2012 National Underground Railroad Conference

Call for Proposals

Download the Call for Papers Form (.doc)

The 2012 National Underground Railroad Conference theme will explore resistance to slavery through escape and flight to and from the South, including through international flight to Spanish Florida, the Caribbean, Mexico, and Indian Territory, and the transformation of cultural identity within descendent communities. The conference seeks to create a cultural, historical, and interpretive exchange between domestic and international descendent communities of southern freedom seekers.

The 2012 National Underground Railroad Conference seeks a program that includes the full diversity of academic and grassroots research, documentation, and interpretation of the Underground Railroad. Whenever possible, proposals should consist of presenters of both sexes, all age groups, and members of racial and ethnic minorities. We welcome scholars who practice their craft in a variety of venues, including: independent researchers and educators; community organizations; archeological investigations; museums; archives and libraries; historical societies; living history and reenactment groups; academic institutions at all levels; and the National Park Service.

The Program Committee is keen to encourage a wide variety of forms of conversation. Please feel free to submit such nontraditional proposals as poster sessions; roundtables that home in on significant topics in Underground Railroad history; discussions around a single historical person, image, or archeological/historic site in Underground Railroad history; a series of sessions organized around a single thread that will run through the conference; working groups that tackle a common issue or challenge; workshops that develop professional skills in the documentation or education of Underground Railroad history; or multimedia representations, documentaries, and performances whose central topic is Underground Railroad history. Teaching sessions are also welcome, particularly those involving the audience as active participants or those that reflect collaborative partnerships and/or conversations among students, teachers, public historians, research scholars, and educators at all levels and in varied settings.

We prefer to receive proposals for complete sessions, but will consider individual papers and performances as well.

Proposals of specific interest:

• Dispersal of Gullah Geechee culture through the migration of freedom seekers;
• Military and political defense of freedom in Spanish Florida;
• The War of 1812 and its Impact on southern Freedom seekers;
• Black Seminole maroons and the Seminole Indian Wars;
• Freedom seekers along the Trail of Tears and in Indian Territory;
• The Underground Railroad between the United States and the Caribbean;
• Black Indian Freedom Seekers along the U.S.- Mexican Borderlands;
• Creation of southern maroon communities;
• Freedom seekers in the South’s maritime system;
• Cultural representations of southern Underground Railroad history (i.e. music, living history, exhibits, performance, documentaries);
• Strategies to preserve and interpret Underground Railroad and Freedom seeker stories
• Strategies to teach local Underground Railroad history to children

Other topics of interest include stories of southern freedom seekers during the War of 1812 and the American Civil War in commemoration of the 100th and 150th anniversaries, respectively, as well as the American Revolutionary War.

Registration Requirements

All participants are required to register for the 2012 Conference and are responsible for their individual hotel and travel arrangements and costs.

Submission Procedures

Proposals on the attached form should be submitted by email (2012NationalUGRRConference@oah.org) to the Organization of American Historians, beginning October 2011. Complete session proposals most often include a chair/moderator, participants, and, if applicable, one or two commentators. Commentators may be omitted in order for the audience to serve in that role. Session membership should be limited by the need to include substantial time for audience questions and comments. All proposals must include the following information:

• a complete mailing address, e-mail address, phone number, and affiliation for each participant
• an abstract of no more than 500 words for the session as a whole
• a prospectus of no more than 250 words for each presentation; and
• a bio/vita of no more than 250 words for each participant

Submission Deadline

The deadline for proposals is Sunday, January 15, 2012, by 11:59 pm PST.