The History Graduate Student Association at Northern Illinois University is organizing its 13th annual HGSA Conference on the theme of Constructing History through the Prism of Perspective, Identity, and Memory. Due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, the conference will be held as a virtual conference on 9 April 2021.

History casts a long shadow over current social and political movements, placing historians in the crosshairs of ideological contestations. The construction of History–rooted in authors’ academic, cultural, geographic, or political backgrounds–is inescapably subjective, but how does this diversity shape the narratives and discourses within the field of academic History? And how does the creation of historical memory through the prism of the authors’ identities affect its interpretation within a polarized political and social environment? This year’s annual Northern Illinois University HGSA Graduate Conference invites scholars and graduate students to question how constructing history and preserving memory through historians’ diverse backgrounds and identities shape the field of History and its reception by wider or multidisciplinary audiences. 

Please send an abstract of about 300 words to niuhistorygsa@gmail.com. Include a title, your name, and your paper’s general scope by February 12, 2021.