Around the Field – December 17, 2025

17 December 2025 – NCPH Office

From Around the Field this week: Abstract submissions for Slavery North are closing; The Organization of American Historians is hosting the last lecture of its Lectureship Program; The Society for History in the Federal Government is accepting nominations for its awards until the end of the year; Germinate is accepting submissions for its winter quarter series of posts

ANNOUNCEMENTS

• The American Historical Association welcomes submissions of op-eds, media appearances, or other resources that offer context and insight to the public on the recent actions by the federal government
• The American Council of Learned Societies, the American Academy of Religion, the Institute for Diversity and Civic Life, and the National Humanities Alliance are collaborating on the Publicly Engaged Religion Mapping Project, an initiative to document and analyze the landscape of publicly engaged scholarship on religion in North America. They are inviting scholars, practitioners, and community partners to contribute to this project by completing a survey about scholarship working at the intersection of religion and public engagement
• The American Historical Association has started the Community Action and Resource Exchange (CARE), where historians can come together in working groups to discuss shared professional issues and concerns, exchange ideas, and collaborate on strategies and solutions that strengthen the discipline
• The National Humanities Alliance is surveying the field of Humanities/STEM collaborative projects that address ecological challenges, which will culminate in a workshop in Washington, DC, in January 2026. This survey will be used to locate and understand this field of study and to select participants for the January event
• The Organization of American Historians’ Federal Employees and Contractors Oral History Project (FECOHP) is continuing to collect oral histories of federal employees and contractors to capture their lived experiences, institutional knowledge, and overlooked perspectives
• The National Humanities Alliance invites you to share about efforts on your campus to engage local employers and support students’ exploration of professional opportunities in your region by filling out a short survey. Research will demonstrate how the humanities prepare graduates to contribute to the national workforce
• Preserving the Historic Road International (PHRI) seeks input for its 2026 Historic Roads Virtual Summit commemorating the 100th anniversary of the US highway system. Please provide feedback by December 31, 2025
• The International Consortium of Environmental History Organizations is accepting site proposals for its upcoming World Congress of Environmental History in 2029, preferably in July or August of that year. View more details here. Submissions are due by April 15, 2026

AWARDS AND FUNDING

• Permanent Legacy Foundation offers Byte4Byte storage grants for nonprofit organizations seeking to complete digital preservation projects. The application deadline is rolling
• The Society for History in the Federal Government has opened nominations for its 2026 awards. Nominations are accepted until December 31, 2025
• The George Washington Presidential Library is accepting applications for research fellowships lasting 1, 3, or 6 months. Applications are due by December 31, 2025
• The OutHistory Fellowship Program (OFP) is offering four paid fellowships for projects on under-represented topics in North American LGBTQ history. The application deadline is January 1, 2026
• The Association of African American Museums has opened nominations for its five 2026 Awards. Nominations should be submitted by January 16, 2026
• The Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) has announced a new $25,000 scholarship for ten undergraduate or graduate students. Essay applications are due by January 31, 2026
• NCPH is accepting applications for its 2026 awards. The deadline is February 1, 2026
• The Hoover Presidential Foundation is sponsoring a Herbert Hoover Research Travel Grant Award to alleviate travel and research costs for individuals traveling to the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library. Applications are due by March 1, 2026
• The American Association for State and Local History is accepting nominations for its Leadership in History Awards. Award of Distinction preliminary nominations are due by February 1, 2026; Award of Excellence nominations are due by March 1, 2026
• The Society of American Archivists is accepting applications for its J. Franklin Jameson Archival Advocacy Award, which honors an individual, institution, or organization that promotes greater public awareness, appreciation, or support of archival activities or programs. Nominees must be from outside the archives profession. The application deadline is February 28, 2026

CONFERENCES AND CALLS

• The American Historical Association will host their 139th Annual Meeting in Chicago, Illinois, US, January 8-11, 2026
• The Small Museum Association is hosting its 42nd annual conference in York, Pennsylvania, US, from February 16-18, 2026
• The Institute on World War II and the Human Experience and the Society for Black Military Studies are hosting “Africa and the African Diaspora and the World Wars” in Tallahassee, Florida, US, from February 19-21, 2026
• The History Graduate Student Association at Loyola University Chicago is hosting its 2026 conference, “The Power of Public History: Resistance, Revolutions, Renaissance,” in Chicago, Illinois, US, from February 20-22, 2026
• Queer History South will host their 2026 conference virtually from February 20-22, 2026
• The National Humanities Alliance is hosting their annual conference in Arlington, Virginia, US, from March 8-10, 2026
• The Chicago Heritage Alliance is hosting its Activating Heritage conference on March 10, 2026, in Chicago, Illinois, US. Panel proposals are due January 5, 2026
• The National Council for History Education is hosting its 2026 conference, “Diasporas: Histories of Movement and Cultural Exchange,” in Montgomery, Alabama, US, from March 26-28, 2026
• The Southern Association for the History of Medicine and Science will host its 28th Annual Meeting in Fort Smith, Arkansas, US, from April 2-4, 2026
• The Indiana Association of Historians will host their 46th annual conference, “History in Unexpected Places – Rethinking and Reimagining History in the Early 21st Century,” in Richmond, Indiana, US, on April 11, 2026. The call for papers is open until January 16, 2026
• The Society of Architectural Historians is meeting for its 79th Annual International Conference in Mexico City, Mexico, from April 15-19, 2026
• The Organization of American Historians will host their 2026 OAH Conference  on “Re-Thinking American History at 250” in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US, April 16-19, 2026
• The University of Rochester Humanities Center will host “Climate Havens: Humanistic Perspectives on Resilience, Migration, and Resources Symposium” in Rochester, New York, US, from April 16-17, 2026
• The Society of Indiana Archivists will host its 2026 annual meeting, “Prioritizing Well-Being: Helping Yourself Help Others,” in Bloomington, Indiana, US, on April 17, 2026
• The Midwestern History Association will host its 2026 annual conference in Oxford, Ohio, US, from April 30 – May 1, 2026. The submission date for the call for papers is December 8, 2025
• The Society for History in the Federal Government is hosting its 2026 annual meeting, “Bringing Federal History to the Public During America’s 250th Anniversary” in Washington, DC, US, from May 14-15, 2026. The call for papers is open until January 15, 2026
• The Midwest Archives Conference and the Society of Ohio Archivists are jointly hosting a 2026 Annual Meeting in Columbus, Ohio, US, from May 14-16, 2026
• Fort Ticonderoga is hosting the 30th Annual War College of the Seven Years’ War from May 15-17, 2026, in Ticonderoga, NY
• The Alliance for Texas History will hold its annual conference on May 27-29, 2026, in Fort Worth, Texas, US
• The Vernacular Architecture Forum will hold its 47th Annual Conference, “Columbia River Plateau: Atomic Space. Native Soil. Geologic Time” in Walla Walla, Washington, US, from May 27-30, 2026
• The Costume Society of America will host its 52nd Annual National Meeting and Symposium, “Re-cycles of Dress,” from May 31-June 4, 2026 in Charlotte, North Carolina, US
• The American Association for the History of Medicine and the American Association for the History of Nursing are jointly hosting an annual meeting in Buffalo, New York, US, from June 3-7, 2026
• The Society for Historians of the Gilded Age and Progressive Era is hosting its first conference in Chicago, Illinois, US, from June 4-6, 2026
• The Agricultural History Society will host its annual meeting from June 4-6, 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia, US
• The Society of Civil War Historians is hosting its biennial conference in Richmond, Virginia, US, from June 18-20, 2026
• The Association for Gravestone Studies is hosting their annual conference and annual meeting in Grand Rapids, Michigan, US, from June 23-26, 2026
• The Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations (SHAFR) will hold its annual conference from June 25-27, 2026, in Columbus, Ohio, US 
• Slavery North, a research hub at University of Massachusetts Amherst, is hosting a conference, “Rebellion, Resistance, and Refuge: Slavery and Border-Crossing during the American Revolution,” from July 9-12, 2026, in Amherst, Massachusetts, US. Abstract submissions are open until December 19, 2025
• The Association of Midwest Museums is hosting its annual conference, “We Hold These Truths,” in Chicago, Illinois, US, from July 26-29, 2026. The call for proposals is open until January 23, 2026
• The Pacific Coast Branch of the American Historical Association will hold its 119th Annual Meeting, “We Hold These Truths,” in Las Vegas, Nevada, US, from July 29-31, 2026. The call for proposals is open until February 1, 2026
• The Society of American Archivists will host its 90th Annual Meeting in New Orleans, Louisiana, US, from July 29-August 1, 2026. Proposals are due on December 5, 2025
• The Association of African American Museums is hosting its 2026 Annual Meeting, “This Land Holds Our Stories,” in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US, from August 19-21, 2026. The call for proposals is open until February 10, 2026
• The International Federation for Public History will host its 8th international conference on public history, “The Public History of Difficult Pasts,” in Lisbon, Portugal from September 7-11, 2026
• The Asian & Pacific Islander Americans in Historic Preservation is hosting its biennial National Asian & Pacific Islander American Historic Preservation Forum in Denver & Aurora, Colorado, US, from September 10-13, 2026
• NCPH and AASLH are hosting their joint conference, “The Work of Revolution,” in Providence, Rhode Island from September 16-19, 2026
• The Slave Dwelling Project (SDP) is hosting its 9th conference, “250 Years and Counting: Reckoning, Resilience, and Remembrance,” to be held in Charleston, South Carolina, US, from October 1-3, 2026
• Historic Trappe, the McNeil Center for Early American Studies, and Ursinus College are partnering to host a symposium, “Experiencing Independence: Eyewitness Accounts of the American Revolution,” from October 2-3, 2026. Proposals are due January 9, 2026
• The Oral History Association is hosting its 2026 Annual Meeting, “Landscapes of Memory,” in Portland, Oregon, US, from October 14-17, 2026. The call for proposals is open until February 20, 2026
• Qatar National Library’s Heritage Library & Khayrallah Center for Lebanese Diaspora Studies are jointly hosting a conference in Doha, Qatar, from October 19–20, 2026, that focuses on the public history field in the Middle East. The call for proposals is open until January 31, 2026
• The Universities Studying Slavery consortium will host its fall conference, “250 Years of Freedom and Unfreedom: Truth, Liberty, and Justice for All,” in College Park, Maryland, US from October 22-25, 2026. The deadline for the call for proposals is January 30, 2026

LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES

• The National Preservation Institute offers continuing education and professional training for those involved in the management, preservation, and stewardship of cultural heritage
• Living Landscape Observer has made recordings from their ongoing webinar series available
• The Organization of American Historians is hosting the last lecture of its Lectureship Program, “The Stroke of Midnight: New Year’s Observance During the Civil War Era,” virtually on December 18, 2025
• The History Leadership Institute (HLI) is accepting applications for its annual seminar, taking place June 1-12, 2026, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, US. Applications are due December 31, 2025
• Creative Futures is hosting “Building Bold Futures Over & Under the Radar,” a virtual workshop to assist cultural workers in building solidarity and shared knowledge, on January 14, 2026
• The Lincoln Presidential Foundation and Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History are partnering to present “Reframing Lincoln: Myth, Memory, and Changing Narratives,” a week-long professional development seminar for K–12 teachers at Lincoln Home National Historic Site in Springfield, Illinois, US from July 19–24, 2026. Applications are due March 6, 2026
• iCivics is hosting a Civic Learning Week National Forum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US, from March 9-10, 2026
• The San Gemini Preservation Studies Program is hosting a field school in Italy this Summer 2026 with two possible sessions. This program is dedicated to the preservation of cultural heritage, offering students hands-on experience in restoration and conservation. Applications are due March 15, 2026

PUBLICATIONS

• NCPH’s Curriculum and Training Committee is in the process of updating our best practices guidelines to reflect a field much-changed since they were written a decade or more ago. This week, we’re pleased to share the updated version of “Best Practices for MA Programs in Public History”
• The National Humanities Alliance has released two advocacy resources, “Humanities Pathway to Career Success,” and “Demonstrating the Value of the Liberal Arts,” which respectively demonstrate the value of humanities education for a successful career in a wide range of fields and the value of a liberal arts education
• The Organization for American Historians’ History, Archives, and Records Preservation Project (HARPP) has launched HARPPing on History, a Substack dedicated to rapid response commentary on current developments affecting federal, state, and local historical and cultural institutions
• The International Federation for Public History has published “Creating Public History Master Programs: International Guidelines,” which provided guidance on early planning, the proposal, and evaluation and sustainability of a public history master’s program
• Germinate, the open access, digital publication of the American Society for Environmental History, is accepting submissions for its winter quarter series of posts. The deadline is December 31, 2025
• Pasados, an open-access peer-reviewed publication with a focus on Latinx cultural pasts, has opened a Call for Papers for a Special Issue: “Against the Past/Contra Pasados.” Materials must be submitted by January 15, 2026

To submit an item to this regular listing, fill out the form at https://ncph.org/around-the-field-form/. Please make sure to include a URL where readers can find more information about your posting.