Call for Papers: "The Transformation of Global History, 1963-1975" (Princeton University, October 2015)

Here's an intriguing call for papers for a conference on global history – on the history of the discipline rather than papers exhibiting global or transnational approaches per se – taking place at Princeton University this October 9-10, 2015.

Historical scholarship underwent a transformative period between 1963 and 1975. From insightful thinkers as William McNeill, Fernand Braudel, Immanuel Wallerstein, Alfred Crosby, Sidney Mintz, Natalie Zemon Davis, Kenneth Clark, and Jacob Bronowski, history became more than a selective study of the Western nation-state. Their scholarship experimented with, contextualized, critiqued, and questioned existing narratives; significantly broadened history's scholarly scope to incorporate anthropological, scientific, and geographical insights; analyzed networks and pushed boundaries. Their intended audiences, too, radically expanded out of the 'Ivory Tower,' into the living rooms of millions of families.

This two-day interdisciplinary conference at Princeton University, scheduled for October 9-10, 2015 will examine these groundbreaking figures and their research. Through an engaged, retrospective approach, we intend to answer important questions about this first wave's continuing impact and legacy. While our panels will be centered on these eight scholars, individual papers can be about any aspect or effect of their work, can contextualize, clarify, and critique. We welcome a diversity of approaches. Through collaborations with the Princeton University Art Museum and the new Center for Digital Humanities, we will exhibit a host of visual artifacts and end with a roundtable discussing new methods that continue the vision of these early historians. Following the conference, a selection of work will be published as an anthology. We therefore invite proposals from scholars across disciplines and at all stages of their careeers. Innovative approaches will be our primary criteria in selection, and we are particularly encouraging of papers that engage with art history, digital humanities, and/or transnational history. 

The conference organizer, Benjamin Sachs, requests a 350-500 word abstract with title, author contact information, and presentation description (e.g., PowerPoint or other medium; it is to be sent to globalhistoryconference@gmail.com by March 30, 2015.