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Welcome to the Society For Military History's Call For Papers

The Society for Military History is pleased to announce a call for papers for its 89th Annual Meeting, coordinated by the Cypress Planning Group, in San Diego, California, 23-26 March, 2023. Conference hotel is the Hilton San Diego Bayfront.

For the 2023 meeting, the Program Committee will consider paper and panel proposals on all aspects of military history. Submissions of pre-organized panels and roundtables are strongly encouraged and will be given preference in the selection process. Panel and paper proposals will clearly explain their topics and questions in ways that will be understandable to the broad membership of the SMH, not only to those interested in the specific topics in question. Additionally, the SMH encourages the representation of the full diversity of its membership and especially values panel and roundtable proposals that reflect the organization’s diversity of institutional affiliations, various career paths and ranks, gender, race, and ethnicity.

Panel proposals must include a panel title and 250-350 word abstract summarizing the theme of the panel; paper title and a 250-350 word abstract for each paper proposed; and a one-page curriculum vitae for each panelist (including the chair and commentator) that includes institutional affiliation, email address, and other contact information (including the moderator, if any).

Roundtable proposals must include a roundtable title, the full name and institutional affiliation of each participant, a 250-350 word abstract summarizing the roundtable’s themes and points of discussion, and a one-page curriculum vitae for each participant.

Individual paper proposals are also welcome and must include a 250-350 word abstract of the paper, and a one-page vita with contact information and email address. If accepted, individual papers will be assigned by the program committee to an appropriate panel with a chair/commentator. However, we highly encourage you to use the following link to find fellow panelists in order to submit a complete panel: click here.

Those who volunteer to serve as chairs and commentators should send a one-page curriculum vitae to the program committee chair before September 15, 2022 at smhconvention2023@gmail.com.

Proposals will be judged according to the following criteria:
- Proposal explains the topic, research questions, methodologies, and historiographic significance in ways that specialists and non-specialists alike can understand (10 points)
- Proposal presents new findings or revisions of long-held interpretations. (10 points)
- Proposal reflects the SMH’s diversity of institutional affiliations, various career paths and ranks, gender, race, and ethnicity. (Does not apply to individual submissions) (10 points)

Participants may present one paper, serve on a roundtable, or provide panel comments. They may not fill more than one of these roles during the conference, nor should they propose to do so to the Program Committee. Members who act as panel chairs for only one session may deliver a paper, serve on a roundtable, or offer comments in a different session. Members who serve as both the chair and commentator of a single session may not present in another session unless they do so at the invitation of the SMH leadership.

There will be no virtual component to the 2023 conference.

All proposals must be submitted by September 15, 2022. All accepted presenters, chairs, and commentators must be members of the Society for Military History by December 31, 2022, to be placed on the conference program. All accepted panel members must also register for the conference at the full Members’ rates no later than March 01, 2023, (except in unusual circumstances, e.g., DoD/USG panel members who are experiencing travel approval delays due to the government process), or be dropped from the program.

Call for Young Scholars Papers (B.A. and M.A. students):
B.A. and M.A. students are encouraged to submit individual paper proposals to include a 250-350 word abstract of the paper, and a one-page vita with contact information and email address. If accepted, individual papers will be assigned by the program committee to an appropriate panel with a chair/commentator. Proposals will be judged by similar criteria as the above call for papers. The deadline for submission is September 15, 2022.

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Questions? Organizer: HEATHER VENABLE -