Western Society for French History
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Conferences

48th Annual Conference

Virtual

October 22 and 28, 2021

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CONFERENCES

52nd Annual Meeting:
Memphis, TN
October 23-24, 2026

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Call for Papers: Memphis, October 2026

The next meeting of the Western Society for French History will be held in Memphis, Tennessee on October 23-24, 2026 and, building on the city’s history as a nexus of musical and social movements, we seek proposals under the theme “Performing Justice in French History.” By performance, we denote both traditional understandings of performance – musical, theatrical, filmic, etc. – as well as broader concepts of “performativity” as they apply to identity, subjectivity, politics, and political claims. By justice, we intend both claims addressed to state authority as well as efforts to reconcile and repair past injustices. While we particularly encourage submissions that explore our conference theme, as always, the program committee welcomes submissions that speak to any aspect of French history and studies. We also particularly seek proposals, whether in a traditional panel format or something more unorthodox, that takes French studies out of the academy and into the broader Memphis community. 

We seek a range of presentations, in English or French, that include traditional panels, roundtables, and plenaries that engage recent scholarship but also presentations that address professional and pedagogical concerns as well as issues of contemporary salience. Innovative sessions, such as Critical Karaoke, teach-ins, performance, and so on will be considered as well. Consonant with the engagé.e.s initiative’s centrality to the Western’s mission, we particularly welcome contributions that engage with the local community.

Due to the political and travel challenges affecting our non-U.S.A. members, we have also reserved a bloc of slots to accommodate virtual presentations. Due to the technological challenges, we ask that virtual panels be entirely virtual and that presenters indicate that they intend to present virtually in their proposals. We have also strived to subsidize registration fees and hotel rates for graduate students and underemployed scholars to attend the in-person conference, consonant with the Society’s mission of opening French studies to all.

In addition, the Local Affairs Committee is working with local organizations to create opportunities for community-engaged scholarship and teaching. If you are interested in participating in this initiative, please contact the organizers at conferences@wsfh.org.

To submit a proposal, please develop a cover letter that describes the proposed panel and lists all presenters, relevant affiliations, and contact information. Please also indicate if the panel will be in-person or virtual. Panels typically consist of three paper presenters, a chair, and an optional discussant. Reminder: each presenter should also include a single-page paper proposal and an equally short CV.

Please submit proposals via this form by April 15, 2026.

Participants must be members of the Western Society for French History in good standing at the time of the conference and must pay conference fees. Membership dues should be paid directly at https://www.wsfh.org/membership.

The Memphis Riverline by Marriott will be the conference hotel. Information on room rates and conference fees will be distributed as soon as they are finalized.

Questions? Concerns? Please contact Andy Daily and Jonathyne Briggs at conferences@wsfh.org.

Topics might include but are not limited to: 

  • Race and racial identity in performance history

  • Trans/non-binary/queer gender histories

  • Music and social justice movements

  • Music and popular historical memory

  • Politics and theatre, including the formal stage as well as activist and agit-prop traditions

  • Performance, historical memory, and claims for restitution and reparation

  • Colonial and imperial performance histories

  • Subjectivity, identity performance, and the visual arts

  • Performance and religious identities

  • Film and performance

  • Performance, the courts, and legal systems

  • Performance, music, and critical pedagogies

  • History, performance, and community-making

  • Critical historiographies of performance and performance studies

Sponsored by the Department of History at University of Memphis.

 
 

Future Conference Locations

  • 2027 Virtual

  • 2028 Baltimore, MD

  • Choose Your Own Adventure: We are always looking for volunteers to host the conference!

Previous Conference Programs

Click on the links to find recent conference programs. Any scholars who can provide electronic copies of programs from earlier conferences should contact the WSFH secretary.