Difficult Histories

Call for Proposals

The Twelfth Annual Conference of the Midwest World History Association, held in conjunction with the Great Lakes History Conference

September 23-24, 2022

Grand Valley State University (Grand Rapids, MI)

Extended Proposal Deadline: May June 15, 2021

The Midwest World History Association, in collaboration with the Great Lakes History Conference, is pleased to announce a call for paper, poster, panel, roundtable, and workshop proposals for its annual conference to be held at Grand Valley State University in Grand Rapids, Michigan on September 23-24, 2022. The conference theme is “Difficult Histories.” During a time when growing numbers of people are becoming conscious of the politicization of history, this theme is intended to invite presentations and discussions on how world historians can successfully engage with contested topics. 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, along with GLHC, seeks to bring together college and K-12 faculty, and welcomes proposals from K-12 teachers, college faculty, graduate and undergraduate 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 June 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. 

Please note that during past iterations of the Great Lakes History Conference, all presenters have been given a small honorarium as compensation for their participation. Presenters must register for the conference by September 1, 2022 to be included in this program, and the total amount of the honorarium will not be known until after that time. The MWWHA will also 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 and GLHC, including membership and conference registration (when it becomes available) can be found at http://www.mwwha.org and https://www.gvsu.edu/glhc/.