Students are invited to attend the Midwest World History Association’s annual conference, hosted Sept. 23–24 at Metropolitan State University.
This year’s theme, “Mapping Migrations in World History,” will focus on periods of world history, and in particular, explore the topic of global human migration, the impact of such migrations and the ways in which humans have mentally and physically mapped who they are (or who they think themselves to be).
This type of mapping allows scholars to consider how migration has helped to form or even to dismantle cultural identity, trade, political authority, social groupings, or other aspects of human interaction.
The conference and keynote speech event is open and free for Metropolitan State students to attend. Volunteer opportunities are also available for students who wish to attend the luncheon and dinner events. E-mail Prof. Jeanne Grant at jeanne.grant@metrostate.edu for information. This is a very friendly group of world historians who love to encourage young scholars, Grant says.
Presentations will be from K-12 teachers, Metropolitan State faculty, students, historians and scholars from allied fields (view presentation schedule). The conference will feature a keynote presentation by Dr. Erika Lee, Rudolph J. Vecoli Chair in Immigration History and Director of the Immigration History Research Center of the University of Minnesota. Dr. Lee’s conference will also feature an Archival and Cartographic Seminar at the University of Minnesota for a limited number of attendees.
The Borchert Map Library (https://www.lib.umn.edu/borchert) and the Immigration History Research Center Archives (https://www.lib.umn.edu/ihrca) will lead tours and discussions of their extensive collections based on the interests of the attendees who sign up for this three- hour seminar.
There will also be a special session on “Preserving and Presenting Immigrant Histories” by Twin Cities institutions that collect and preserve immigrant stories and records.
Metropolitan State University community faculty can earn professional development activity hours from the Center for Faculty Development; they can earn seven hours for attending the conference on Friday and/or eight hours for attending the conference on Saturday. For more information about the conference, visit mwwha.org.
The MWWHA conference committee thanks Metropolitan State’s Student Life and Leadership Development Office, History Department, College of Liberal Arts, Practical Philosophy and Ethics Department, Center for Faculty Development, Provost’s Office, and President’s Office for co-sponsoring the conference. They also thank Alverno College, the Minnesota History Center, Embassy Suites in Saint Paul, the University of Minnesota’s Borchert Map Library and Immigration History Research Center and Archives, and Metropolitan State’s Publications and News Services and Institute for Community Engagement and Scholarship for the time and resources they are contributing to help make this conference successful.