Outcasts, Pariahs, Criminals: Histories of Others and Othering

Call for Proposals

The Thirteenth Annual Conference of the Midwest World History Association

September 22-23, 2023

Roosevelt University (Chicago, IL)

This conference will be held in person at Roosevelt University in Chicago’s South Loop.

Proposal Deadline: May 15, 2023

The Midwest World History Association is pleased to announce a call for paper, poster, panel, roundtable, and workshop proposals for its annual conference to be held at Roosevelt University in Chicago, Illinois on September 22-23, 2022. The conference theme is “Outcasts, Pariahs, and Criminals: Histories of Others and Othering.” This theme builds off of last year’s “Difficult Histories” by highlighting the histories of and by those who have been othered. As many political leaders move to “shield people from feeling ‘discomfort’ over historic actions by their race, nationality or gender,” this theme is intended to invite presentations and discussions on how world historians at all levels – high school, community college, or university - can best create spaces within which to explore, share, teach and learn about contested topics. This year’s theme is also a recognition of the change in federal law that once again makes incarcerated citizens eligible for Pell grants and the hopeful increase of educational opportunities for those most impacted by the carceral state. As always, while designed to spark discussion, the conference theme is not intended to limit possibilities: paper and panel proposals on any theme and time period in world history are welcome. Similarly, proposals that focus on teaching and those that showcase research are equally encouraged. The MWWHA seeks to bring together college and K-12 faculty, and welcomes proposals from K-12 teachers, college faculty, graduate and undergraduate students, high school students, and public historians, as well as scholars and teachers working in allied fields.This conference will be held in a hybrid format, with panels running in-person on the campus of Grand Valley State University while streaming simultaneously via Zoom. Although the organizers hope for robust in-person turnout, presenters and attendees are welcome to participate in-person or remotely as best fits their schedule and abilities.

Please submit a 250-word proposal abstract and short CV to http://www.mwwha.org by May 15, 2022.

Questions about the conference can be directed to MWWHA's public discussion forum on its site, or you can email the conference chair at chair@mwwha.org. Where a complete panel of papers, roundtable, or workshop is proposed, the convener should also include a 250-word abstract of the panel theme. Individual paper presentations should be planned to last no longer than 20 minutes. 

The MWWHA will offer up to three competitive Graduate Student Awards to help offset travel costs. Graduate students interested in applying should include a letter with their conference proposal explaining how the conference helps them with their studies, teaching, and/or future career plans as well as how their paper fits with the conference theme and the mission of the MWWHA. 

We also invite accepted papers to be submitted to our journal, The Middle Ground Journal, for potential publication: http://themiddlegroundjournal.org/. Extra consideration will be given to papers for a special issue of the journal based on the conference theme.

Further information about the MWWHA, including membership and conference registration (when it becomes available) can be found at http://www.mwwha.org.