The Contemporary Histories Research Group is proud to be hosting the 40th Australian Historical Association Conference on the theme ‘Urgent Histories’ at Deakin’s Geelong Waterfront campus, 27 June-1 July 2022.

The convenors are now accepting abstracts and proposals for papers, panels and roundtables. 

Submit a proposal via the conference website before 13 March 2022.

History-writing is proving both persistent and insistent in the face of current assaults on the human condition. The pandemic and climate change demand historians respond as both scholars and engaged citizens in the face of worldwide political efforts to realign the past to fit present imperatives. Populism and authoritarianism are undermining the humanities and revealing the urgent need for historical thinking in public and policy debate. Our response to these challenges depends on how they are understood in relation to human experiences past and present, narrated in rich historical context, and made compelling through skilled storytelling.

Urgent Histories, on Wadawurrung country in Geelong, Australia, invites historians to focus on the uses and usefulness of the past in pressing contemporary public debates, disputes and narratives. It welcomes histories and history-making distinctive to the local and particular through to addressing shared human conditions.

The convenors welcome proposals for papers and panels on any geographical area, time period, or field of history, especially those relating to the theme of urgent histories. Confirmed AHA and affiliated streams include environmental history, economic history, oral history, children and youth, and religious history.

We are very excited to be organising an in-person conference for the first time since 2019. Thanks to the wonders of technology some conference sessions will include opportunities for virtual presentations. You can indicate your preference to present online when submitting an abstract. Preference will be given to postgraduates, early career researchers not currently in full-time employment and proposals from outside Australia. Online registrants should understand that not all conference sessions will be available to view online. In the event of a pandemic-induced disruption, the conference will transition to a fully online event.

If you have any questions and queries please email aha2022@deakin.edu.au