Here it is--the official Call for Papers for the 65th (!) annual meeting of the
Pacific Northwest History Conference.
The theme this year is “Citizenships in the Pacific Northwest.” Like all good conference themes this is more of a suggestion than a requirement, if you are doing interesting work in Northwest History you should be able to work the theme into the title of your presentation! The conference is April 3-5, 2014 at the Inn at the
Red Lion Hotel Vancouver at the Quay in Vancouver, Washington. As ever, the conference is sponsored by the
Washington State Historical Society.
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| "Tell me more about your research, professor..." |
I have been coming to the PNW conference on and off for about 20 years. In some ways it is my favorite conference--small enough that you can meet everyone, lots of interesting work being presented, a nice mix of grad students and public historians to leaven all the blowhard professors. On the other hand, I am always left with the feeling that the conference could be a bit more than it is. The promotion and organization of the event has sometimes been uneven. It did not help matters when the sponsoring organization, the Washington State Historical Society, was cut back and nearly eliminated in the continuous series of budget crises from 2008 until the present. Finances though, seem to have stabilized, and it is time to reinvigorate this important conference.
I am on the committee this year and will be working to try and broaden the attendance and presenters at the conference. I hope to take a van full of grad students down to Vancouver, and also to recruit some new voices to present their research. Some of you can expect a call!
