History Conferences at Northumbria University, July 2013

Randall Stephens

The Tyne Bridge

It will be a busy summer at Northumbria University (Newcastle Upon Tyne).  My new colleagues in History and American Studies are bringing two large conferences to the university. Come mid-summer the campus will be abuzz with historians, foreign policy experts, economists, sociologists, and likely more tweed and elbow patches than you can shake a stick at.

First, the university will host the annual meeting of the Historians of Twentieth Century United States (HOTCUS).  HOTCUS, according to the organizations website, promotes "scholarship in the field of twentieth century American history. It has strong links with the British Association for American Studies and is the major academic organization for historians of modern America." Professor Wesley Hogan (Virginia State University) will deliver the plenary lecture: "'You Have to Stand Up, You Don't Have to Survive:’ Civil Rights and Memory in the United State." (The proposal deadline has passed, but booking is still open.)

Not long after the HOTCUS meeting, the annual conference of Transatlantic Studies Association (TSA) will convene at Northumbria from 8 - 11 July 2013.  A little more about it:
 

The TSA exists to provide focus for transatlantic area studies and bring together scholars from different disciplines in order to further research and understanding of transatlantic relations. It has strong links with the US Embassy, British Academy, Failte Ireland, and NATO attracting members from North America, Europe, and Asia. The TSA is also the societal body responsible for publishing the Journal of Transatlantic Studies.*

Plenary Speakers will be Donna Alvah (St Lawrence University, New York) and Michael Clarke (RUSI).

The deadline for proposals is April 30, 2013.