Annual Meeting

The Society for Historians of the Early American Republic invites your proposals to present at our 47th annual meeting, to be held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on July 16-19, 2026.

The semiquincentennial of American Independence invites considerations of this epochal event as well as its causes, consequences, and afterlives. We expect to feature pathbreaking research into the early American republic and to broaden conversations through interdisciplinary explorations, public engagements, new media experimentation, and more. The organizers welcome your curiosity, your creativity, and your passion for this complex historical era, including how we teach it, how we represent it in public, and how we can better understand its great consequence, its untold stories, and its enduring relevance. 

SHEAR is committed to involving as many voices as possible as we explore the history of the early republic in all of its depth and breadth. To better understand the fullness of the past, we are eager to welcome new perspectives, especially those that have been historically underrepresented within the organization. Potential panelists should include a statement about how the panel furthers this SHEAR commitment. All conference participants must abide by SHEAR’s Statement of Values. The Program Committee prioritizes proposals for complete panels including a chair and commentator, but individual paper proposals are also welcome. The committee will consider proposals for traditional panels (3-4 papers plus chair and comment), roundtables (4-5 presenters plus chair/moderator), or other creative formats. In select cases, the committee may choose to alter or rearrange proposed panels and participants. Refer to the guidance available as you prepare your proposal. CONNECT with others who are interested in forming panels here.

All submissions should be filed as a single document (Word doc preferred), labeled with the first initial and surname of the contact person (e.g., “SmithJ2026”). All proposals must include:

• Panel title, one-paragraph description of panel topic, and one-paragraph panel diversity statement
• Email addresses and institutional affiliations (if applicable) for all participants
• Title and 100-word abstract for each paper
• One-page curriculum vitae for each participant, including chairs and commentators
• Indication of any needs for ADA accommodation
• Indication of any audio-visual requests (please request only if A/V is essential to a presentation)

The deadline for submission is December 1, 2025. Please submit your proposals HERE by uploading your materials to the SHEAR database. Please note you must create an account in that database if you do not already have one but there is NO CHARGE for doing so. 

Mark Boonshoft, Virginia Military Institute, Co-Chair

Nora Slonimsky, Iona University/Institute for Thomas Paine Studies, Co-Chair

Ben Wright, University of Texas at Dallas, Co-Chair

Rosanne Adderley, Tulane University

Frankie Bauer, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

Patricia Dawson, Mount Holyoke College

Lauren Duval, University of Oklahoma

Nathaniel Green, Northern Virginia Community College

Khalil Anthony Johnson, Wesleyan University

Amy Kohout, Colorado College

Maria Montalvo, Emory University

Peter Olsen-Harbich, McNeil Center for Early American Studies

Christy Potroff, Boston College

Terrance Rucker, United States House of Representatives, Office of the Historian

Christina Synder, Penn State University

Kevin Waite, Durham University

Rachel Walker, University of Hartford

Sarah Winsberg, Brooklyn Law School