Call for Papers
Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution
American Art History and Digital Scholarship: New Avenues of Exploration
November 15-16, 2013, Washington, DC
The Archives of American Art announces an upcoming symposium, American
Art History and Digital Scholarship: New Avenues of Exploration, to be
held at the Donald W. Reynolds Center for American Art and
Portraiture, in Washington, DC, on Friday, November 15, followed by a
one-day workshop at the Archives of American Art on Saturday, November
16. We seek proposals for Friday’s presentations and applications for
participation in Saturday’s moderated workshop.
The purpose of the symposium is to convene scholars, archivists,
librarians, graduate students, technical experts, and the public to
consider American art history in a digital world. The symposium will
examine ways to integrate digital tools and/or resources into the
study of American art and to encourage collaboration.
Conference organizers seek original, innovative scholarship from a
variety of disciplines, institutions, and research centers. The
symposium will assess the potential values and limitations of
technical tools in digital humanities including crowdsourcing,
high-resolution imaging and dynamic image presentation, mapping,
visual recognition software, network analysis, topic modeling, and
data mining. Are there particular digital tools and methods that will
transform research? What new knowledge can be gained? The symposium
will also consider future directions in the fields of art history and
digital humanities so that research centers and archives can prepare
for emerging research trends and questions. Additionally, the
symposium may consider the creative potential of online publishing for
presenting peer-reviewed scholarship in American art.
Day One symposium will feature talks and panels by key thinkers and
innovative practitioners who are currently using digital approaches to
advance the study of American art. Papers may address the following
topics: research practices and trends, tools and methods, pedagogy,
publishing, and outreach.
Proposals should include a 300-word abstract and a short CV and be
sent via email to AAAsymposium@si.edu Deadline for submissions: August
15, 2013
Day Two workshop will be a moderated discussion on developing
partnerships and projects in the field of American art. The success of
new ventures in digital research depends on collaborations among
archivists, scholars, teachers, students, and IT specialists. What can
we learn from each other? Participants should apply via email at
AAAsymposium@si.edu and submit a brief statement of interest about
potential applications of digital research for American art history.
Please include in your statement particular subject areas, methods,
and/or projects that you would like to develop. Organizers may screen
applications for Day Two to ensure a wide representation of
specialties, subject areas, and institutions.
Deadline for registration: September 30, 2013
Confirmed speakers will be required to submit a revised abstract by
October 30, 2013. The symposium will be free and open to the public,
webcast, and archived for later viewing. Schedule and materials will
be posted to www.aaa.si.edu/symposium
Funds for travel and accommodations are available for accepted speakers.
This symposium is funded by the Terra Foundation for American Art.
For more information about the symposium, please contact Kelly Quinn,
Terra Foundation Project Manager for Online Scholarly and
Educational Initiatives quinnk@si.edu.
For more information about the Archives of American Art visit aaa.si.edu.
Mary Savig
Curator of Manuscripts
Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution
Phone: 202.633.7959 | Fax: 202.633.7994
SavigM@si.edu