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2026 USS Conference

 

CALL FOR PAPERS

“250 Years of Freedom and Unfreedom: Truth, Liberty, and Justice for All”  

From October 22-25th, 2026 the international Universities Studying Slavery (USS) consortium will host its fall conference in College Park on the campus of the University of Maryland. The conference is organized by The 1856 Project, whose members include historians, archivists, librarians, and community members. This project interprets the history of slavery at UMD and the larger African American experience at the university and in the state of Maryland. 

The conference will highlight the long and interconnected histories of American slavery and freedom. UMD’s unique location in Maryland near the seat of our government in Washington D.C. but also the historic home of freedom seekers like Harriet Tubman and Frederick Douglass invites us to think creatively about the relationship between notions of freedom and unfreedom. We also want to think deeply about themes key to America’s founding values: truth, liberty, and justice. 

We invite proposals that engage with:

  • How people worked to achieve personal and national notions of freedom.
  • How the struggle for freedom changed across time, place, and racial/ethnic groups.
  • How education and freedom are interconnected histories.
  • The responsibilities of archivists and librarians in truth telling.
  • The ways freedom is linked to healing practices.
  • The ways historical figures engaged with liberty in both life and death.
  • Current and past preservation methods that influenced our historical memory.
  • The progress Universities Studying Slavery makes in engaging with truth, liberty, and justice.

Proposal Guidelines: Individual papers should include a 250-word abstract and a 100-word maximum biography. Poster proposals should include a 100-word abstract and biography. Organized sessions, individual papers, and individual posters are welcome. If you are part of an organized session, please include the proposed session title, the organizer's name and the organizer's email contact in the appropriate location on the proposal submission form. Proposals are welcome from academic and public history professionals, librarians and archivists, undergraduate and graduate students, and all others with work related to the conference themes. Advanced registration and associated fees are required for presenters following notification of acceptance.
 

Please share this CFP with colleagues/interested persons and follow this link to submit a proposal. The deadline for submissions is Friday, January 30, 2026. Presenters will be notified by April 10, 2026. For questions, please email 1856umdproject@umd.edu; include USS 2026 in your email subject.