AAR proposals DUE TODAY (March 1st) at 5:00 pm EST!!

Just a friendly reminder to those of you who haven't submitted your paper and session proposals for the Religion in the American West Group's session at this year's annual meeting of the AAR, submissions are due today (March 1) at 5:00 pm EST!

Here is the CFP for the Religion in the American West Group: https://papers.aarweb.org/content/religion-american-west-group

Religion in the American West Group

Statement of Purpose: 

The Religion in the American West Group is a forum for graduate students, independent scholars, and faculty who situate their work regionally in the North American West, broadly conceived. The study of religion in this region allows scholars to use a broad array of methodologies (historical, anthropological, literary, sociological, and others) to explore the most pressing questions in the field of American religion and in Religious Studies more generally. These include, but are not limited to: the history of empire and colonialism; the connections between religion and violence; the construction and deployment of racial, ethnic, gender, and sexual identities; transnational movement of people and ideas; religion and the natural and built environments; myth-making and its role in the construction and critique of nationalist ideologies; and the development of the category of religion. The purpose of this subfield is not to remain in the American West, to define the West, or to argue that religion in the West is unique. Instead, by situating scholarship regionally, scholars of the American West are able to develop theories and methods that can be useful interpretive lenses for other regions defined by land, transnationalism, migrations, diversity, and colonialism. Moreover, the Group supports the development of a rigorous intellectual community by pre-circulating papers in advance of the national meeting and maintaining a blog.

Call for Papers: 

Migration in the American West: Settling, Populating, Transplanting, Displacing, Moving, Claiming, and Leaving

The American West is an imagined place that is often idealized as new, dynamic, a tabula rasa ripe with possibility. Or, it is the destination of the down and out, the economic migrant and immigrant, the last chance. Or, it is the ancient home of native peoples as well as Spanish haciendas and missions. Finally, perhaps it is also where people depart from, a point of disembarkation to other regions, other lands, carrying with them some ineffable sense of being “Western.” Early histories of the West focused on pioneers and settlement as well on displacement while more contemporary analyses of the West address issues of cultural contact, environmental concerns, transnational flows, and economic growth.
Drawing on this ideational context of mobility, we solicit paper and panel proposals on the myriad intersections of religion with migration into and out of the American West. How have religious homes been made in the West? How have westerners brought their religions with them when they leave the region? How have racial, ethnic, gender, and religious identities been co-constituted in this space of continual migratory cultural flows?
We are interested in all patterns of religion and migration, and also are particularly interested in papers contributing to a co-sponsored session with the Native Traditions in the Americas, on indigenous pilgrimages, forced migrations, and commemorative rides in the Western United States.
Please note that the format for the session will feature pre-circulated papers as is the long custom of this group.

“Reimagining or Reclaiming Home: Pilgrimages, Forced Migrations, and Commemorative Rides”, as related to the western United States. This topic is for a possible co-sponsored session with the Native Traditions in the Americas.

Method: PAPERS

Process: Proposals are anonymous to chairs and steering committee members during review, but visible to chairs prior to final acceptance or rejection 

Leadership: 

Chair

• Brandi Denison, b.denison@unf.edu
• Brett Hendrickson, hendribr@lafayette.edu

Steering Committee

• Brandon Bayne, bayne@unc.edu
• John-Charles Duffy, duffyjc@miamioh.edu
• Patricia O'Connell Killen, killen@gonzaga.edu
• Sarah Dees, sarahdees@tennessee.edu
• Sarah M. Pike, spike@csuchico.edu

Call for Papers:

Race, Gender, and Power on the Mormon Borderlands

Announcement published by Dee Garceau on Wednesday, August 19, 2015

Date: October 15, 2015

Subject Fields:

African American History / Studies, Canadian History / Studies, Native American History / Studies, U.S. - Mexico Borderlands, Women's & Gender History / Studies

CALL FOR PAPERS:

Race, Gender, and Power in the Mormon Borderlands

Mormon history lies at the borders between subaltern and dominant cultures. On the one hand, due to their unusual family structure and theocratic government, Mormons were a persecuted minority for the better part of the nineteenth century. On the other, Mormons played a significant role as colonizers of the North American West, extending their reach to the borderlands of Mexico, Canada, and the Pacific Islands. There Mormon colonists intermarried with Native Americans, Mexicans, Hawaiians and Samoans, even as they placed exclusions on interracial sexual relations and marriage. During the nineteenth century, Mormons also discouraged Native peoples’ polygamous practices while encouraging plural marriage for white women. And for the better part of the twentieth century, Mormon religious doctrine subordinated persons of color within church hierarchy. African-American men, for example, could not hold the priesthood until 1978. Historically, then, Mormons have navigated multiple borders-- between colonizer and colonized, between white and Other, and between minority and imperial identities. This limnal position calls for further investigation. We propose an anthology of essays about race, gender, and power in the Mormon borderlands.

Over the past thirty years, historians of Mormon women have expanded our understanding of gender and power in Mormon society. However, most of these studies focus on white Mormon women, while Mormon women of color have remained largely invisible. This volume seeks not simply to make visible the lived experiences of Mormon women of color, but more importantly, to explore gender and race in the Mormon borderlands. Taken together, these essays will address how Mormon women and men navigated the complications of minority and colonizer status, interracial marriage and doctrinal race hierarchies, patriarchy and female agency, vigilante violence and religious responsibility, and plural identities. These metaphoric borders were brought into play on the geographic and cultural borders of the United States. Specifically, this volume will encompass the continental U.S. West, the borderlands of Canada and Mexico, and Pacific Rim islands such as Samoa and Hawaii, from the nineteenth through twenty-first centuries. A focus on intersectionality in the borderlands promises to open new directions for Mormon history in concert with recent trends in western history. 

The anthology will be co-edited by Dee Garceau, Rhodes College, garceau@rhodes.edu, Andrea Radke-Moss, Brigham Young University-Rexburg, radkea@byui.edu, and Sujey Vega, Arizona State University, sujeyvega@asu.edu . Please feel free to contact us with any questions you have. 

Please send your article abstract or manuscript as an email attachment by October 15, 2015 to Dee Garceau garceau@rhodes.edu , phone: 901-484-1837.

Contact Email: garceau@rhodes.edu

Call for Papers: What should a book on religions in California contain? for CASA 2015 Annual Meeting

Call for Papers: What should a book on religions in California contain? for the 2015 Annual Meeting of the California American Studies Association, held April 24-25 on the campus of California State University, Fullerton.

It goes without saying that religions play a dynamic role in the drama that is the story of California from the beginning through the present. Yet, no one volume yet exists to tell this story in the twenty-first century. Perhaps now, the time is right to for this new project.

What should a book on religion in California contain? What should be its scope, its loci and its foci? What should be its structure? Who should be its author(s)? Three to four presentations are invited to provide a roundtable conversation to explore this topic.

Presentations need not be lengthy (no more than fifteen minutes maximum) nor conclusive (as they are meant to initiate conversation). This detail is important so as not to tax the efforts of any wishing to contribute their proposal to this exploration.

In fact, a quick reply will be sufficient. By January 14 (so that the January 15 deadline can be met), please e-mail a 250 word abstract and a brief (one to two page) c.v. to the panel organizer at ray.kibler.iii@ecunet.org. Questions in advance are welcomed.

OAH Workshop: Diversity in the American West

CALL FOR PROPOSALS
January 5 - February 27, 2015

NEW 2015 SUMMER REGIONAL WORKSHOP
Glendale, California
July 17 - July 19, 2015

The Organization of American Historians is pleased to announce a Call for Proposals for its new Summer 2015 Regional Workshop.

The 3-day workshop, titled Diversity in the American West, will be held on the campus of Glendale Community College, located ten miles north of downtown Los Angeles, from Friday, July 17 through Sunday, July 19, 2015.

The Program Committee invites proposals from college faculty (from both two-year and four-year institutions); high school faculty, including AP History instructors; historical researchers and writers; librarians: museum curators; public historians; advanced graduate students; and other educational professionals.

The purpose of this workshop is to offer history educators a meaningful opportunity to learn more about the diverse people, places, and historical themes of the American West. Some questions to consider include the following: What are the major trends in contemporary research and historiography of the American West, particularly as they relate to the theme of diversity? What strategies can be used to engage students and the general public in the history of the American West? How might instructors build and enhance their teaching of American History survey courses to include the history of the American West?


Submissions will be accepted between January 5, 2015 and February 27, 2015.

For further information and submission instructions please click here.

CFP: Western States Folklore

Western States Folklore Society Conference in Logan, Utah
11-12 April 2014

Please send 100-150 word abstracts into Jill Rudy (jill_rudy@byu.edu) by 1 March 2014

All abstracts must be accompanied by payment of registartion to WSFS, PO Box 3557, Long Beach CA 90803-0557

Detailed information can be found on the website www.westernfolklore.org

CFP: American West Center Symposium

CALL FOR PROPOSALS AND PARTICIPANTS

WESTERN LANDS, WESTERN VOICES:
The American West Center at Fifty

A Symposium on Public Engagement in the Humanities and Social Sciences

University of Utah
Salt Lake City, Utah
September 19-21, 2014

"Western Lands, Western Voices," a three-day interdisciplinary symposium exploring the past, present, and future of public engagement in the Humanities and Social Sciences will be held in Salt Lake City, September 19-21, 2014. The symposium marks the fiftieth anniversary of the University of Utah's American West Center, the oldest regional studies center of its kind in the West. Our goal is to bring together college/university and community based practitioners for a lively discussion of the place and power of publicly engaged/applied scholarship in the American West.

Participation: We seek submissions from college and university based scholars, community based organizations and institutions, state and local historical and cultural entities, and indigenous Nations. The symposium will engage diverse fields including history, anthropology, political science, ethnic studies, literature, cultural studies, and the arts. We strongly encourage participants and projects that span disciplinary divides. Submissions from graduate students, early career scholars, and community based scholars are particularly encouraged, as are those that address innovative ways of reaching public audiences.

Topics: We are seeking proposals for panels, sessions, and individual presentation that illustrate the power and potential of publicly engaged scholarship. Possible topics include, but are not limited to:

· Indigenous Sovereignty

· Cultural Preservation and Indigenous Peoples

· Oral History Methods and Applications

· Community Based History Projects

· Environmental Policy and Politics

· Public Lands Management and History

· Literary and Artistic Representations of the American West

Session Formats: We are seeking submissions for sessions and presentations in a range of formats. Traditional research presentations are welcome, but we encourage collaborative formats such as roundtables and the NCPH's "working group" format. Working Groups connect individuals working on similar projects or problems through the discussion of pre-circulated scholarship.

For complete panel or session proposals a designated contact person should submit a single PDF document that includes a one-page (approx. 250 word) abstract describing the general purpose of the session as well as one-paragraph presentation abstracts and one-page CV's for each of the session participants. Contact information (address, phone number, and email) for all participants must be provided.

Individual presentation proposals should include a one-page abstract as well as a one-page CV with complete contact information (address, phone number, and email) . We will do our best to match individual submissions to create viable sessions.

Working Group Submissions should be made by individuals planning to serve as facilitators for the group. They should include a one-page abstract describing the central issue that the group will address and a one-page CV with complete contact information (address, phone number, and email). If the proposed topic is selected we will assist the facilitator in recruiting appropriate working group members.

All submissions should be sent in PDF format to AmericanWestCenter50@gmail.com by March 1, 2014.

For more information see http://awc.utah.edu/ or contact us at AmericanWestCenter50@gmail.com

CFP: Religion in California conference

Editor's note: This call for papers may be of interest to many of you:

Religion in California

April 24-25, 2014

University of California, Berkeley

Call for Papers

We invite proposals for a symposium on “Religion in California” to be held at the University of California, Berkeley, in April 2014. The symposium is co-sponsored by Berkeley’s Religion, Politics, and Globalization Program (RPGP), the California American Studies Association (CASA), the Theological Engagement with California’s Culture Project (TECC), the Berkeley Center for the Study of Religion (BCSR), and Graduate Theological Union.

The symposium will feature a keynote discussion with Dr. Matthew Avery Sutton (author of Aimee Semple McPherson and the Resurrection of Christian America), Dr. Lois A. Lorentzen (co-editor of On the Corner of Bliss and Nirvana) and Rev. Dr. Joy Moore (Associate Dean of African American Church Studies, Fuller Theological Seminary).

We invite individual proposals that deal with any aspect of religion in California, but we are particularly interested in works that interact with the path breaking scholarship of Sutton and Lorentzen et. al. and/or theological features within the state. Proposals that focus upon some combination of immigration and movement, politics and social movements, and/or theology and culture will be preferred. Proposals should range from 250 to 1,000 words and will be considered through December 15, 2013. Selected participants will be notified by January 1, 2014.

The symposium will be relatively small with panels held on Friday, April 25. Participants will be expected to attend several selected panels and also participate in the opening keynote discussion on Thursday, April 24 and the closing conversation on Friday, April 25.

Please direct any questions and submit proposals to: Lynne Gerber (l.gerber@berkeley.edu), Edward J. Blum (eblum@mail.sdsu.edu), and/or Jason Sexton (Jason@teccproject.com).

http://www.isa-rc22.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/RIC-cfp-poster.pdf

RIC-cfp-poster.pdf

Call for Papers

Editors' Note: This call might be of interest to those of you working on Catholicism in the American West.

U.S. Catholic Historian
Spring 2014 Issue: Saints in America

For more than thirty years U.S. Catholic Historian has published theme-based issues relevant to the history of American Catholicism.

An upcoming issue will assess the role of canonized saints or individuals on the path to sainthood (blesseds/servants of God) and the Catholic Church in America.

Contributions could include, but are not limited, to the following:

· Biographical studies of saints/blesseds/servants of God who ministered in the U.S.

· Studies of devotion to saints in the U.S. context

· Studies of the process of canonization for U.S. saints/blesseds/servants of God

Scholars considering a submission are asked to contact the editor, Fr. David Endres at DEndres@Catholic.orgDEndres@Catholic.org> before preparing a contribution. Approximate length is 7,000-10,000 words. We ask for submissions by March 1, 2014.

Call for Papers: WHA

Editors' Note: In a continued effort to increase discussions of religion at WHA conferences, we highly recommend that the readers of this blog submit paper proposals to the WHA conferences. We both have participated in past conferences. It is a welcoming, small and friendly place to present your work. Consider using the comments section of this post to pull together possible collaborations with fellow readers!

2014 Call For Papers

54th Annual Conference of the Western History Association

15–18 October 2014, Newport Beach, California

THE WEST AND THE WORLD

The 2014 Program Committee invites proposals that consider the relationship between the West and the world. What forces have connected the North American West with other peoples? Consider, for example, the international links forged by catastrophic events: the fur and hide trade of the 18th and 19th centuries; the mining extravaganzas ranging from the California gold rush to the Klondike; the detonation of atomic, then hydrogen bombs; the end of the Cold War, which allowed indigenous Alaskans and Siberians to reestablish contact; the tsunami of 2011; and the climate change now known as global warming. All of these events have reinforced ties between peoples of the West and their counterparts around the globe.

The Program Committee also invites proposals drawing on vibrant comparative indigenous and borderlands scholarship that explores similarities and differences between the North American West and similar regions (other “Wests”) across the planet. As we gather in Newport Beach, California, on the eastern shore of the Pacific Rim, we are reminded that the West isn’t always geographically west, yet we also find ourselves asking, “What makes it a particular place? What sets it apart as a unique region?”

Perhaps the answer to those questions lies in how the world’s peoples have perceived the West. Have the once romanticized impressions spun by Alfred Jacob Miller and, decades later, members of the Taos Society of Artists been overtaken by 21st-century features such as Starbucks, the City of Las Vegas, and Alaska’s Sarah Palin? In the early years of the second millennium, visitors to the West from Japan, China, and Europe might offer intriguing contemporary responses to resolve that conundrum. Have the earlier perceptions of the North American West changed or do they continue to prevail among outsiders who are intrigued by this unique region of the earth? We look forward to hearing proposals that respond to some of these puzzles regarding the West and the world.

The Program Committee strongly encourages full panel submissions and will consider single papers only when they can reasonably be matched with other panels or papers. When submitting an entire session or panel, include a brief abstract (250 words) that outlines the purpose of the session. Your designated contact person should submit the proposal. Each paper proposal, whether individual or part of a session, should include a one-paragraph abstract and a one-page c.v., with address, phone, and e-mail for each participant. Indicate equipment needs, if any. The committee assumes that all listed individuals have agreed to participate. Electronic submissions are required and should be sent, with supporting materials, as a single document (PDF) to wha2014call4papers@gmail.com. THE SUBMISSION DEADLINE IS September 1.

Call for Papers

Editors' Note: This call for papers might interest some of you!

The interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary journal, Environment, Space, Place (ZETA Books), is under new editorial direction and is looking for articles from contributors that make the ‘geographical turn’ in their research by framing, or making thematic, the spatial/placial component of the earthly/worldly phenomena. The journal editors are currently reviewing submissions for the Fall 2013 edition.

The journal is published in collaboration with the International Association for the Study of Environment, Space, and Place (IASESP) Also note that annual conferences are held in the spring–2014 will be held at California Institute for the Arts. Please contact Troy Paddock, paddockt1@southernct.edu for more information concerning submitting to the journal, or send your article to him for peer review.

Casual Friday

“Religion in the Rocky Mountains and Great Plains” Conference

Call for Proposals

The Department of Religious Studies at the University of Denver cordially invites you to submit paper proposals for the one-day “Religion in the Rocky Mountains and Great Plains” conference, to be held Saturday, June 22 at the University of Denver with the support of an AAR Regional Development Grant.

This one-day conference is envisioned to bring together scholars at different career stages to examine religious identity and practice (including secular and spiritual identities and practices) around the region, past and present. It is intended to help highlight and bring greater interest to issues of religious identity and practice in the states of the Rocky Mountains and Great Plains, and to provide an opportunity for faculty, researchers, and graduate students to connect with and learn from colleagues. The conference is envisioned as a catalyst for more sustained efforts at regional community building, including future conferences and workshops.

Conference structure

The conference will consist of four panels of paper presentations, followed by a roundtable session in which panel chairs present the highlights of each panel, reflect on the day’s presentations, and offer suggestions for future research. The conference will conclude with a keynote speech by an eminent regional scholar.

Accepted papers will be organized into panels arranged either denominationally or thematically. Papers should reflect current research. Each panel will feature scholars from around the region and should include at least one graduate student, to support career stage diversity. Panels will take an interdisciplinary approach, with multiple disciplines represented, and will leave ample time for interactive discussions with
audience members.

Proposal requirements

Each paper proposal should include the following:

*Paper title (working titles okay)
*Name and affiliation of the submitter
*Email address and phone number of the submitter
*Abstract of 250-350 words, laying out the subject of the paper, the
sources used, and the argument, as well as the methodological approach and
a sense of the subject’s broader significance to the scholar’s field
*A/V needs (Most DU classrooms have projectors, speakers, and dvd players)
*Interest in being hosted by University of Denver faculty and graduate
students, if needed

Submission Address and Deadline

Please submit your paper proposal to: andrea.stanton@du.eduandrea.stanton@du.edu

>.

Please submit your paper proposal by Friday, March 8. Acceptance notices
will be sent by Friday, April 5.

There is no cost to submit or present a paper, nor to attend the conference. Registration will be free and will open in late April.

Housing and Travel

The AAR Regional Development Grant will generously support lunch and coffee for conference presenters and attendees, but cannot provide travel support. The Department of Religious Studies will connect presenters in need of housing with faculty and graduate students who might host them; please indicate your interest in being hosted on your paper proposal.

Conference Website

For more information about the conference, please visit our website:
www.religionintherockiesconference.wordpress.com<http://www.religionintherockiesconference.wordpress.com> or email
andrea.stanton@du.eduandrea.stanton@du.edu

>.

Call for Papers

“Theories and Methods for the Study of Religion in the North American West” 

We are now accepting abstracts for an AAR papers session around the area of methods for the study of religion and/or theories of religion that grow from or respond to the study of religion in the North American West. At the conclusion of the Religion in the American West Seminar at the AAR in Chicago last year, a significant number of seminar participants voiced a desire to consider how our regional vantage point can and does alter how the category “religion” itself is defined, imagined, and academically employed. In addition to considering these “theories of religion of the American West,” the proposed session will also reflect on methods of study of religion that are suited to (and respond to) the study of religious people, practices, and institutions in the region.

The following suggested topics are meant to aid your reflections on the proposed session theme, but, of course, other related topics are welcome:

· the influence of western geography on the study of religion;

· understanding religion across North American borders;

· explorations of the notion of “frontier” in American religions;

· western demographic realities and the study of religion;

· the West and the formulation of national identity/civil religion;

· research data and analysis unique to the North American West;

The session will feature four short presentations (15-minute maximum) and a respondent, leaving ample time for audience participation. “We will be submitting the session proposal to the AAR as an exploratory session and to the AAR program unit(s) most appropriate to the chosen papers.

Two hundred-word abstracts are due by Monday, February 18. If you are chosen for the session, you will then be asked to write a longer description of your project which will be due Monday, February 25.

Please email your abstract and any questions to both Brandi Denison (blyndenison@gmail.com) and Brett Hendrickson (hendribr@lafayette.edu).

Editors' Note: In light of this call for papers, we have postponed the book-of-the-month until next week, when our newest contributor, Jennifer Meredith, will be reviewing Anne Butler's Across God's Frontiers. 

Casual Friday

For those of you researching Hinduism in the American West, Mike Altman, a PhD candidate at Emory, is looking to propose a panel around this topic for the coming AAR. You may contact him at: mjaltma@emory.edu. 

H-NET AND YOU

by Brett Hendrickson

In this day and age, the humble listserv may feel like ancient technological history, but if you are not using this resource already, I recommend you check out the family of listservs called “H-Net.”  H-Net gathers over 100 discussion networks in the humanities and social sciences, through which academics circulate calls for papers, invitations to publish, announcements, and information about fellowships and grants. Additionally, the lists allow you to issue requests relating to your research.  Looking for an obscure source or housing near an archive? H-Net can often hook you up.  Subscribing to H-Net is free, and there are various levels of interaction with the lists to choose from.

                 

A couple of the networks relate directly to the study of religion in the American West.  Of particular interest are:

H-AmRel “History of American Religion” (There are lots of good calls for papers on this one.)

H-West “History and Culture of the North American West and Frontiers” (True to form, this forum is full of crusty old western history professors as well as cutting-edge discussions about the West.)

Among others, you may also find these forums helpful:

H-AmIndian 

H-Amstdy 

H-Borderlands 

H-California 

H-Catholic 

H-Ethnic 

H-NewMexico 

H-Pentecostalism 

H-Texas 

So, check out H-Net! If you’re like me, what you really need is one more reason to mess around online and call it “work.”  You’re welcome! 

Casual Friday: Call for Papers

The Pacific Coast Branch of the American Historical Association has a call for papers for their August 8-10, 2013 conference in Denver. They are due January 15.

See this website for more information!

Casual Friday

This announcement came across our desk recently. You might be interested, or know someone who is.

2013 Webb-Smith Essay Competition

$1000 for the best research essay on: "Contested Empire: Rethinking the Texas Revolution"

The Department of History at the University of Texas at Arlington in collaboration with the Center for Greater Southwestern Studies at the University of Texas at Arlington announces the 2013 Webb-Smith Essay Competition as part of the Walter Prescott Webb Memorial Lectures on March 7, 2013. The topic is “Contested Empire: Rethinking the Texas Revolution.” We are looking for students and scholars to submit original, unpublished article-length essays (maximum 10,000 words plus endnotes) that explore Texas during the Mexican period, and which examine the origins and long term ramifications of the events that gave birth to the Texas Republic and its subsequent incorporation by the United States. Preference will be given to papers that attempt to integrate the early nineteenth century Texas borderlands into a broad, geopolitical or multicultural interpretive framework, or which seek in other ways to connect the region and its peoples to a wider world.

The winning essay will be published in a forthcoming volume of the Walter Prescott Webb Memorial Lecture Series, published by Texas A&M Press, along with essays by the lecturers, Amy S. Greenberg, Will Fowler, Eric Schlereth, Miguel Enrique Soto Estrada, and Sam W. Haynes.

Deadline for submissions: January 28, 2013

Send submissions either electronically or by mail to:

Jennifer Lawrence
Chair, Webb Lectures Committee
Department of History
UT Arlington, Box 19529
Arlington, TX 76019-0529

For more information about previously published volumes or the upcoming lectures, please write to Walter Prescott Webb Memorial Lectures Committee (see mailing address above) or by email.

Got a photo, link, or other item that you think would be great for Casual Friday? Send it to us!

Casual Friday

We thought this potential session looked pretty interesting when it came across our desk. Remember the deadline for proposals to the WHA is coming soon!

Hunter Hampton, a Ph.D. student at the University of Missouri, writes: I am interested in forming a panel on religion and the West for the 2013 WHA conference. The paper I would present examines the relationship between Protestant clergy and baseball in western towns. It focuses on ministers and missionaries employment of baseball and muscular Christianity to interact with the lower rungs of western society. Please contact me if you are interested. Submissions are due to the WHA by 1 September.

Got a photo, link, or other item that you think would be great for Casual Friday? Send it to us!

CFP: Healing and Religion/Spirituality in the American West

This note from our own Brett Hendrickson recently came across our desk at the virtual editorial offices of the RAW blog. You might be interested, in which case you should get in touch with Brett! --Eds.

Dear Colleagues,

Jennifer K. Seman, PhD candidate in history at SMU, and I invite submissions to participate on a panel at the October 9-13, 2013, Western History Association in Tucson, Arizona (http://www.westernhistoryassociation.org). The topic of the panel, broadly conceived, is healing and religion/spirituality in the American West. Included papers deal with borderlands religious healing and folk saint phenomena. Other papers could look at (but are not limited to) medical missions to the West, faith-based hospitals and care-centers, Native American healthways, healing and religion among Asian immigrants or on the Pacific Rim, Mormon healthcare, Pentecostal healing in the West, etc. Please send an abstract (250 words or less) to Brett Hendrickson, hendribr@lafayette.edu by August 1, 2012.

Houston is the West, Right?

The Houston skyline, via Robert Agresta

It depends, of course, on how you define "the West" (an argument I do not intend to rehash here) -- but if you include Houston, then you might be interested in this call for papers that recently arrived:

The History Department and the Kinder Institute for Urban Research at Rice University request proposals for a conference, "The Past and Present of Race and Place in Houston, Texas" scheduled for February 2013 (pending funding). The conference will bring new work on the history of race in Houston into conversation with current investigations of the city's racial landscape in order to strengthen both areas of scholarship, probe the ways that historical and contemporary scholarship inform one another, and, in places, to highlight how such work offers solutions to current problems rooted in the ways race works, and has worked, in the city.

What is Houston's demographic history, and does that history portend anything for the future? What historical forces channeled particular racial, ethnic, and linguistic groups into specific Houston neighborhoods, and what contemporary forces are reinforcing or undoing these former trajectories? What role have racial ideologies played in shaping the political, social, educational, and physical landscapes of the city? How did neighborhood institutions, local communities, and individuals bolster or challenge economic, ethnic, and racial divisions within the city, and what, if any, are the contemporary legacies of such work? Has the city birthed racialized cultural productions in literature, and in the visual and performing arts particular to the city and important beyond it as well? How should what is known about the city at present shape what historians seek to gather about Houston's past? The conference will address these and other key questions.

Please send proposals and a cv to raceinhouston@rice.edu. The deadline for proposals is July 16, 2012. Paper proposals should be no more than 500 words.

AAR Proposal System is Open!

As of today, the new AAR paper proposal submission system, with the handy-but-long acronym PAPERS, is open for business. That means you can start submitting your paper proposals! Hooray! Click here to get started. For the Religion in the American West Seminar call, take a look back at this blog post. For the full AAR Call for Papers, click here. Happy proposal writing!