

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.

Contact Information

Organization of American Historians
112 N. Bryan Avenue Bloomington, Indiana 47408-4141
Telephone: 812-855-7311 

Contact Email
meetings@oah.org