History and heritage scholars and practitioners are invited to submit chapter proposals for a forthcoming edited volume on American historical societies since the Bicentennial. Previous research and writing on American historical societies has focused primarily on their origins as an early republic New England outgrowth of the European athenaeum model and later as state-affiliated heritage institutions created during the expansion and settlement of the remaining territory that eventually comprised the United States. Very little has been written about historical societies founded after the middle of the twentieth century, much less in ways that explore them as manifestations of a community’s historical consciousness within a larger network of cultural heritage and history-based enterprise.
This volume seeks to provide a critical retrospective account of American historical societies as a distinctive (if not easily defined) movement since around the Bicentennial celebration in the mid-1970s, which marks the most recent era of elevated historical consciousness that helped revivify legacy history organizations and resulted in the creation of thousands of new historical societies and affinity groups across the United States. The volume will also provide an opportunity for contributors to articulate possible futures for historical societies beyond the approaching 250th milestone in 2026.
Volume editors seek original research, reflective essays, and professional perspectives from an array of scholars, practitioners, administrators, and others operating in historical societies of all types, sizes, missions, and geographic locations. Contributions that address the following themes are encouraged, but proposals related more broadly to historical societies or that offer a novel approach to examining them will also be considered: Distinctive People, Places, and Communities; Historical Societies and Social Movements; Collections, Collecting, and Curation; Facing and Overcoming Operational Challenges; Historical Preservation and Sustainability; Technology and Innovation in the Digital Age; Teaching, Programs, and Interpretation; Historical Narratives and Representation. Evolving Audiences and Stakeholders.
Chapter proposals will be submitted through the Google Form and should include the primary author’s name, affiliation, email, brief bio statement (100 word or less), a tentative chapter title, and a 250-500 word abstract describing their chapter idea. Single and multiple author submissions will be considered. Proposals accepted until May 11, 2025; notification decision by June 15, 2025. Initial chapter drafts will be due to the editor by October 25, 2025 and final drafts by March 2, 2026.