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19th Annual McGill-Queen's Graduate Conference in History

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Transmission: From Synapse to Society

The History & Classical Studies Graduate Student Association at McGill University will host the 19th annual McGill-Queen’s Graduate Conference in History, to be held at McGill University in Montreal (if conditions allow) on March 10th & 11th, 2022.

In his seminal work The Selfish Gene, Richard Dawkins states that “cultural transmission is analogous to genetic transmission in that, although basically conservative, it can give rise to a form of evolution.” Human experience lies within a complex matrix of multi-dimensional networks - including spatial, temporal, social, biological, cognitive, and semantic - which fundamentally form individual and collective realities through the dissemination of objects, peoples, and ideas. These systems dictate the boundaries of connection and govern our navigation of the world around us. They can be altered, manipulated, innovated, or destroyed, through external and internal forces, with consequences for better or worse.

The 19th McGill-Queen’s Conference welcomes scholars to examine the implications of transmission and networks of movement throughout history. The invention of the printing press or the internet, mass migrations and emergence of religious institutions have each brought new dimensions to systems of connectivity, radically altering the ways in which people interact personally, socio-politically and economically. Conversely, the COVID-19 pandemic has sparked conversations concerning the potential dangers of contact. Participants are encouraged to analyze the drives, mechanisms, and effects of transmission between individuals, groups, and nations, with consideration for how networks have both supported and disrupted movement throughout history. Emerging scholars from across Canadian universities are invited to participate in this integrative conference that aims to foster contemplation for the links that ultimately unite and divide us.

With the goal of cultivating provocative and inter-disciplinary conversation, research from all eras, regions, and areas of study is welcome as we initiate our own forms of connection and engage in intellectual transmission of ideas.

Participants should propose 15-20-minute presentations. Potential areas of enquiry may include, but are not limited to:

  • Gender and Sexuality
  • Comparative History
  • Global History
  • Atlantic History
  • Diaspora Studies
  • Indigenous Studies
  • Colonialism/Settler Colonialism/Postcolonialism
  • Slavery
  • Race and Racialization
  • Environmental History
  • Economic History
  • The History of Science and Medicine
  • Material History
  • Archeology
  • Political Science
  • Historiography/Historical Theory
  • Art History and Theory
  • Philosophy and Theology
  • Human Geography
  • Immigration/Migration
  • Public History
  • New Diplomatic History
  • Trade and Culture

Please submit an abstract of no more than 400 words as well as a brief academic biography in Word or PDF format to mcgillqueensconference2022@gmail.com by 31 January 2022. Registration for the conference is free.

For all other information and inquiries: Email: mcgillqueensconference2022@gmail.com Facebook: McGill-Queen’s Graduate Conference in History 2022 Instagram: McGill-Queens2022

Brought to you by: History & Classical Studies Graduate Student Association (HCGSA) Department of History and Classical Studies

Department of History, Queen's University

49 Bader Lane, Watson Hall 212
Kingston ON K7L 3N6
Canada

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Queen's University is situated on traditional Haudenosaunee and Anishinaabe territory.