2011 OHA Annual Meeting
October 12-16, 2011
Renaissance Denver Hotel
Denver, Colorado
URL: http://www.oralhistory.org/annual-meeting/2011-oha-annual-meeting-call-for-papers/
"Memories of Conflict and Disaster: Oral History and the Politics of Truth, Trauma, and Reconciliation."
Call for Papers
The Oral History Association invites proposals for papers, panels, roundtables, and presentations for its 2011 annual meeting to be held October 12-16, 2011, at the Renaissance Hotel in Denver, Colorado.
The 2011 OHA Annual Meeting is being held a month after the 10th anniversary of 9/11/2001. The past century has spawned more than this one grave event; 9/11 was one of a myriad of natural and manmade conflicts and disasters that have occurred throughout the world in the recent and more distant past. So
naturally, the theme of this meeting reflects these timely topics. And as the subtitle suggests, we have lent a particular ear to the interpretation and preservation of these events in light of the search for truth, the
documentation of trauma, and the quest for reconciliation.
Cataclysmic conflicts and disasters destroy people and property. They also, however, offer the prospect of change and rebirth. Leaders seemingly try but rarely succeed to learn lessons from these types of events; ordinary people tell, gather, and preserve individual stories of loss, survival, resilience, and renewal. The documentation of such recent events in human history in a way that adheres to the OHA's best practices and standards can be tricky to navigate. Conflict and disaster need not be explosive or ground-shaking to shape the cultural landscape, and as such, we welcome a wide interpretation of the call for papers.
Denver, on the front range of the U.S. Rocky Mountains, and the Renaissance Denver Hotel will serve as host to the 2011 meeting. This region showcases a rich history of mountaineering, environmentalism, migrant labor, mining, political activism, and conservation and preservation through the state and national parks, as well through private and non-profit foundations and entities. We certainly welcome and encourage the oral history practitioners in this western city and the surrounding region to submit papers and proposals,
regardless of how directly their projects align with this year's theme.
As with all previous OHA meetings, the Program Committee welcomes broad and diverse interpretations of the conference theme as reflected in proposals for panels, individual papers, performances, exhibits, and roundtables. We especially encourage presenters to think about nontraditional delivery models, such as interactive sessions, dialogic formats that engage audience, and use of digital media.
Presenters are reminded to incorporate voice and image in their presentations. OHA is open to proposals from the variety of fields traditionally represented in our meetings, including history, folklore, literature, sociology, anthropology, American and ethnic studies, cultural studies, political science, information science and technology, communications, and urban studies.
In recognition of the important work occurring outside the United States, we also hope to have a significant international presence at the meeting. And, as always, OHA welcomes proposals from independent scholars, community activists and organizers, archivists, librarians, museum curators, web designers, documentary producers, media artists, ethnographers, public historians, and all practitioners whose work is relevant to this meeting's focus on conflict or disaster.
Proposal format: For full sessions, submit a title, a session abstract of not more than two pages, and a one-page vita or resume for each participant. For individual proposals, submit a one-page abstract and a one-page vita or resume of the presenter. Each submission must be accompanied by a cover sheet, which
can be found on the OHA website.
The deadline for submission of all proposals is Friday, January 21, 2011. All proposals should be submitted via email to oha@dickinson.edu, or if available, through an online submission page to be determined later. The cover sheet, which can be downloaded from our website, and all proposal documents must be combined into one attachment in Microsoft Word format. Please do not send the documents as separate attachments. If you do not receive email confirmation by Monday, February 7, 2011, please contact the OHA office to make sure your
submission has been received.
Proposal queries may be directed to:
Jennifer Abraham, Louisiana State University, 2011 Program Co-Chair:
jabrah1@lsu.edu
Troy Reeves, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2011 Program Co-Chair:
treeves@library.wisc.edu
Horacio Roque Ramirez, University of California-Santa Barbara, 2011-12 OHA
President: roqueramirez@chicst.ucsb.edu
For submission queries or more information, contact:
Madelyn Campbell, Executive Secretary
Oral History Association
Dickinson College, P.O. Box 1773
Carlisle, PA 17013
Telephone: (717) 245-1036 Fax: (717) 245-1046
Email: oha@dickinson.edu
