For the 2020 BAAS Postgraduate Symposium, we welcome proposals that reflect aspects of this year’s theme, Connection and Collective Action: Past and Present. This year has seen an unprecedented reexamination of the ways we interact with one another, be it on an international, governmental, institutional, or personal level. While coming together physically is more complicated than it ever has been, this year has also seen people around the world unite to challenge engrained systems and demand change. This Symposium will enable us to participate in our own evaluation and interrogation of methods of connection and collective action in American history and culture.

We seek to touch upon the following questions: How have people taken collective action historically, and how does this reflect on our present historical moment? How are cultures shaped by the points of connection and conflict that arise between the people that form them? How can our connection and collaboration as researchers enable us to wrestle with and address the social, political, and cultural challenges we face today? We invite proposals that address any aspect of these questions from postgraduate and early career researchers from all disciplines and time periods.

We welcome the submission of individual papers as well as proposals for complete panels of three researchers. Applications from groups of three or four researchers for roundtable discussions will also be accepted. Presentations should be approximately 20 minutes long if presenting on a panel, and roundtables will consist of five-minute introductions by each researcher followed by approximately 45 minutes of open discussion. Interdisciplinary paper, panel, and roundtable proposals are encouraged.

The deadline for submissions is 6 November 2020. Please send proposals including a title, an abstract of no more than 250 words, a short biography of no more than 100 words, and a CV to Molly Becker and Jennifer dos Reis dos Santos at pgbaas2020@gmail.com. Each complete panel and roundtable proposal should consist of three or four individual proposals, as well as a statement of up to 250 words describing the aims of the panel or roundtable.  Additionally, if you are submitting an individual proposal but would be willing to speak as part of a roundtable session, please indicate that in your application.

For further information and updates about this year’s Symposium, follow us on Twitter @PG_BAAS2020 or visit https://www.baas.ac.uk.

We look forward to receiving your proposals!

This Symposium is dedicated to Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, and all those who have been the victims of institutionalized and systemic racism.