To break down isolation among graduate students and promote
the sharing of knowledge, the Colonial Society periodically convenes
a forum during which graduate students give progress reports on
their research thus far and seek advice from an audience of fellow
graduate students and their advisors concerning problems they
have encountered with their research. Attendance at these popular
events is limited, and we ask those interested to follow the procedures
outlined in the following Call for Proposals.
The Call for Proposals for Our Next Forum
The Colonial Society of Massachusetts
Graduate Student Forum in Early American History
2 May 2008
Boston, Massachusetts
The Colonial Society of Massachusetts invites graduate students preparing dissertations in early American history (up to 1815) to discuss their work with peers and with the Society’s distinguished membership of academics and other history professionals.
The Forum will be held at the Society’s Beacon Hill townhouse at 87 Mount Vernon Street. Each student will have an opportunity to present and receive comments during the course of the day (3 sessions; a 15-minute presentation per student), which will be capped by a keynote address by moderator Gary B. Nash, University of California, Los Angeles.
How to Submit Your Proposal: The proposal, not to exceed five double-spaced pages, should give a vivid sense of the dissertation project and highlight a particular dilemma—methodological, conceptual, source-based, etc.—encountered in the course of research or writing. We ask that you outline a problem so that the forum’s audience may be focused in providing constructive advice. Preference will be given to New England topics, but the committee will attempt to achieve a balance in subjects covered. The proposal should be submitted to: Committee Chair Robert J. Allison, History Department, Suffolk University, Boston, MA 02108; email: ballison@suffolk.edu; fax: 617-723-7255.
**DEADLINE for Proposals: 31 JANUARY 2008**
Travel and lodging expenses will be paid by the Colonial Society, which was founded in 1892 with the mission of advancing the study of early American history.
Rave Reviews from Previous Participants: Previous keynote speaker John Demos remarks, “A wonderful new venue for young historians of early America; may it long continue.” Students comment: “The warm, positive feedback and direction I received fired my enthusiasm for research. It was truly invaluable” (University of California, Davis). “Challenging, and energetic; I took away practical suggestions from both the CSM membership and other graduate student presenters” (Tufts University). “How can one improve on stimulating scholarly exchange combined with wonderful food” (University of Connecticut). “It was my first presentation, and I certainly appreciated the comfortable surroundings" (Princeton). “A platform to voice concerns, dilemmas, and even accomplishments to a distinguished audience” (Salem State University). “My participation in the forum was really the highlight of my graduate career to date” (SUNY Stony Brook).
The Program of Our Last Forum
The Graduate Student Forum
in Early American History
Sponsored by the Colonial Society of Massachusetts
87 Mt. Vernon Street, Boston, MA 02108
27 April 2007
Program
Session 1
Acculturation
9 -10:30
- Craig Miller, University of Buffalo. Skulking, Scouting
and Society on the New England Frontier, 1630-1750.
- Edward Andrews, University of New Hampshire. Prodigal
Sons: Indigenous Missionaries in the British Atlantic, 1640-1790.
- Linford Fisher, Harvard University. Colonial Conversions:
American Indians and Acculturation in 18th-Century New England.
Commentary: William M. Fowler, Jr., Northeastern University
Session 2
New England Ideology and the Wider World
10:45-12:15
- Christine LaHue, Ohio State University. The Resurrection
of John Wise: Congregational Republicanism and Popular Mobilization
in New England, 1770-1783.
- Steven Tobias, University of Washington, Engaging
Sacred Africa: Productions of the Secular within the Context
of the U.S.-Barbary Conflicts.
- Karen Ursic. University of Iowa. Legal History of
Women in Early Ohio, 1780-1840.
Commentary:
Lunch
12:15-1:15
Session 3
Revolution
1:15-2:45
- Ruma Chopra, University of California: Davis. Loyalist
Persuasions: New York City, 1776-1783.
- James C. David, College of William and Mary. Dunmore’s
New World, 1770-1798.
- Philip Mead, Harvard University. “He who views
the scene, with indifference, is worse than an infidel”:
Landscapes and National Identity in the Diaries of the Sullivan-Clinton
Campaign Participants.
Commentary: June Namias, formerly University of Alaska Anchorage
Concluding Remarks
3 p.m.
Gordon S. Wood,
Professor of History
Brown University.
|
