Call for Proposals Events

NALHC: Labor, Law, and Progressive Activism (CFP Deadline: April 30)

October 22-24, 2015, Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan. 37th Annual North American Labor History Conference. The Program Committee of the NALHC, an international conference with global perspectives on labor history, invites proposals for papers, panels, roundtables, talks, etc. on the theme of Labor, Law, and Progressive Activism for our thirty-seventh annual meeting. We will also consider other thematically related proposals , especially if part of a full panel or roundtable.

From ancient to modern times, from peasant to post-industrial societies, from the local to the global, humans have labored and lived under the codes of law. By the early 20th century, we saw the transformation whereby labor became part of law; protected and reinforced by it. How workers experience their everyday lives and enact their sense of agency is often circumscribed or enabled by the actions, legal and extra-legal, of states. But legal representation did not come without the need for progressive social activism. On the 80th anniversary of the Wagner Act, we encourage submissions that consider not only the legal boundaries of labor, whether free or unfree, but also the lived experiences of workers in local, national, and/or international contexts.

We welcome proposals from a wide variety of disciplines and from scholars and activists working in various geographical and temporal frameworks.

Submissions of proposals for papers, panels, and roundtables should include a one paragraph abstract and a brief biographical statement per each participant. Submissions should be sent before the deadline of April 30th, 2015 to:

Thomas Klug, Lead Coordinator
North American Labor History Conference
Department of History, Wayne State University
Detroit, MI 48202
Phone: 313-577-2525
Fax: 313-577-6987
Email: nalhc@wayne.edu