2021 Annual Meeting of the Society for the History of Discoveries
2021 Conference Call for Papers–Deadline Extended!
19-20 November 2021|New Orleans: Williams Research Center
COVID-19 NOTICE: Although we are hopeful that this meeting will be held in person, we will continue to monitor the epidemiological situation, and we will inform participants should it be necessary to pivot to a virtual platform.
- Where: New Orleans, Louisiana
- When: 19-20 November 2021
- Venue: Williams Research Center of the Historic New Orleans Collection
- An opening reception is planned for the evening of Thursday, 18 November.
Theme: Changing Tides: Native Americans, Europeans, and Africans on the Gulf Coast
The Gulf Coast of the southern United States has been an area of intense human activity for millennia. Native Americans hunted and fished, developed agriculture, and produced works of art in this region as early as 11,000 B.C.E. Vast trade networks stretched across the land and water. Europeans entered the scene in the sixteenth century with destructive expeditions led by Panfilo de Narváez and Hernando De Soto. Enslaved Africans were also brought to Spanish Florida in the sixteenth century. The Gulf Coast saw increased exploration and settlement, cultural exchange, and exploitation. Indeed, the ensuing centuries brought intensified and continuous change. This fascinating region offers the inspiration for our conference.
Papers, 25 minutes in length, are invited on all points of view of this theme, including: discovery, exploration, conquest, resistance, settlement, economy, daily life and all aspects of cultural encounters and exchange.
The Committee also welcomes proposals from SHD members, scholars, and independent researchers that address all aspects of geographical discovery and exploration. SHD welcomes submissions from graduate students and emerging scholars, and papers on teaching the history of geographic exploration. Preference will be given to those papers that are particularly aligned with the conference theme, but all paper proposals of high quality, regardless of geographic orientation, will be considered.
SHD is pleased to be able to award travel funding of up to $500 each for two graduate students to present papers at the annual meeting through the Dr. Mary Emily Miller Endowment. Further information may be found at: discoveryhistory.org/endowment/. Those who wish to apply for this award should include a letter of request, including a preliminary travel budget, when submitting their paper proposals.