NYS History Conference Features William Seward Talk

seward bookWalter Stahr, the author of Seward: Lincoln’s Indispensable Man, speaks tomorrow June 7 in Cooperstown. His talk, the keynote address at the 2013 Conference on New York State History, begins at 7:30 pm in the Fenimore Art Museum Auditorium and is open to the public. The cost is $5.00.

William Seward, widely known for arranging the purchase of the Alaskan territory from Russia, was one of the most important Americans of the nineteenth century. He was a progressive governor of New York and an outspoken federal senator.  As secretary of state, he became Lincoln’s closest friend and adviser during the Civil War. He was also a target of the assassins who killed Lincoln. Read more

Conference on New York State History Taking Place June 6-8

Cooperstown1Local historians and educators from across the state will gather in Cooperstown for the 2013 Conference on New York State History taking place June 6-8 at the Fenimore Art Museum and The Farmers’ Museum. The conference highlights the latest research on New York History and culture. The conference is open to the public.

Several features of this year’s conference are of interest the general public: The keynote address is by Walter Stahr, author of Seward: Lincoln’s Indispensable Man, the evening of Friday, June 7 at 7:30 p.m. in the Fenimore Art Museum auditorium. On Saturday, June 8, the annual Wendall Tripp Lecture offers “Another Leatherstocking Tale: Susan Fenimore Cooper, the Episcopal Church, and the Oneida Indians,” delivered by Laurence Hauptman of SUNY New Paltz. This lecture takes place at 12:30 p.m. in the Louis C. Jones Center of The Farmers’ Museum. Read more

CFP: 2013 Conference on New York State History

Proposals are now being sought for the 2013 Conference on New York State History to be held at the New York State Historical Association in Cooperstown on June 6-8, 2013. Presentations may consider any aspect of New York State’s History.

To mark the Civil War sesquicentennial, the organizing committee is also soliciting proposals for one set of sessions that will examine aspects of the New York City draft riots of July 1863. Guidelines and proposal forms are available at www.nysha.org/cnysh . Read more

2013 Conference on NYS History Seeks Proposals

Proposals are now being sought for the 2013 Conference on New York State History to be held at the New York State Historical Association in Cooperstown on June 6-8, 2013. Presentations may consider any aspect of New York State’s History.

The Conference on New York State History is an annual meeting of academic and public historians, librarians and archivists, educators, publishers, and other interested individuals who come together to discuss topics and issues related to the people of New York State in historical perspective and to share information and ideas regarding historical research, programming, and the networking of resources and services.

To mark the Civil War sesquicentennial, organizers are also soliciting proposals for one set of sessions that will examine aspects of the New York City draft riots of July 1863.

Presentation formats may include:

• Presentation sessions (Chair and 3 presenters- 75 minutes)

• Panel/Roundtable discussion sessions (Chair/Moderator and 3-4 panelists- 75 minutes)

• Workshops and practical sessions (Workshops 3-5 hours- practical sessions 75 minutes)

• Individual presentations (25 minutes)

Preference will be given to full session proposals. We encourage presenters to take a dynamic approach, including the use of visual and audio aids, audience participation, and discussions, rather than solely reading a paper.

All proposals must be received by January 7, 2013. Email proposals to [email protected]. The Program Committee will meet to consider proposals in mid-January. Applicants will be notified immediately thereafter.

What to submit:

• Completed proposal form, including description of no longer than 300 words, available at www.nysha.org/cnysh.

• Include a brief discussion of sources, methodology, and argument.

Questions should be directed to [email protected].

Conference sponsors include the New York State Historical Association, the New York State Archives Partnership Trust, and the New York Council for the Humanities.

Songs of War of 1812 POWs Highlighted at NY History Conference

The annual NY State History conference, held this year at Niagara University, launched with a song from a POW imprisoned in Dartmoor, marking the conference theme on the War of 1812.

The British captured teen-aged Thomas B. Mott in 1813 and he struck back in song, satirizing his captors, decrying the harsh conditions and reign of lice, and stoutly defending presidents over kings. Read more

33rd Conference on New York State History Announced

The 33rd Conference on New York State History is an annual meeting of historians, librarians, archivists, educators, and community members who are interested in the history, people, and culture of New York State and who want to share information and ideas about historical research and programming.

Each year the Conference brings together several hundred interested scholars and students at a different location. The 2012 Conference will meet at Niagara University, June 14-16.

The keynote speaker will be Alan Taylor of UC-Davis, Pulitzer Prize winning author of The Civil War of 1812, William Cooper’s Town, and The Divided Ground: Indians, Settlers, and the Northern Borderland of the American Revolution, among others.

The Tripp Lecture for 2012 will be given by Karim Tiro of Xavier University: &#8220A Sorry Tale: Natives, Settlers, and Salmon in Upstate New York, 1800-1900.&#8221

There will be more than 60 other presentations and exhibits.

The conference is sponsored by New York State Historical Association and the New York State Archives Partnership Trust, with the support of the New York Council for the Humanities and Niagara University.

Registration will be available online beginning April 1. To register by mail, email [email protected] or call (607) 547-1453.

2012 Conference Registration Fees:

NYSHA/NYS Archives Partnership Trust members: $70 early registration discount through May 18, $95 beginning May 19

Non-members: $90 early registration discount through May 18, $115 beginning May 19

The conference schedule and more information is available online.

Call for Papers: Conference on NYS History

The Program Committee for the Conference on New York State History invites proposals for individual presentations, full sessions, panel discussions, workshops, and other program suggestions for the 2012 conference to be held at Niagara University on June 14-16, 2012. Diverse historical perspectives are welcomed. Presentations may consider any aspect of the history of New York State over the past 400 years. We encourage presenters to take a dynamic approach to their presentations, including the use of visual and audio aids, audience participation, and panel discussions.

Proposal Deadline: December 31, 2011. The Program Committee will meet to consider proposals in mid-January. Applicants will be notified immediately thereafter.

More information and proposal forms can be found at http://www.nysha.org/cnysh.

The Conference on New York State History is an annual meeting of historians, librarians, archivists, educators, and community members who are interested in the history, people, and culture of New York State and who want to share information and ideas about historical research and programming. Each year the Conference brings together several hundred interested scholars and students at locations across the state of New York.

The conference is sponsored by the New York State Historical Association in collaboration with the New York State Archives Partnership Trust and is co-sponsored by the New York Council for the Humanities and Niagara University.

The Conference on New York State History

The Conference on New York State History is an annual meeting of historians, librarians, archivists, educators, and community members who are interested in the history, people, and culture of New York State and who want to share information and ideas about historical research and programming. Each year the Conference brings together several hundred interested scholars and students at locations across the state of New York.

The 32nd annual conference will be held in Cooperstown on June 2-4, 2011.

The New York State Historical Association and the New York State Archives Partnership Trust are sponsoring the Conference, with the support of the New York Council for the Humanities.

Registration is now online! Register at regonline.com/2011CNYSH. To register by mail, please email [email protected] or call (607) 547-1453 to request a hard copy registration form.

Registration fees:
NYSHA/APT Members: $70 through May 16, $95 after May 16
Non-Members: $90 through May 16, $115 after May 16

A limited number of scholarships are available to graduate and undergraduate students and officially-appointed municipal historians. To apply, please download the form at the bottom of this page.

2011 Conference Schedule


Lodging and Travel Information


Sponsor and Exhibitor Information

Arguing For A More Coordinated NY History Community

Even in these tough economic times it seems unthinkable that New York State would simply abandon its duty to educate it’s citizens, engage them in historical experience, and protect New York’s heritage, but it appears that is what many in state government are prepared to do. In hard times like these, some long-time public historians in the state are asking hard questions about our duty to New York’s state and local history, and suggesting we should be doing more.

&#8220Basically, I am trying to be an advocate for NY state and local history these days,&#8221 says veteran historian, Bruce W. Dearstyne. &#8220My contention [is] that we in the state and local history community have a lot to be proud of, many model programs, outstanding strengths, but that too much of our work is uncoordinated, we lack anything approaching a statewide vision or set of goals, we’re missing out on the potential of information technology, the recession is hurting our programs, and that, overall, we could and should be doing better.&#8221

Dearstyne, who lives in Guilderland, Albany County, should know a little something about New York state and local history. Today he teaches courses on the web for University of Maryland College of Information Studies, where he was a professor for eight years. His career has included a stint on the history faculty at SUNY Potsdam, time in the Office of State History, and almost 25 years as program director at the NYS Archives.

In 2009 he proposed a paper for that year’s Conference on New York State History on the topic of “Do We Need a Vision for New York State’s History?” The conference organizers made it into the plenary session, with three other speakers, that generated a lot of discussion.

Since then, Dearstyne has been advocating for a meeting or at least an online forum to discuss the future of New York’s state and local history. &#8220I’ve found a lot of interest, but so far no one willing to take the lead. One of the strongest advocates for an initiative along these lines is Carol Kammen, Tompkins County Historian and an expert on local history.&#8221

In August of last year Deartsyne and Kammen created a tentative list of topics that might be discussed. Topics include the strengths, weaknesses, and needs in New York’s historical community, creating a greater sense of community, leadership, and coordination, identifying models or exemplary programs, and important state and local historical themes.

Dearstyne and Kammen are also interested in the potentials of new technologies including &#8220broader and more imaginative use of collaborative information technologies to draw the historical community together, support collaboration, and make historical sources and history more accessible,&#8221

For Dearstyne an open discussion among New York’s historical community is just one approach. He’s also editing a special section of the journal Public Historian entitled &#8220A Vision for State History: Issues, Perspectives and Insights from New York,&#8221 due out later this year. He’s also been writing a series of guest opinion pieces (1, 2) for the Albany Times Union on the value of New York history, how we can learn from it, and why supporting it makes good sense.

&#8220One of the themes I’m trying to stress is that, while we need more resources, we also need to make more effective use of existing resources,&#8221 Dearstyne says &#8220and make the &#8216-business case’ for state and local history.&#8221

Those interested in providing a more solid footing for New York’s historical community can comment. Additionally, the 2010 Conference on New York State History has at least two sessions addressing the topic: a forum on “Doing Local History” on Friday and the Wendell Tripp lecture on Friday evening on “How Historical Enterprise in New York State Became Fractured (and Sometimes Dysfunctional) in the Twentieth Century.”