CFP: HOTCUS Winter Symposium: Memory and History in the Twentieth-Century United States (Canterbury Christ Church University)

The 2015 HOTCUS Winter Symposium will focus on the issue of “Memory and History in the Twentieth-Century United States”. It will take place at Canterbury Christ Church University on Saturday 21 February 2015, and the keynote speaker will be Professor John Howard of King’s College London.

Keynote Speaker: Professor John Howard (King’s College London)

A series of recent historical anniversaries – of the Civil War, World War I, the March on Washington, and the assassination of John F. Kennedy, to name only four – have drawn renewed attention to the significance of remembrance in American history. At the same time, and on both sides of the Atlantic, controversial debates have taken place about school and college history curricula, and their relationship to the shaping of national identity. In response to these issues, the 2015 HOTCUS Winter Symposium will focus on the issue of “Memory and History in the Twentieth-Century United States”.

Proposals are invited for short and provocative presentations of no more than 15 minutes that address the following questions:

1. •How has the memory of iconic moments in the American past shaped movements for social and political change?
2. •What is at stake when certain aspects of U.S. history are remembered, often very publically, while others are forgotten?
3. •How should American history be taught and remembered in schools and universities?
4. •What role can professional historians play in the process of shaping popular historical narratives?

Proposals are also encouraged that deal in other ways with the relationship between memory and history in twentieth-century America. After the keynote lecture and presentations, the event will conclude with a broad group discussion based on a shared reading.

Proposals of no more than 250 words should be sent to the HOTCUS Events Secretary, Nick Witham (nick.witham@canterbury.ac.uk), by the deadline of Friday 7 November 2014. All submissions should include the name of the presenter, their institution, email address, a short profile, and the title of the proposed presentation.