Michel-Rolph Trouillot closed his 1995 Silencing the Past by reminding
us that “History doesn’t belong only to its narrators, professional or
amateur. While some of us debate what history is or was, others take
it in their own hands.” This is nowhere more true than in two
historical periods seldom in conversation - the 11th-century
phenomenon called the Crusades, and the 19th-century American Civil
War. Scholars across disciplines seek to clarify these periods among
themselves, while popular audiences voraciously consume these and
other retellings of the past, and others “take it in their own hands”
by toppling monuments or explicitly evoking these periods as direct
predecessors of their own. Scholars of both periods share similar
arguments about the utility of certain methodologies and approaches,
rationales for the importance of their study, and appropriation into
modern politics.



To spur further conversation, Virginia Tech invites paper proposals
for a 1 ½ day plenary conference to be held at the Hotel Roanoke in
Roanoke, VA on March 29-30, 2019. To help ameliorate costs, there will
be no registration fee. In addition, coffee/ snacks, 1 breakfast, and
1 lunch will be provided. Attendees will be responsible for travel &
lodging.



We are pleased to announce that Prof. Matthew X. Vernon, assistant
professor of English at UC-Davis, and author of The Black Middle Ages:
Race and the Construction of the Middle Ages (Palgrave, 2018) will be
our keynote speaker.



Papers of approximately 20 minutes in length, from any discipline,
engaging any aspect of the medieval holy war or American Civil War are
welcome. Comparative work between the 2 periods is encouraged. Other
presentation styles (roundtables) will be considered.



Please submit proposals consisting of a CV and an abstract of 250-300
words at https://tinyurl.com/crusadecivilwarProposal by December 15,
2018.



See more at https://sites.google.com/vt.edu/religion-and-culture/crusade-us-civil-war-conference-2019