Emancipation: What Came Before, How It Worked, and What Followed

The Third Wepner Symposium on the Lincoln Legacy and Contemporary Scholarship
Department of Political Science at the University of Illinois Springfield

CALL FOR PROPOSALS

The Wepner Symposium is offered to link concepts, issues, and techniques of contemporary political science to “the legacy of Abraham Lincoln.” This can be interpreted broadly and can be related to any field of political science. That means that proposals are welcome from (a) any field of political science are welcome, and any of the forty-odd organized sections of the American Political Science Association; (b) from colleagues who study politics from the conceotual terrain of anthropology, economics, history, psychology, sociology, law, and the humanities, including American Studies and Afro-American studies.

Since 2012 is the sesquicentennial year of President Lincoln’s announcement of his intention to issue an emancipation proclamation in 1863, the politics and legacy of emancipation are the focus of this year’s symposium. The Wepner Chair would particularly encourage papers by scholars in all the disciplines mentioned, on:

• the concept of emancipation in states and systems earlier than that of the United States (e.
  g. Rome)
• doctrines and practices of emancipation in the United States prior to the Civil War;
• Catholic Emancipation in the 19th century and West India emancipation;
• how emancipation became a Presidential option during the Civil War, since it obviously
  was not so at the beginning;
• the roles of political figures who opposed emancipation, of those who equivocally
  supported emancipation and those (e. g. African American spokespersons, notably
  Frederick Douglass and some white abolitionists) who were unequivocal supporters;
• counter-attack from 1863 to the end of the 19th century by whose who stood to lose by
  emancipation, and activities of those who sought to fulfill their possibilities postemancipation;
• emancipation in the inter-national relations, naval strategy, trade or domestic politics of
  the Atlantic quadrangle (Britain and Europe, Africa, North America, and South
  America);
• consequences of success and failure of 19th century emancipation for strengthening of
  weakening racial inequality in 20th century America;
• doctrines, struggles, and relationships regarding the emancipation of women and the
  inclusion of women in the body politic;
• political theories implicit or explicit in American historical writing on Lincoln, the
  Lincoln Administration, and emancipation (such as the predominant historical writing of
  the past three decades and the controversial writing of the journalist Lerone Bennett).

• Proposals must be received by email or hard copy not later than March 21, 2012.
• Acceptances
  will be made by April 18, 2012.
• Papers will be due by August 10, 2012, also in electronic form
  or hard copy.
• Proposal submission form
• Proposals may also be sent to:

WEPNER SYMPOSIUM
Political Science Department
University of Illinois at Springfield
One University Plaza, MS PAC 350
Springfield, IL 62703
USA

Electronic responses preferred.