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The Association for the Study of Connecticut History |
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The Association for the Study of Connecticut History |
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Association for
the Study of Connecticut History
Fall Meeting CALL FOR PAPERS
East and West of the River: A Comparative Approach
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2008
The Association for the Study of Connecticut History (ASCH) invites proposals for presentations at its annual Fall Meeting to be held at the Avery Point campus of the University of Connecticut on Saturday, November 1, 2008. While the program as a whole seeks to highlight comparisons and contrasts between the regions east and west of the Connecticut River, individual presentations may focus on subjects linked to one side of the River or the other.
The Connecticut River has served both to unite and to divide the Colony and State since the arrival of the English. Early settlements began on the west bank of the River and along the coast, whereas the eastern lands remained wilderness for half a century. Both capitals, Hartford and New Haven, were located in the west, and easterners complained about the difficulty of crossing the River to tend to public affairs. In religion, the west remained more religiously orthodox while the eastern lands nourished more New Light congregations. The divide remains even today. Many residents in Middletown, Wethersfield, and other west-bank towns rarely cross the river to become familiar with neighboring eastern towns. Connecticut Red Sox fans most often live east of the River, whereas Yankee fans are often rooted on the western side.
The conference will take a comparative view of developments in Connecticut on both sides of the River. In the “land of steady habits,” dynamic and often dramatic events propelled the people east and west of the River to confront changes in different ways from the time of early settlement through the nineteenth century. Themes addressed may include settlements and land distribution, church and government, revivalism and political dissent, industrialization and mechanization, reform and suffrage, literature and visual arts, and comparative biography. Academics, archivists, independent historians, librarians, and museum professionals are invited to submit proposals that could take the form of scholarly papers, illustrated talks, or non-traditional public history approaches.
Those interested in participating in the program should contact Program Chair: Guocun Yang, Social Sciences Department, Manchester Community College Great Path M.S. #4, P.O. Box 1046, Manchester, CT 06045-1046
E-mail: gyang@mcc.commnet.edu Telephone: 860-512-2782
The deadline for submission of proposals is May 1, 2008.
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ASCH
