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Call for Papers Deadline December 1, 2009 "Student Activism, Southern Style: Organizing and Protest in the 1960s and 70s" March 19-21, 2010 University of South Carolina Columbia, South Carolina Student protest comprises a signature element of the political turmoil of the Vietnam era. The spring of 1970 witnessed some of the largest campus demonstrations in U.S. history, many connected to the tragic events at Kent State University. Students at the University of South Carolina briefly occupied the Russell House student union, in a show of solidarity with Kent State and in protest of developments at home and abroad. Yet the histories of these students, and many others at campuses throughout the old south, tend to be neglected in the conventional narratives of 1960s-era student protest, civil rights activism, and broader accounts of the counter-culture. While northern student activists are typically seen as agents of change, the south is typically seen as the subject of radical change, and as a field in which northern agents encountered resistance. Yet as the story of the Russell House illustrates, the south offered its own indigenous activism that was no less sincere, if less amplified, than its northern counterpart. "Student Activism, Southern Style" seeks to draw attention to and investigate this phenomenon in its own right. The Departments of History at the University of South Carolina and Western Carolina University solicit paper proposals that address the topic of student activism at southern colleges and universities for a conference to be held March 19-21, 2010 at the University of South Carolina, Columbia. We seek a broad conversation about protest, organization, and political engagement across the political spectrum, including civil rights work, antiwar protest, the "New Right," and other forms of political organization. Our aim is to examine the broad intersections among political movements within the unique cultural and political environment that conditioned student activism in the region and throughout this critical period. Possible topics include, but are not limited to: *How did antiwar and civil rights activists shape each others' approach? *What role did southern students play in the rise of the "New Right"? * Violence, non-violence, and civil disobedience on the southern campus. *What linkages did southern activists forge with their northern peers? * Town-and-gown relationships, and connections to surrounding institutions, such as military bases. *How did public and private university students differ in their approaches to political organizing? *What effect did southern culture, mores, and etiquette have on activism? * Sexuality activism in the south. * What were the regional variations to leftwing and rightwing organizing in the south? *Goldwater supporters and antiwar activism in the south. *How did national political strategies, such as Richard Nixon's so-called "southern strategy," condition southern student activism? *What role did historically black colleges play in organizing student politics in the south? *How did traditional forms of southern religion influence the antiwar movement? *Gender and political organizing on the southern campus. * The curricular legacy of campus upheavals, e.g., University Studies 101 courses, the articulation of students' rights, or other institutional responses. * Historical antecedents to Vietnam-era activism on the southern campus. "Student Activism, Southern Style" will present a number of plenary sessions, including a keynote panel featuring Tom Hayden, Connie Curry, Martha Noonan and other movement veterans. There will also be a plenary address by Professor Robert Cohen (NYU), author of Freedom's Orator: Mario Savio and the Radical Legacy of the 1960s. The editors of _The Sixties: A Journal of History, Politics, and Culture_ have agreed to consider a selection of conference essays for a possible "special section" on Southern student activism in an upcoming issue. We welcome proposals for full panels, though individual paper proposals will be considered. Send a brief panel or paper abstract, along with a CV, to sasshist@mailbox.sc.edu by December 1, 2009. For full panels, include pertinent information for each presenter. Selected presenters will be informed by January 1, 2010. Additionally, if you are interested in serving as a chair/commentator, please send a vita to sasshist@mailbox.sc.edu. Further information including registration information, transportation, meals and lodging will be forwarded in due course. For more information see the website at http://www.cas.sc.edu/hist/sass or contact conference organizers at sasshist@mailbox.sc.edu. David J. Snyder, Ph.D. Department of History University of South Carolina Columbia, SC 29208 sasshist@mailbox.sc.edu -- Randolph Hollingsworth, Ph.D. University of Kentucky H-Kentucky List Editor hollings@mail.h-net.msu.edu http://www.h-net.org/~kentucky/
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