7th Annual Interdisciplinary Graduate Conference
CALL FOR PAPERS
“Whither – isms: On the Imbrications of Theory and History”
Stony Brook, New York | September 28-29, 2023

 

The History Graduate Students Association (HGSA) at Stony Brook University invites graduate students in history and other humanities and social sciences disciplines to submit papers for their seventh annual interdisciplinary graduate conference.

 

“The historical discourse is the world’s oldest thriller”, wrote Ranajit Guha in his seminal 1988 essay “The Prose of Counter-Insurgency”. In order to unpack this ‘thriller’ Guha utilizes the theoretical modes of Structuralism, critiquing and overcoming the limitations of existing methodologies of Colonialist, Nationalist and Marxist historiographies. This conference explores the relations between theory and history and the formulations of theories of history. How do various theoretical modes, like Marxism, Modernism, Feminism, Deconstructionism, Postmodernism and so forth, help us address the limitations of traditional historical practice? Or, how do these theories create inhibitions that prevent newer forms of the historical method? Has the time come to abandon theory altogether or should we, as scholars, re-formulate theory to suit the unique challenges and anxieties that studying the past represent in this contentious present? Is such a reform(ulation) possible? If so, how?

 

HGSA invites disciplinary and interdisciplinary presentations including, but not limited to:

● Environmental History and the Anthropocene

● Empire and Global Connections

● Colonial Projects and Decolonial movements

● Activism in the Academy

● Interpretive, or ‘Speculative’ Histories

● Animal Studies

● Archival Merits, Mediocrities

● Prison Narratives and Carceral Studies

● Critical Race Theory and Caste Studies

● Philosophies of History, Histories of Philosophy

● Marxism

● Feminism and Queer Studies

● Health, Science, and Technology

● Religion and Cultural Identity

 

SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS:

Please apply through the online application. Applicants should submit a paper title, abstract (150–250 words), and a one-page curriculum vitae (including preferred name and pronouns) no later than June 15, 2023. Please direct all inquiries to: stonybrookhgsa@gmail.com.