"History and its Publics: Doing Things Differently"
65th Annual meeting for the Society for French Historical Studies (SFHS)
April 4-6, 2019
Indiana University-Purdue University, Indianapolis (IUPUI)
Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
There is a long tradition among historians of France and the Francophone world of doing history "differently" so that we can engage a wider public through our craft. Among other things, we have published editorials in newspapers, worked with filmmakers to tell stories from the past, granted interviews on television, published trade books, staged plays, written novels, maintained blogs and hosted festivals. This conference will explore and celebrate the many ways that we innovate, play, or otherwise experiment with history to engage a broader public.
Our keynote speaker will be Pierre Singaravélou (University Panthéon-Sorbonne). There will also be a plenary session with Catherine Blondeau (Director, Grand T Theater, Nantes) and Krystel Gualdé (Chief Curator, Museum of Nantes) to discuss their creation of the biannual festival "Nous Autres" in Nantes, France.
The program committee welcomes proposals in English or French for complete panels or individual papers on all aspects of French and Francophone studies, medieval to contemporary. We particularly seek panels, roundtables, and workshops that explore this year’s theme of “History and Its Publics: Doing Things Differently." What are the ways that historians carve a role for themselves as public intellectuals? How have they engaged the public with history? What types of collaborations facilitate these public engagements?
The conference will be held on the IUPUI campus in Indianapolis. The campus borders along downtown Indianapolis and the White River State Park. The White River State Park houses the Indianapolis Zoo, NCAA Headquarters, Indiana State Museum, and the Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art. All of these sites are convenient to the campus and conference hotel (Sheraton Indianapolis City Center).
Please do not submit proposals for talks that have already been presented or published, or that have been submitted for presentation in another forum. Paper proposals (in English or French) that are one page in length and accompanied by a brief CV must be submitted in digital format by September 15, 2018 to: sfhsconference2019@gmail.com. Panel proposals typically contain three paper proposals plus a cover letter indicating who will serve as the chair and commentator for the panel. Daniella Kostroun will serve as president of the society in 2019 and will organize the conference. Questions can be directed to her at the above email address or at dkostrou@iupui.edu.
In addition to paying the conference fees, all participants must be members of the Society for French Historical Studies in good standing at the time of the conference. Membership dues should be paid directly to Duke University Press: https://www.dukeupress.edu/Societies/french-historical-studies.