Call for Papers: Pro- and Anti-War Voices, 11 November 2023, University of Worcester. Deadline May 31st.

This conference is dedicated to illuminating both negative and positive responses to war in the United States, and welcomes proposals from academics, postgraduate researchers (PGRs), and early career academics (ECAs) who focus on either of these perspectives in any historical period.

Whilst war has often been analysed by focusing on the important decision makers, both civilian and military, we seek to challenge this lens by concentrating on a “bottom-up” approach to history. This will be done within this conference by focusing on both the pro- and anti-war voices of a range of different “regular” people during war time. The parameters of this conference are therefore expansive and hope to shed light on the perspectives of those who have been ignored and neglected by a previous dedication to “top-down” history. The organisers hope that these responses will derive from a variety of different historical actors regardless of age, race, class, gender, sexuality, or political affiliation. It is hoped that this diversity in historical subject will be mirrored in the varied range of sources our speakers will utilise such as newspapers, personal diaries, oral testimonies, photographs and other ephemera. In this way, this conference gain a diverse insight into the way “regular” people inserted their voices into situations in which they had little control.

The organisers aim to provide PGRs and ECAs particularly with the opportunity to speak at an academic conference, a skillset so vital for those embarking on a career as an academic. This will allow researchers to share their work so far, build their oratory and presentation skills, and meet and share experiences with other researchers within the American Studies community who are at similar stages in their careers.

The conference will also coincide with an exhibition of the same name in The Hive, (Sawmill Walk, The Butts, Worcester, WR1 3PD) 3-13 November 2023.

The organisers are delighted to announce that this conference/exhibition is now supported by the BAAS Development Fund. Two bursaries are available for PGR/ECA speakers. Don’t delay, submit your abstract today! The deadline for the abstracts is May 31st 2023.

Please submit any queries and abstracts to the conference co-coordinators:

Joseph Rix (PGR): rixj1_17@uni.worc.ac.uk

Dr Wendy Toon: w.toon@worc.ac.uk