Northeast and Atlantic Region Environmental History (NEAR-EH) Forum Call for Papers, Ninth Annual Workshop

 

The Northeast and Atlantic Region Environmental History Forum (NEAR-EH) brings together a
group of scholars exploring the environmental history of the northeastern United States and
northeastern Canada. This group first met in 2012 at the Massachusetts Historical Society with
the basic premise that the environmental history of this region has its own story to tell. For
several years, the group has sponsored a workshop for which participants submit pre-circulated
papers that are then discussed in-depth, going well beyond the typical level of engagement
authors get at a standard academic conference. Many participants have since published their
papers as articles, chapters of books, or essays, or have used the feedback to advance their
scholarly agenda and win competitive research grants.

While NEAR-EH has not met for two years due to the COVID pandemic, the group plans to
meet in person in 2022, hosted by the University of Maine’s Canadian-American Center at the
Hutchinson Center in Belfast, Maine. There may be a graduated registration fee (scaled for
faculty, graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, etc.), but we hope to keep it to a minimum.
However, there will be some funds for help with travel and accommodations. Once participation
is confirmed, the organizers will circulate more detailed information about the workshop.
The workshop theme this year is “Backyard Environments: Encountering Nature at Home.” The
organizers welcome submission of papers that reflect the reality that many of us have been
spending more time at home recently and reflecting on the green spaces nearby. As such, there is
growing interest in informed reflections on local places.

Previous NEAR-EH workshops resulted in the McGill-Queen’s publication The Greater Gulf:
Essays on the Environmental History of the Gulf of St. Lawrence (2020), and it is hoped that this
workshop could act in a similar capacity.

The organizers also welcome submissions that fall outside of the workshop theme but still focus
on the environmental history of northeast North America.
We limit paper submissions to twelve so as to ensure a meaningful experience that includes close
examination and discussion of the papers. Anyone, of course, is welcome to attend the
discussion.

Please submit proposals of 250 words with a shortened CV (max 2 pages) to Mark McLaughlin
at mark.j.mclaughlin@maine.edu no later than January 31, 2022. Additional information

concerning the workshop or Belfast, Maine in general can be directed to Mark McLaughlin at
mark.j.mclaughlin@maine.edu.
Acceptance into the workshop will be announced late February 2022. Papers are due for
circulation to other participants on May 27, 2022.