Symposium on the 19th Century Press, the Civil War, and Free Expression
November 7-9, 2013
The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga

The steering committee of the twenty-first annual Symposium on the 19th Century Press, the Civil War, and Free Expression solicits papers dealing with U.S. mass media of the 19th century, the Civil War in fiction and history, freedom of expression in the 19th century, presidents and the 19th century press, images of race and gender in the 19th century press, and sensationalism and crime in 19th century newspapers. Selected papers will be presented during the three-day conference in Chattanooga, Tennessee, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, November 7-9, 2013.  The top three papers and the top three student papers will be honored accordingly. Due to the generosity of the Walter and Leona Schmitt Family Foundation Research Fund, the winners of the student awards will receive $250 honoraria for delivering their papers at the conference.

The purpose of the November conference is to share current research and to develop a series of monographs. This year the steering committee will pay special attention to papers on the Civil War and the press, presidents and the 19th century press, and 19th century concepts of free expression.  Papers from the first five conferences were published by Transaction Publishers in 2000 as a book of readings called The Civil War and the Press. Purdue University Press published papers from past conferences in three distinctly different books titled Memory and Myth: The Civil War in Fiction and Film from Uncle Tom’s Cabin to Cold Mountain (2007), Words at War: The Civil War and American Journalism (2008), and Seeking a Voice: Images of Race and Gender in the 19th Century Press (2009). This year, Transaction will publish Sensationalism: Murder, Mayhem, Mudslinging, Scandals, and Disasters in 19th-Century Reporting.

The symposium is sponsored by the George R. West, Jr. Chair of Excellence in Communication and Public Affairs, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, the Walter and  Leona Schmitt Family Foundation Research Fund, and the Hazel Dicken-Garcia Fund for the Symposium, and because of this sponsorship, no registration fee will be charged.

Deadline: August 30, 2013

Papers should be able to be presented within 20 minutes, at least 10 to 15 pages long. Send your paper (including a 200-300 word abstract) as an MS Word e-mail attachment to West-Chair-Office@utc.edu or mail four copies of your paper and abstract to:

Dr. David Sachsman
George R. West, Jr. Chair of Excellence in Communication and Public Affairs
Dept. 3003
The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
615 McCallie Ave.
Chattanooga, Tennessee 37403-2598
(423) 425-4219,  FAX (423) 425-2199/4695
david-sachsman@utc.edu
www.utc.edu/Academic/SymposiumOnThe19thCenturyPress/