January 18, 2012

American Society of Church History Call for Papers

Hey! It's time for CFP #3, this time from the American Society for Church History. Perhaps you saw Cara Burnidge's swell recap from this year's ASCH meeting last week in this space. (If you didn't, click here for part 1 and here for part 2. There's even music!) The ASCH meets with the AHA in the winter (scroll down for our post on the AHA's CFP), but the deadline for ASCH proposals is a month after AHA proposals are due. Here's the call:

The annual Winter 2013 meeting of the American Society of Church History will be held Thursday to Sunday, January 3-6, 2013, in New Orleans, in conjunction with the annual meeting of the American Historical Association (AHA). We invite ASCH members and other interested scholars to submit paper and session proposals on any aspect of the history of Christianity and its interaction with culture, including proposals for formal papers, panel and round table discussions, consideration of a major recent book, critical assessments of a distinguished career, and other relevant themes and issues.

In addition to traditional categories relating to periods, geographical areas, and special topics, we will give special consideration to proposals that consider broader themes across periods or regions; engage in interdisciplinary discussion; place theological ideas in historical context; examine particular genres, source materials or methods; or treat the current state of the study of church history. We also invite sessions that deal with pedagogical issues of concern in the teaching of the history of Christianity, or with issues in the publication and dissemination of research to specialist and general audiences. Panels should exhibit diversity of gender, rank, and scholarly location in their composition.

Proposals for entire panels/sessions are strongly preferred, though proposals for individual papers will also be considered. The committee welcomes international participation and particularly encourages proposals (whether for full panels or individual papers) from those who live and work outside the United States. Sessions are typically two hours in length and allow for three or four papers, a formal response, and Q&A with the audience. In order better to group individual papers into sessions, such proposals for individual papers should address one of the following themes:

  • Christianity and public life, or the relationship of church and state
  • Christian responses to disaster and suffering
  • Christianity and race, or creole cultures
The deadline for proposals is March 15, 2012.

(For those interested in submitting joint proposals to the AHA and the ASCH, the deadline for AHA proposals is February 15, 2012. See www.historians.org.)

Paper proposals should consist of (1) a short description of less than 300 words, (2) a biographical paragraph or CV summary of the applicant, and (3) a current mailing location, email address, and phone number for the proposed presenter. Session proposals should contain all of the above for each of the presenters as well as (1) the session title, (2) a brief description of less than 300 words outlining the theme or topic of the session, and (3) biographical data and contact details for the chair and the respondent (which can be the same person). Use of audio-visual equipment is limited to the hotel provider’s equipment, has become very expensive, and must be restricted to presentations for which it is strictly necessary. The proposed use of computers, internet, or projectors in the session must therefore be stated and rationalized in the proposal.

Please send proposals, preferably by email, before March 15, 2012, to the program committee at asch2013@regent-college.edu. Acknowledgements and further information will be sent out as proposals are received. The program committee reserves the right to reconfigure sessions as needed.

NOTE: All program participants must register for the annual meeting and be members of the ASCH at the time of the Meeting.

Bruce Hindmarsh, Program Chair
Regent College, 5800 University Blvd., Vancouver, BC, CANADA, V6T 2E4

Independent Scholar and Graduate Student Awards


Independent scholars and graduate students presenting a paper at the Winter Meeting in New Orleans can apply for an Independent Scholar or Graduate Student Award. The award includes a monetary prize of $500.00 for independent scholars and up to $500.00 for graduate students.

Application forms for these awards will be available for download from September 1.

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