Call for Proposals:
Research Agenda Symposium
Research in World History: Connections and Globalizations
The World History Network and the World History Association seek proposals for participation in a Research Agenda Symposium to be held in Boston on November 10-12, 2006. Up to 40 participants worldwide will be selected for a meeting intended to develop a consensus statement on priorities in world-historical research. The conference committee will select participants, based on the strength and interest of initial proposals, but also with attention to balance by national origin, gender, age, and disciplinary focus. Invitations will be issued to selected participants by 30 June 2006.
Conference theme: “Research in World History: Connections and Globalizations.” Conference organizers seek proposals for research on large processes in history: these may address both recent times and early times; long time frames as well as short ones; multiple disciplines; links of global and local factors; and the relationship of teaching and research. Proposals may identify major topics of research and their significance, as well as the design and methodology of research. In addition, applicants may wish to address questions of funding, collaboration, the balance of senior-level and junior-level participants in research, and major debates in world history.
Conference venue and costs: The conference will be held at the John Hancock Conference Center and Hotel in Boston, an intimate and comfortable center located just off Copley Square, in the middle of Boston’s busy Back Bay neighborhood. The conference fee of $250 includes registration, conference materials, and a full set of meals and receptions.
Financial support for participants: Applicants, especially those from outside the U.S., should indicate whether they seek support for travel, lodging, and conference costs. The conference committee will be able to pay costs for selected participants.
Format and Activities of the Symposium: Participants, once selected, will prepare revised versions of their 1000-word statement on research priorities in world history. All of these statements will be distributed to participants three weeks before the Symposium. In six sessions of the two-day meeting, each participant will speak briefly on his or her views, with general discussion in each session. One major session each day will be devoted to an effort to articulate and rank overall research priorities. At the conclusion of the Symposium, a small drafting committee will be selected by participants, which will draft a document stating the principal conclusions of the Symposium. The document will be circulated to participants and revised until it achieves general approval, at which point it will be published.
- Friday: Evening cocktail reception, introduction to Symposium procedures. Dinner on your own.
- Saturday: Continental breakfast, followed by four presentation sessions (of six speakers each), with breaks, and initial discussion. Refreshments will be served during the breaks. In addition, we will host a lunch; an afternoon reception; and a sit-down dinner.
- Sunday: Continental breakfast, followed by two presentation sessions. The concluding lunch will feature a discussion of the issues raised at the symposium and the selection of drafting committee members. Refreshments will be served throughout the day, and our facilities will be available for afternoon breakout sessions.
Submission of Proposals: Please submit your proposal electronically to .
Deadline: All proposals must be received on or before 1 June 2006.
Form and content of curriculum vitae: The CV must include name, professional affiliation, mailing address, and (if available) electronic address. In addition, it should include the author’s choice of relevant information on employment, publications, research projects, and professional activities. The maximum length of the CV is two printed pages or 500 words.
Form, content, and scope of proposals: On or before the deadline of June 1, 2006, applicants should submit a statement proposing priorities for world-historical research. The specific form and content of proposals is open to the authors, with the sole limitation of 1000 words maximum length. The conference committee seeks original proposals that will address the range of possibilities for world-historical research. The scope of the proposals should extend to the full range of world-historical issues, and may include any issues and approaches that may elucidate our understanding of world history.
- Topics that should be high priorities in world historical research
- Debates requiring further research
- Time frame
- Disciplines and disciplinary connections requiring particular attention
- Methods of world historical research requiring emphasis
- Resources – archives and other documentation – requiring attention
- Analytical emphasis – for instance, global patterns or global-local connections
- Individual or collaborative work
- Organization of national or transnational research groups
- Relative emphasis on graduate study, work by senior faculty, or combinations
Proposals may encourage research in areas of the author’s specialization but need not be research that the author will take on individually. Proposals need not be comprehensive, but should be argumentative.
Conference committee:
- Patrick Manning (chair), World History Network
- Zvi Ben-Dor Benite, New York University
- Parker James, World History Network
- Deborah Smith Johnston, Lexington High School
- David Kalivas, Middlesex Community College
- Adam McKeown, Columbia University
- Stephen Rapp, Georgia State University
For further details, contact
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