CFP: 32nd Annual Symposium on the 19th Century Press, the Civil War, and Free Expression (Nov. 7-9, 2024 • Augusta University)
Call for Papers: 32nd Annual Symposium on the 19th Century Press, the Civil War, and Free Expression
Nov. 7-9, 2024 • Augusta University
The Society of Nineteenth Century Historians, in partnership with the Pamplin College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences at Augusta University, presents the 32nd Annual Symposium on the 19th Century Press, the Civil War, and Free Expression.
The Society invites panel and paper submissions dealing with media, broadly defined in the nineteenth century. Recent topics have included the Civil War of fiction and history, slavery and abolition, coverage of presidents and legislatures, the minority and foreign language press, the illustrated press, sensationalism, reporting on the arts, and spiritualism and the supernatural.
SUBMISSION: Please send your paper or a panel proposal as a Word attachment (including a 200–300-word abstract) to 19thCenturyHistorians@gmail.com no later than August 26, 2024.
- Selected papers and panels must be presented during the conference Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, November 7-9, 2024.
- Presentations should range between 15 and 20 minutes with papers at least 10 pages.
- If submitting a pre-formed panel, please include a panel abstract and the names, contact information, and presentation title for each presenter.
- A Zoom option is available upon request.
- It is not necessary to be a member of the Society to submit a paper or panel for consideration.
Outstanding submissions will be honored with special recognition. The authors of accepted student papers are eligible to receive financial assistance to help defray the cost of travel expenses. The inaugural Sachsman Family Award for outstanding student research and the Schmitt Family Fund in support of undergraduate and graduate scholarship are each dedicated to encouraging in-person presentation. Attendance in Augusta offers a wonderful opportunity to join the Symposium’s community of scholars, gain valuable input and feedback, and explore opportunities to network during a memorable conference experience.
Since 2000, the Symposium, formerly hosted at the University of Tennessee Chattanooga by the West Chair of Excellence in Communications and Public Affairs, the late Dr. David Sachsman, has produced nine books covering a broad range of subjects. These include: The Civil War and the Press (2000); Memory and Myth: The Civil War in Fiction and Film from Uncle Tom’s Cabin to Cold Mountain (2007); Words at War: The Civil War and American Journalism (2008); Seeking a Voice: Images of Race and Gender in the 19th Century Press (2009); Sensationalism: Murder, Mayhem, Mudslinging, Scandals, and Disasters in 19th-Century Reporting (2013); A Press Divided: Newspaper Coverage of the Civil War (2014); After the War: The Press in a Changing America, 1865–1900 (2017); The Antebellum Press: Setting the Stage for Civil War (2019), and The Civil War Soldier and the Press (2023). Panel presentations from the 2020 and 2023 Symposiums were recorded and aired on C-SPAN and C-SPAN 2.
Also, please keep in mind that once again, a unique opportunity is available to participate in an exciting Call for Conference Papers/Book Chapters project, Unexplained! Negotiating the Supernatural in the 19th Century Press. Details are available at 19thcenturyhistorians.org.
For more information, please contact 19thCenturyHistorians@gmail.com
Contact Information
Katrina Jesick Quinn, Ph.D., Slippery Rock University: katrina.quinn@sru.edu
Society of Nineteenth Century Historians: 19thCenturyHistorians@gmail.com