29th Annual Conference -- Monterey
October 22-24, 2009

Booms and Busts in California History

Call for Papers
Much of California history turns on stories of booms and busts, hopes realized and dreams deferred. Evidence of feast and famine appears in archaeological strata, documentary records, material culture, in the push and pull of migration, and in the evocative imagery of social commentary, literature, music and the arts. Memories of successes and failures cut across boundaries of time and space, race, class, gender, and culture. Often hope and despair played out together; Californians Henry George and John Steinbeck pondered the enigma of poverty amid progress, and Woody Guthrie sang of hard times bound for glory, of do-re-mi and deportees.

In these hard times, CCPH invites proposals that explore how booms and busts have coursed through California history. The theme is spacious, and we especially invite proposals that interpret local stories in their wider contexts, and that cross disciplinary boundaries in their search for historical meaning. Proposals may be for individual presentations or for full sessions of various formats. Panels should have at least three discussants. Individual presentations are scheduled for 20 minutes, full sessions for 90 minutes, with time reserved for comments from the audience. CCPH program coordinators may be able to help in developing presentations that dovetail with scheduled mobile sessions exploring the rich historical landscapes of Monterey Bay.

As always, CCPH welcomes presentations by students, avocational historians, new and seasoned professionals. A limited number of conference stipends are available for students and new professionals. Look for stipend information in May on the CCPH web site. The conference program will be online in mid-August. For further information, please e-mail the CCPH program committee at ccphprogram@hotmail.com.

Please email a 100-200 word abstract of your proposal to ccphprogram@hotmail.com. Include your name and the names of any other presenters, your affiliation(s), and contact information including mail and email addresses, and phone numbers. Please also indicate any audio-visual needs.* The deadline for proposals is April 30, 2009. Early submission is appreciated.

*Presenters should be aware that AV-dependent presentations are subject to technological glitches. CCPH will do its best to provide hardware compatible with your CD, flash memory card, or 35mm projection slides, but cannot guarantee hardware will be available. Please contact us if you have AV questions.

To download a pdf flyer of the 2009 Call for Papers that is suitable for printing and distribution click here.