OAH Annual Meeting Crossing Boundaries April 10-13, 2014

Submissions will be accepted beginning January 1, 2013.

The theme for the 2014 OAH Annual Meeting will be “Crossing Borders.” The history of the United States is a product of migrations – internal and international. Along with people, goods and ideas crossed these borders, reshaping the composition and character of the American people. Sometimes the borders and boundaries were physical, as when international migrants crossed oceans and continents, or when large numbers of individuals migrated from one region of the country to another, or when the lure of wealth and influence led to foreign invasions and conquests. Those on the move were accompanied by bacteria or viruses, microorganisms whose migration across borders also shaped human experience. Borders were also framed by culture – racial, ethnic, class, and gender differences that perennially redefined our population and social order. The theme for the 2014 conference seeks to examine, in all their complexity, a broad array of border crossings and “encounters” in US history, highlighting the contributions and challenges presented by those who transcended borders to redefine their lives or flee the constraints of their pasts.

The 2014 OAH Program Committee seeks a broad, wide-ranging program that treats the rich expanse of the American experience, from the pre-Columbian era to the twenty-first century, and the thematic breadth that defines the work of contemporary historians on the page and in their classrooms. The committee enthusiastically encourages proposals from those teaching at universities, colleges, community colleges, and secondary schools, as well as public historians and independent scholars.

In pursuit of inclusivity and diversity, the program committee invites the submission of panels and presentations that deal with the themes of the conference, but also other important themes and issues in American history. We welcome teaching sessions, particularly those involving the audience as active participants or those that reflect collaborative partnerships among teachers, historians, and history educators at all levels. Professional development sessions are always welcome.

We encourage presenters to continue the ongoing transition from simply reading papers to more actively “teaching” the topic of their sessions. Roundtables, especially state-of-the-art sessions, and workshops offer an excellent format for alternatives to panels with presenters reading papers verbatim.

We prefer to receive proposals for complete sessions. However, we will consider individual paper proposals, as in the past.

Registration and Membership Requirements

All participants are required to register for the Annual Meeting. Participants who specialize in American history and support themselves as American historians are also required to be members of the OAH. Participants representing other disciplines are not required to be members of OAH.

Repeat Participation

OAH policy prohibits individuals from participating in two consecutive annual meetings in the same role and limits individuals to appearing only once on the program in a given year. If you have questions about this policy email the OAH meetings department .

Submission Procedure

Complete session proposals most often include a chair, participants, and if applicable, a commentator (chairs may double as commentators, and commentators may be omitted in order for the audience to serve in that role). The Program Committee encourages alternative formats that maximize audience participation, such as sessions with no formal comment.

All proposals must include the following information:

• a complete mailing address, e-mail address, phone number, and affiliation for each participant
• an abstract of no more than 500 words for the session as a whole
• a prospectus of no more than 250 words for each presentation
• a vita of no more than 500 words for each participant

Submission Deadline: February 15, 2013