2010 Annual Meeting – Tacoma, Washington
Deadline: 31 March 2010
The Society for the History of Technology will hold its annual meeting in Tacoma, Washington from September 30 to October 3, 2010. The Program Committee invites paper and panel proposals on any topic in the history of technology, broadly defined. Sessions dealing with non-Western technologies are particularly welcome. Of special interest for 2010 are proposals that engage in themes that resonate with the concerns of the specific locale. These include:
Consumption: In the popular imagination, the Tacoma-Seattle area is associated with several important corporate entities (Boeing, Microsoft, Nintendo, Starbucks, etc.) whose goods and services are deeply embedded in global consumer culture. At a moment in time when consumption, sometimes excessive, sometimes globalized, sometimes exploitative, is of great concern to both the public and policy-makers, Tacoma is an appropriate place for historians to (re)consider technologies of consumption. We are especially interested in papers that see production and consumption as coterminous processes and which historicize consumption as part of broader processes in the history of technology. We define consumption very broadly to include the public’s active engagement with technologies and technological systems, which may include environmental, communications, and obsolete technologies.
The Program Committee encourages sessions dealing with topics appropriate to the meeting location, such as aerospace and maritime history, labor history, forest products, information technology, and themes relevant to the Pacific world. We also encourage historians of technology to reach out to scholars in aligned and/or related fields when constructing research proposals as one way to create a more interdisciplinary environment. Finally, we invite papers and panel proposals that emphasize the longue durée, particularly those that problematize demarcations such as modern/premodern, colonial/postcolonial, and preindustrial/industrial. As always, sessions dealing with pre-modern, Medieval, and ancient topics are especially welcome.
The Program Committee’s highest priority in evaluating paper and panel proposals is scholarly excellence. The Committee welcomes proposals for individual papers or sessions, as well as works-in-progress from researchers of all stripes (including graduate students, chaired professors, and independent scholars). It welcomes proposals from those new to SHOT, regardless of discipline. Multinational, international, and cross-institutional sessions are also desirable. We especially encourage proposals from non-Western scholars.
For the 2010 meeting the Program Committee continues to encourage unconventional sessions; that is, session formats that vary in useful ways from the typical three/four papers with comment. These might include round-table sessions, workshop-style sessions with papers that are pre-circulated electronically, or “author meets critics” sessions. We also welcome poster proposals for presentation in poster sessions. Please note that in general we discourage panels with more than three papers.
The deadline for proposals is 31 March 2010. Please submit your proposals to shot.tacoma2010@gmail.com.
Proposals for individual papers must include:
1. a one-page abstract (maximum 600 words)
2. a one-page curriculum vitae, including current postal and e-mail addresses
Proposals for complete sessions must include:
1. a description of the session that explains how individual papers contribute to an overall theme.
2. the names and paper titles of the presenters
3. for each presenter, a one-page summary (maximum 600 words) of the paper’s topic, argument(s), and evidence used
4. for the commentator, chair, and each presenter: one-page c.v., with postal and e-mail addresses
Please indicate if a proposal is sponsored by one of SHOT’s special interest groups.
Submission Instructions:
1. Materials should be sent as a single text attachment to an e-mail message to the Program Committee Chair, Asif Siddiqi at shot.tacoma2010@gmail.com
2. Proposals for complete sessions as well as individual papers should be submitted in one file.
3. Please adhere to the 600-word limit for each paper. Use no unusual fonts or special formatting, and save your attachment either as a Microsoft Word document (.doc or .docx) or as a Rich Text Format (.rtf) file. Nearly all word processing programs, including those used on Apple computers can save text in the Rich Text Format. Do not use Adobe Acrobat (pdf).
4. Name your attachment with your last name and the word ‘proposal’, e.g. ‘Smith_proposal.doc’.
5. A session organizer should also deliver a description of the overall session. If you are organizing a session and proposing a paper in that session, you will be delivering both an “abstract” and “proposal”, plus your c.v.
6. If you are proposing a non-traditional session you may indicate that in the “abstract.” These also require a curriculum vitae.
General information:
While SHOT rules exclude multiple submissions (i.e., submitting more than one individual paper proposal, or proposing both an individual paper and a paper as part of a session), scholars may both propose a paper and serve as a commentator or session chair.
Generally speaking, the Program Committee discourages scholars from presenting papers at two consecutive meetings held in North America. Exceptions can be made for scholars traveling from overseas. Individuals are always welcome to serve as chairs and commentators and are encouraged to let the Program Committee know if they are available.
For more information about the Society for the History of Technology and our annual meeting, please see the SHOT webpage:
For questions, please contact SHOT Secretary Bernie Carlson at shotsecy@virginia.edu.
Jane Carlson
Admin Assistant to Exec. Sec
Society for the History of Technology
Charlottesville, VA
(434) 975 2190 (fax)
(434) 987 6230 (cell)