The cornerstone of the Society for the History of Discoveries is its annual meeting. It is a chance for members to catch up with old friends, to share a meal, to have an adventure on one of our conference outings. Most importantly, it is a place for intellectual congress and scholarly debate. New theories in the history and impact of geographic discovery are often heard first at an SHD meeting. A look back at some of the programs of earlier meetings and a review of the achievements of Society Fellows will provide some small indication of the quality of academic work that is presented at our meetings. Many of the papers presented go on to be published in our peer-reviewed journal, Terrae Incognitae, and other respected publications.
2019 Call For Papers
Where: Gainesville, Florida
When: 14-17 November 2019 with possible outings on 14 and 17 November
Venue: University of Florida at Gainesville
Our 2019 Annual Meeting will be provided in partnership with the University of Florida in Gainesville. The dates are November 14-17 – opening reception on the Thursday evening of the 14th with possible outing during the day, followed by conference on campus on November 15-16, and possible tour on Sunday, the 17th to the nearby town of St. Augustine.
Theme: The Caribbean: A Cultural Encounter
Papers, 20 minutes in length, are invited on all point of view of this theme, from discovery, exploration, conquest to settlement and multiple aspects of cultural encounter. To honor our host, University of Florida at Gainesville and their Caribbean/Cuba-focused digital humanities projects, within the main conference theme, a special highlight will be given to Cuba.
The Committee also welcomes proposals from SHD members, scholars, and independent researchers that address all aspects of geographical discovery and exploration. Preference will be given to those papers that are particularly aligned with the conference theme, but all paper proposals of high quality, regardless of geographic orientation, will be considered.
The audience at SHD meetings is diverse and includes academics and members of various professions. All are especially interested in the processes and consequences of geographical exploration and discovery. Presenters are encouraged to use images (maps, paintings, photographs, etc.). For the benefit of the audience all visuals have to be presented as PowerPoint-compatible projections.
Paper proposals are due April 30, 2019. Please provide a proposal that includes the following components:
- the title of the presentation
- the author’s name and address, including email address and affiliation
- an abstract summarizing the paper’s scope and conclusions (maximum of 500 words)
- a statement about the originality of the contents of the paper: how much is new, unpublished material, based on research in primary sources, etc.
- a statement indicating whether PowerPoint or other digital media will be used and whether internet access is necessary for the presentation
- a brief biographic sketch of the author(s
- SHD welcomes submissions from graduate students and emerging scholars.
Paper proposals should be submitted as e-mail attachments, with the subject line SHD 2019, to:
Dr. Mirela Altić, Program Committee Chair, mirela.altic@gmail.com
Questions? Please contact Dr. Altić at mirela.altic@gmail.com
Membership in the Society is open to all, a philosophy that extends to our annual meeting as well. It is an especially welcoming space for graduate students and early career scholars to debut a paper—and to meet and talk with distinguished scholars in the many fields related to our topic. Most recently we have incorporated sessions related to digital humanities as geographic discovery lends itself particularly well to this new field.
Members and students receive discounted registration rates, determined by the meeting venue.