The Mid-Atlantic Regional Archives Conference (MARAC) is seeking session proposals for the Fall 2021 meeting scheduled to be held October 7-9 in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The meeting theme is "Sites of Memory," and the deadline for proposals is February 2, 2021.
The session proposal form is available at https://bit.ly/marac_fall2021_propose.
In 1863 Gettysburg was indelibly marked by the Civil War and was ultimately memorialized as the site of the Gettysburg Address. Today it is the site of countless memorials dedicated to the memory of both union and confederate veterans. The Program Committee invites session proposals that explore archives as "sites of memory," with particular emphasis on how archives are influenced by, or else are influencers in, emerging world events and technologies as well as how archives serve and adapt to the changing needs of our diverse users. Topics may include:
- The impact of societal events, trends, and crises on archives and memory
- The preservation and representation of current world events in archives
- Social justice and accountability in archives
- The diversification of a repository's collections, human resources, or users (including but not limited to artists, performers, business leaders, healthcare professionals, scientists, activists, and educators)
- Service, cultivating relationships, and continuing to meet the needs of our users
Proposals related to other topics and themes will be considered, and the Program Committee welcomes both traditional and innovative formats. We also encourage proposals for the Diversity and Inclusion Session Scholarship. More details on the scholarship are available in the proposal submission form.
We hope that COVID-19 will be a "memory" by the Fall 2021 conference but recognize that restrictions may be necessary. Presenters are asked to plan to conduct their sessions in-person but be prepared to shift to a hybrid or virtual platform.
For more information about the conference, please see https://www.marac.info/fall-2021-conference. A Google spreadsheet to aid with finding collaborators can be found at https://bit.ly/marac_fall2021_plan. The Program Committee will not monitor this spreadsheet, and all proposals must be submitted at https://bit.ly/marac_fall2021_propose.
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Rachel Grove-Rohrbaugh
Archivist
Elizabethtown College
Camp Hill PA
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