There are now only 34 days before proposals for the 2014 Mormon History Association Conference are due. The call for papers is below, with a few sections bolded with particularly important points. In addition to those bolded sections, please use the comments section to find potential panel partners for MHA. You should also follow the Mormon History Association (and The Juvenile Instructor!) on Twitter on Facebook.

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Now for the call for papers!

The Immigration of Cosmopolitan Thought

The 49^th annual conference of the Mormon History Association will be held in San Antonio, Texas, on June 5-8, 2014 at the Crown Plaza Riverwalk Hotel.  Our theme emphasizes the interplay between Mormonism and broad national and international currents and forces.  San Antonio, a cosmopolitan, historically Catholic borderlands city with a vibrant but contested multicultural history and a relatively small but expanding Mormon presence, is a good place to explore the immigration and impact of cosmopolitan viewpoints and ideas.   We encourage papers that connect all branches of the Restoration to diverse theoretical, intellectual and cultural perspectives, as well as papers that examine the interplay between Mormonism and other religions.  Texas, a state with a reputation for confidant swagger and independent thought, is also a bastion of conservative moral conviction.  We encourage papers that explore how Mormons have negotiated an identity and thrived in vast settings with firmly entrenched worldviews where they have comprised small, sometimes maligned minorities.   As a state that straddles the boundary between the American South and the American West and shares a border with Mexico, Texas is an ideal setting for papers that probe the Mormon past in those regions as well as in Central and South America.  Finally, with the Alamo standing in its heart, San Antonio is a good place for conference papers that consider the interplay between history and memory.  Sharply contested interpretations of what happened at the Alamo in 1836 remind us of the importance of framing key events in Mormon history from a variety of perspectives.

MHA invites proposals for complete panel sessions and other presentations.  The Program Committee will give preference to complete two- or three-paper session proposals.  Individual paper proposals will also be considered, as well as formats like round-table discussions, readers, theaters, and film screenings.  Please send a title and abstract for each paper (300 words maximum) outlining the scope, key arguments or hypotheses and sources of the paper along with a brief 1-2 page CV for each speaker.  Panel proposals should also include a brief abstract outlining the panel’s theme and giving it a title, along with suggestions for a chair and commentator.  Previously published papers will not be considered.  Student presenters who wish to apply for financial assistance are invited to include estimated travel expenses with their proposals.

The deadline for all proposals is October 1, 2013.  Proposals should be sent by email to brian_cannon@byu.edu.  Notification of acceptance or rejection will be made by January 1, 2014.  For additional information on the conference, please consult the MHA website at http://www.mormonhistoryassociation.org/.