24 December 2016

Call for Papers: 2017 Annual Meeting




Call for Papers
2017 Annual Meeting of the Society for the History of Discoveries

Where: Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA
When: 22-23 September 2017 with possible outings on 21 and 24 September

The approximate outline of Wisconsin on
Carte de la Louisiane et du cours du Mississipi
(1718) by Guillaume de L'Isle.

Theme: From the Midwest to the Arctic: Exploration and its Impact in the Northland


Papers, 20 minutes in length, are invited on all aspects of this theme, from explorers to fur
traders to cartography. Jesuit missionaries played a key role in exploring and mapping this
region and Marquette University, a Jesuit institution, will host select conference events. The
American Geographical Society Library at the University of Wisconsin will be our primary host
and in their honor we also encourage papers on arctic exploration, as well as papers on the
history of cartography generally.

The Program Committee welcomes proposals from SHD members, scholars, and independent
researchers that address all aspects of geographical discovery and exploration. Preference will
be given to those papers that are particularly aligned with the themes noted above, but all paper
proposals of high quality, regardless of geographic orientation, will be considered.

The audience at SHD meetings is diverse and includes academics and members of various
professions. All are especially interested in the processes and consequences of geographical
exploration and discovery. Presenters are encouraged to use images (maps, paintings,
photographs, etc.). For the benefit of the audience all visuals must be presented as PowerPoint
compatible projections.

Paper Proposals are Due Friday, February 3, 2017:
  • the title of the presentation
  • the author’s name and address, including email address and affiliation
  • an abstract summarizing the paper’s scope and conclusions (maximum of 500 words)
  • a statement about the originality of the contents of the paper: how much is new,
  • unpublished material, based on research in primary sources, etc.
  • a statement indicating whether power point or other digital media will be used and
  • whether internet access is necessary for the presentation.
  • a brief biographic sketch of the author(s)
SHD welcomes submissions from graduate students and emerging scholars.

Paper proposals should be submitted as e-mail attachments, with the subject line SHD 2017, to:

Dr. Marguerite Ragnow, Program Committee Chair
ragn0001@umn.edu

Questions? Please contact Dr. Ragnow at ragn0001@umn.edu or 612-624-6895