Wednesday, February 6, 2013

MAA Members


The Medieval Academy of America invites proposals for panels at the 2014 meeting of the American Historical Association in Washington, DC, January 2-5, 2014. Each year the Medieval Academy sponsors several sessions at this meeting that are likely to be of particular interest to MAA members and general interest to a broader audience. 

The deadline for submitting proposals for the AHA is February 15, 2013. Session descriptions submitted to the Medieval Academy's AHA Program Committee by February 8 will be considered for Medieval Academy sponsorship. These descriptions should go to the committee chair, David Mengel (mengel@xavier.edu) and include the following: session title, session abstract, paper titles, names and affiliations of organizer, presenters and (if relevant) respondent. Individual paper abstracts are requested but not required.

SOME TIPS:
* On Topics: While the theme of the 2014 AHA Meeting is Disagreement, Debate, Discussion, proposals actually do not need to address the stated. A well-conceived panel and a clear, concise description of how the proposed session advances historical knowledge are intrinsically important. Panels commemorating anniversaries, and using them to revisit important events and their interpretation, are particularly well received.
* On Audience: Proposals that will attract an audience beyond specialists in medieval history are more likely to be accepted. Crossing chronological boundaries (e.g., ancient & medieval, medieval & early modern) or focusing on issues, methods or sources (e.g., gender, material culture, mapping/GIS) with wider historical constituencies are good strategies for success.
* On Panel: Diversity is necessary on panels -- not only in terms of identity, but also in terms of rank and institution.  

Guidelines for sessions and submitting proposals can be found on the AHA website here:
  
For the AHA Program Committee,                 
Eileen Gardiner and Ronald G. Musto
Executive Directors, MAA

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