The Shattuck Colonial American History Symposium

A bi-annual forum for scholars who explore the colonial and revolutionary history of America. The symposium features prominent scholars in early American history as keynote speakers. The symposium also invites public historians to lead interactive discussions about multi-disciplinary ways of engaging history.

Call for Papers

The Shattuck Colonial American History Symposium
California State University, Sacramento
March 18-20, 2026

2026 is the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. In recognition of this milestone, the Shattuck Colonial American History Symposium will take place on the campus of California State University, Sacramento from March 18-20, 2026. Hosted by the Department of History at Sac State and the Peter H. Shattuck Endowment, the aim of the conference is to encourage reflection, discourse, and critical thinking about the past by bringing together historians, scholars, and students in meaningful discussions.

We welcome papers and panels that examine early American history from 1607 to 1826. Like the previous symposium, the theme is Becoming Americans.

Please submit your paper or panel proposals by Friday, January 16, 2026 to history@csus.edu. Include “The Shattuck Colonial American History Symposium” in the subject line. Submissions should include:

• The title of the paper or panel.
• An abstract of no more than 500 words.
• Contact information and affiliation for each presenter.

Participants will be notified of acceptance by Monday, February 16 at the latest.

Our keynote speaker will be Dr. Carter L. Hudgins, Professor Emeritus, Clemson University. Dr. Hudgins's research examines historic preservation, vernacular architecture in early America, and the early modern material culture of the Atlantic rim.

The organizers of the Freedom Seekers database project (https://freedom-seekers.org) will also be leading a panel about how digital humanities can reveal new stories about the Black experience in early America.

For more information, please contact Dr. Antonio T. Bly, the symposium organizer and the Peter H. Shattuck Endowed Chair in Colonial American History at antonio.bly@csus.edu.

“The past is a foreign country; they do things differently there.” L.P. Hartley.

Peter H. Shattuck Research Assistantship

The Shattuck Research Assistant offers promising Sac State graduate students an opportunity to developing research skills using traditional and digital archival sources.

Peter H. Shattuck Undergraduate Scholarship

A scholarship for junior and senior history majors in good academic standing.

Elizabeth Shattuck Resource Fund

The Shattuck Resource Fund is a philanthropic fund for students majoring in History who face financial or other barriers to completing their education. The Fund, at the discretion of the department, will purchase textbooks, school supplies and other academic resources required within the History department for both research and school.

Apply Now