Dear Colleagues,
The call for papers and instructions for submission for the 2008 Social Science History Association (SSHA)meeting, to be held October 23-26, 2008, in Miami, is available at www.ssha.org. The theme for this year is “It’s About Time: Temporality and Interdisciplinary Research” and I have excerpted a few of the relevant sections from the CFP below. AS ALWAYS, you are under no obligation to respond to the stated theme and we welcome submissions on a wide variety of topics.
Pavla Miller (pavla.miller#rmit.edu.au) and I (mkryan#umn.edu) are serving as the co-chairs for the Women and Gender network, to which submissions in that general subject area would be made. Please don’t hesitate to contact us if you have questions about the program, the submission process, etc. We look forward to hearing from you!
Marynel Ryan, University of Minnesota
„Historians are interested in the past. But when exactly does the past end or the present begin? After a decade of sophisticated theorizing about space, it may be time for a fresh look at time…
The 2008 Program Committee especially seeks panel proposals that will focus on questions related to time in interdisciplinary research. Do different social science disciplines specify the temporal dimensions of the past differently? How does periodization of the past figure across disciplines? Is time just another kind of space? Does history’s concern with the past make its understanding of causation different from other disciplines? What are the advantages and disadvantages of treating time as a sequence of distinct eras rather than as a continuous flow, a progression or evolution, or a repeating cycle? Do concepts of time differ in analysis of the life of a person, a business enterprise, a political regime or a nation? Papers and panels that explore how temporality matters in the methods of history, the humanities, or the social sciences are particularly encouraged. So are panels that encourage dialogue among historians and advocates and practitioners of, for example, “time geography” or the “sociology of time.”
„The SSHA is the leading interdisciplinary association for historical research in the US; its members share a common concern for interdisciplinary approaches to historical problems. The organization’s long-standing interest in methodology also makes SSHA meetings exciting places to explore new solutions to historical problems. We encourage the participation of graduate students and recent PhDs as well as more-established scholars, from a wide range of disciplines and departments.“