The Oral History Association invites submissions for “Times of Crisis, Times
of Change: Human Stories on the Edge of Transformation,” our Annual Meeting
to be held October 27-31, 2010 in Atlanta, Georgia.
Times of great crisis may offer the prospect and promise of great change. The
economic, political and environmental tensions of the present moment are
powerfully reshaping our world. People find themselves trapped within global
forces, whether economic collapse, war and genocide, forced displacement and
relocation, or the threat of environmental disaster. These forces often
appear to act upon people in ways beyond their control. At the same time,
moments of great crisis engender powerful new visions of change and
transformation. Whether as involuntary subjects or active agents, leaders or
witnesses, people live and embody these changes. Their memories are critical
windows on human struggles, resilience, myth-making, and the political power
of stories, forcing a reckoning with the past as well as a reconsideration of
the future. Such stories speak to both collective and contested
understandings of life on the edge of transformation.
The theme of the 2010 annual meeting of the Oral History Association is
inspired by the times in which we are living and the setting for our
conference. Atlanta, Georgia is an historic city, one defined by a vibrant
and sometimes contested history of activism for civil and human rights.
Moreover, it is also a city which has been transformed by waves of rural to
urban migration, immigration, urbanization, and changes in the global
economy, all of which have produced crisis, real or imagined, in Atlanta’s
complex network of local communities. Taking a cue from this dynamic setting,
and focusing on the use of oral history to reconstruct stories of/in crisis
and change, we ask: How have people struggled and survived in times of
crisis? How do people create change and bear witness to it? How do they
construct their stories of these moments? In what ways have stories of crisis
and change shaped public memories of pivotal historical eras? How do we
reconcile contradictory stories of crisis and change?
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 non-traditional 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 & ethnic studies, cultural studies, political science, information
science and technology, communications, and urban studies. In recognition of
the important work taking place 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 interest in
narratives of crisis and change.
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 downloaded.
The deadline for submission of all proposals is Friday, January 15, 2010. All
proposals should be submitted via email to oha@dickinson.edu, or if
available, through the online submission page on the OHA website, at
www.oralhistory.org<http://www.oralhistory.org/> . The Cover Sheet 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 January 29, 2010, please contact the OHA
office to make sure your submission has been received.
David A. Reichard
2010 Program Co-Chair
CSU Monterey Bay
david_reichard@csumb.edu
Tomás F. Summers Sandoval
2010 Program Co-Chair
Pomona College
tfss@pomona.edu
Rina Benmayor
2010-11 OHA President
CSU Monterey Bay
rina_benmayor@csumb.edu
Email: oha@dickinson.edu
Visit the website at http://www.oralhistory.org/annual-meeting/
