Call for Graduate Papers: "Whither - isms"
The History Graduate Students Association (HGSA) at Stony Brook University invites graduate students in history and other disciplines in the humanities and social sciences to submit paper abstracts by June 15th, 2023 for our seventh annual interdisciplinary graduate conference. The conference will be held at Stony Brook University in Stony Brook, New York (a two-hour train ride from New York City) on September 28 and 29, 2023. The conference will be held in-person, though hybrid and remote options are available on a limited basis. If you have any questions regarding the conference or post, please contact Karl Nycklemoe via email.
"The historical discourse is the world's oldest thriller," wrote Ranajit Guha in his seminal 1988 essay "The Prose of Counter-Insurgency." In order to unpack this "thriller" Guha utilizes the theoretical modes of Structuralism, critiquing and overcoming the limitations of existing methodologies of Colonialist, Nationalist, and Marxist historiographies. Our conference explores the relations between theory and history and the formulations of theories of history. How do various theoretical modes, like Marxism, Modernism, Feminism, Deconstructionism, Postmodernism, and so forth, help us address the limitations of traditional historical practice? Or, how do these theories create inhibitions that prevent new forms of the historical method? Has the time come to abandon theory altogether or whould we, as scholars, re-formulate theory to suit the unique challneges and anxieties that studying the past represent in this contentious present? Is such a reform(ulation) possible? If so, how? Whether you tangentially utilize or intensively interrogate theory in your academic work, we of the HGSA encourage graduate students of all fields in the humanities and social sciences to apply.
To apply, please submit a paper title, abstract (150-200 words) and a one-page curriculum vitae (including preferred name and pronouns) to our online application linked here and below. Papers are to be submitted to the HGSA by early September for the conference panel moderators to read in advance of the conference.