For 2026: Virginia's Revolutionary Histories & Beyond
CALL FOR PROPOSALS
CALL EXTENDED TO MAY 15, 2024
The American Revolution of 1776-1783 implicated Virginia and Virginians in distinctive ways. From the proclamation by former Virginia royal governor Lord Dunmore encouraging enslaved people to join the British and resist the American patriots to the final decisive battle at Yorktown, to the first presidents, Virginia played a pivotal role in the struggle for American independence and the founding of a new nation. Some 200 years later, scholars, curators, interpreters, and educators are transforming our understanding of Virginia in the long eighteenth century, casting new light on the political, intellectual, and social contexts of change in the Old Dominion and the larger Atlantic World.
For 2026: Virginia’s Revolutionary Histories & Beyond explores Virginia’s distinctive role and influence in local and global contexts. The conference leans into innovative approaches to that past through an increased commitment to education strategies and programs, immersive experiences on site at W&M and CWF, along with the traditional focus on leading scholarly work. Sessions that feature integration of these different perspectives within sessions, workshops, or panels are especially welcome.
We expect to attract at least 100 presenters and can accommodate a range of sessions designed for researchers, educators, and the public. We encourage submissions of traditional academic research, the work of public historians, experiential workshops in areas of professional expertise, and others, particularly submissions designed to incorporate major anniversaries and commemorative events related to each organization (e.g., the completion of the Brafferton School building, the closing of the Williamsburg Bray School, the founding of the Phi Beta Kappa honor society, the 100th anniversary of Colonial Williamsburg, the 250th anniversary of the founding of First Baptist Church, and others).
Sessions will be held in the School of Education on W&M’s campus. Site visits and plenary sessions will take place both at W&M and in the Historic Area of Colonial Williamsburg. Limited events will be available simultaneously via online video.
Proposals for individual papers, full panels, workshops, roundtables, site visits, and other proposals are due here by MAY 15, 2024.