Call for papers--Evidence

The Tyranny of Facts: Cultural Institutions and the Authority of
Evidence 26 to 28 April 2002, Boston, Massachusetts, United States

Call For Participation

To be held at the site of the Massachusetts Historical Society, one
of the country's oldest and most respected archives, the 2002 NEASA
conference will explore the connections between cultural
institutions, evidence, and the process of instituting culture
throughout the American experience.  The theme of this year's
meeting (the title of which comes from Warren Goldstein's review of
Dutch, the fictionalized biography of Ronald Reagan by Edmund
Morris) raises such issues as:

    *   What counts as facts, data, or evidence? How have facts been
        used in American culture to construct mythologies of race,
        class, gender, or power?

    *   What is the role of evidence in academic research, and
        particularly in interdisciplinary approaches such as
        American Studies?  When is it appropriate to interweave fact
        and fiction?  How  do we reconcile different elements of
        scholarship to create a braided narrative? How has the
        construction of a usable past marked American thought, and
        American Studies scholarship?

    *   How (either historically, or now) do gatekeepers of facts
        such as the Massachusetts Historical Society, the
        Smithsonian Museum, the United States Information Agency, or
        local historical societies, influence American culture?  How
        have people in the United States and abroad responded to
        such cultural institutions?

Sadly, the topic conceived last spring now seems all the more
pressing in the wake of the attacks of September 11, 2001.  We have
invited papers that address those tragic events, and the continuing
aftermath.

As always, NEASA welcomes participation by public intellectuals and
activists without university affiliations--e.g., secondary school
teachers, journalists, community organizers, archivists, curators,
artists, and independent scholars. To enable broader participation
in the conference, and to reward excellent papers (the award carries
a stipend), NEASA again will offer the Mary Kelly Prize for the best
paper by a graduate student or non tenure track scholar.

Inquiries should be directed to:

    Lisa MacFarlane, NEASA Program Chair
    Department of English
    Hamilton Smith Hall
    University of New Hampshire
    Durham, NH 03824
    lwm [at] cisunix__unh__edu

Proposals, including a one page abstract and a C.V., should be
received by Friday, January 8, 2002.

E-mail enquiries: lwm [at] cisunix__unh__edu

Organized by: New England American Studies Association

Helen Terre Blanche (Conference Alerts)


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