Held jointly by the CQHA/CRQS/QSRA, the Fox at 400 conference held this past June included the 2024 George Richardson Lecture. Historian Nigel Smith presented “Back to the Light: A Fresh Approach,” examining Quaker activity from its origins to the early 18th century. Past lectures are on Woodbrooke’s website, and those interested in Smith’s talk can view it below.
For the 400th anniversary of the birth of George Fox—credited with the establishment of The Religious Society of Friends also known as Quakers—the 2024 Joint Conference will be held in Lancaster in June, in the area at the epicentre of early Quakerism. The anniversary offers a valuable point for reflection by historians, archivists and others to consider the life and times of Fox as well as his legacies, and a coming together of new and exciting ideas around Friends and their history. This conference is ideal for anyone researching Quakerism or those interested in the findings of the research. This is a major transatlantic event and a very exciting opportunity to hear the latest scholarship in Quaker studies.
The conference organizers invite proposals for presentations from all disciplines in the academy, from archivists and heritage practitioners, and from scholars from all backgrounds at any life stage. This year the organizers encourage proposals on the following topics:
In addition to individual paper presentations (20 minutes), they welcome proposals for panels of complete sessions (2-3 papers), roundtable discussions (60 or 90 minutes), workshops (up to a half day), or other collaborative formats. They also seek participants for a session of lightning talks (5-7 minutes each), a format especially well suited to works-in-progress, summaries of recent publications, or ongoing projects. All presenters are required to register for the conference.
Complete proposals should be sent via email to Mary Crauderueff and Jordan Landes, program co-chairs, at [email protected]. The deadline for proposals is December 4, 2023.
Please see the CQHA’s website for more information on proposals and registration.
Questions? [email protected]
Conference Website: http://libguides.guilford.edu/cqha
Registration website: https://www.woodbrooke.org.uk/courses/crqs-qsra-cqha-quaker-studies-conference-fox-at-400/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/quakerhistoriansandarchivists/
CFHA is pleased to share information regarding the following event.
Please join the Conference of Quaker Historians and Archivists (CQHA) on three days in October for a set of virtual sessions foregrounding expanded approaches to the study of Quaker history and culture. The sessions are held over Zoom and there is no cost to attend. Registration is via Eventbrite.
CQHA’s October sessions have been chosen with a focus on interpretive approaches in mind. In each, CQHA is delighted to welcome both emerging and established practitioners in their areas of Quaker scholarship. Short CQHA informational briefings and the biennial CQHA business meeting will also be held as part of these sessions.
The sessions are scheduled for October 12, 19, and 26, beginning at 12:30 pm EDT. They are:
Graphic Novels: Quakers in Pictures and PrintWednesday, October 12, 2022
12:30-2:00 pm EDT | Session 2:00-2:30 pm EDT | CQHA Briefing
Presenters:
Marcus Rediker, Distinguished Professor, University of Pittsburgh
David Lester, Artist and musician (Mecca Normal) in Vancouver, Canada, and graphic novelist of Prophet against Slavery
Will Fenton, Associate Director, Center for Spatial and Textual Analysis, Stanford University
Katelyn L. Lucas, Tribal Historic Preservation Assistant for Delaware Nation and PhD Candidate, Temple University
Dash Shaw, American comic book writer/artist and animator, and cartoonist of Discipline (2021) published by the New York Review Comics
Description:
This session focuses on three historical graphic novels to consider issues of interpretation in presenting the Quaker past through the lens of graphic or visual presentation. David Lester and Marcus Rediker will discuss the collaboration of artist and historian in the making of Prophet against Slavery: Benjamin Lay, A Graphic Novel (Beacon Press, 2021), a graphic adaptation of Rediker’s biography of Benjamin Lay. Katelyn Lucas and Will Fenton will share insights from Ghost River: The Fall and Rise of the Conestoga (Library Company of Philadelphia, 2019), which reimagines the Paxton massacres of 1763 as an educational graphic novel, introducing new interpreters and new bodies of evidence to highlight Indigenous victims and their kin. Dash Shaw’s presentation will detail his process and the historical materials and references for Discipline (New York Review Comics, 2021), a graphic novel about a Quaker soldier in the American Civil War, which incorporates Civil War-era Quaker letters and diary entries. Together these presentations will give insights into innovative ways of engaging and imagining the Quaker past.
CQHA: A short briefing on CQHA and upcoming business will follow the presentation.
Thought and Action in Decolonizing Practices: A ConversationWednesday, October 19, 2022
12:30-1:00 pm EDT | CQHA Briefing 1:00-2:30 pm EDT | Session
Presenters:
Sa’ed Atshan, Director of Undergraduate Studies and Professor of Anthropology, Emory University
Paula Palmer, Co-Director of Toward Right Relationship, a project of the Indigenous Peoples Concerns committee of the Boulder Friends Meeting
Tanya Maus (moderator), Director, Peace Resource Center and Director, Quaker Heritage Center, Wilmington College
Description:
Focusing on academic practice and activism, this panel is devoted to a dialogue between Sa’ed Atshan and Paula Palmer regarding their interventions into upholding and uplifting the rights of first peoples and colonized peoples. Tanya Maus will moderate. Atshan’s scholarship has brought into focus the trauma of Palestinian identities including Queer and Quaker Palestinians as well as the potential for intersectional activism and solidarity among various constituents. Palmer’s lifework and activism have focused on the rights of Indigenous peoples. She witnesses the roles Quakers played in colonization and the forced assimilation of native children by means of the Quaker industrial boarding schools. Through dialogue, both participants will focus on the relationship between thought and practice, the various meanings of decolonization within the context of their work, and the necessity of restorative justice.
CQHA: A short briefing on CQHA and upcoming business will precede the presentation.
Quakers and NetworksWednesday, October 26, 2022
12:30-2:00 pm EDT | Session 2:15-3:15 pm EDT | CQHA Business Meeting
Presenters:
Esther Sahle, Research Associate in Global History, Freie Universität Berlin
Michael F. Suarez, S.J., Professor of English and Director of Rare Book School at the University of Virginia
James Truitt, Senior Archives Technician, Friends Historical Library of Swarthmore College
Description:
New attention to network analysis in the humanities has invited new opportunities to explore the dense set of religious, economic, and social interconnections that characterize historical Quakerism. In this session, Esther Sahle will revisit what we know on the development and significance of Quaker business networks, contextualizing them within broader social and economic developments of the long eighteenth century. Michael Suarez will discuss the essential role played by Transatlantic Quaker networks in the campaign to abolish the slave trade, c.1787–1807. James Truitt will introduce participants to Friendly Networks, an online project that maps social networks within archival sources using the journals of eighteenth-century New Jersey minister John Hunt together with EAC-CPF and TEI, widely-used standards for authority control and text encoding.
CQHA: The biennial CQHA Business Meeting will follow the presentation.
Please see CQHA’s website for full information, or contact the organizers by email at [email protected].
A reminder that the online Conference of Quaker Historians and Archivists begins next week June 24–26! This conference is usually held in person so this is an exciting opportunity for everyone to attend online. If you haven’t yet registered, you can do so here.
The virtual conference will meet 11:00–4:00pm EDT each day via Zoom and includes presentation sessions as well as online cafe gatherings before, between, or after core sessions to provide opportunities for discussion.
Presentations at CQHA, organized into thematic sessions, address aspects of Quaker history across all time periods and locations. Since this year’s program builds on the postponed 2020 conference that would have taken place at Earlham College in Indiana, CQHA is pleased to include several presentations related to Quakers and the American Midwest. In addition, they have been able to take advantage of the virtual format to invite colleagues from several continents to participate in a series of special sessions on historiography and archives in Quaker historical studies. The full CQHA program is available here.
If you have any questions about the conference, you can check the CQHA questions page, or contact conference organizers at [email protected].
See you there!
Registration for this year’s Conference of Quaker Historians and Archivists (CQHA) is now open. The conference is taking place online June 24–26 and is free for everyone to attend. Information on the conference can be found here, and you can register directly here.
The conference will take place between approximately 11:00 am – 4:00 pm EDT each day with built in time for breaks, and will be held over Zoom.
Presentations at CQHA, organized into thematic sessions, address aspects of Quaker history across all time periods and locations. Since this year’s program builds on the postponed 2020 conference that would have taken place at Earlham College in Indiana, the program includes several presentations related to Quakers and the American Midwest. In addition, CQHA has been able to take advantage of the virtual format to invite colleagues from several continents to participate in a series of special sessions on historiography and archives in Quaker historical studies. To view the conference’s full program, click here.
CQHA is a biennial conference which operates under the auspices of the Friends Historical Association (FHA) which focuses on the history of Quakers and Quakerism. It is organized by a steering committee appointed by the conference group during the biennial concluding business session.
The biennial Conference of Quaker Historians and Archivists (CQHA) will take place virtually this year between June 24–26. Operating with the support of the Friends Historical Association, the CQHA focuses on the history of Quakers and Quakerism. This year’s conference will be free for all to attend.
Registration will open by the end of March, though you can check the CQHA website for updates on registration and program details.
The 2018 conference, held at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, featured excellent presentations on diverse topics ranging from Quaker spirituality, transatlantic politics, persecution, discipline, and enslavement. Past programs can be found here.