REVOLUTION!
Conference of Quaker Historians and Archivists
Haverford College
Suburban Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Conference: June 12-14, 2026
Proposal deadline: January 5, 2026

Call For Proposals

The Conference of Quaker Historians and Archivists (CQHA) invites proposals for papers, panels, and presentations for its 2026 gathering at Haverford College, June 12-14, 2026. There will be opportunities for virtual participation.

This year’s theme - Revolution! - calls us to explore the many ways Quakers have engaged with, resisted, and reimagined revolutionary change across centuries and continents.

This conference is ideal for anyone researching Quakerism, including those who are new to learning about Quakers and Quaker history. This is a major transatlantic event and a very exciting opportunity to hear the latest scholarship in Quaker studies.

We invite proposals that interrogate the revolutionary dimensions of Quaker history and archives, including but not limited to:

  • Religious dissent and radical spiritual movements

  • Political upheaval and Quaker responses to war, empire, and colonialism

  • Social revolutions: abolition, suffrage, civil rights, and peace activism

  • Archival revolutions: new methods, recovered voices, and contested memory

  • Revolutions in gender, race, class, and identity within Quaker communities

  • Cultural revolutions: literature, art, and material culture

  • Methodological revolutions in historical and archival practice

We also welcome proposals that challenge the boundaries of “revolution” itself -its meanings, metaphors, and implications for Quaker studies.

We invite proposals for presentations from all disciplines in the academy, from archivists and heritage practitioners, and from scholars from all backgrounds at any stage.

In addition to individual paper presentations (20 minutes + 10 minutes for Q&A), we welcome proposals for panels of complete sessions (2-3 papers), roundtable discussions (60 minutes with between 3 - 6 panellists), workshops (up to a half day), or other collaborative formats. We 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.

Proposals should consist of the following elements:

  1. Identify the format of your proposed presentation: a single paper, a panel of papers, a roundtable discussion, a workshop, a lightning talk, or other format, and indicate its proposed length. 

  2. For each presentation proposed, please supply:

    1. the presentation title;

    2. a one-page description of the proposed presentation that highlights argument, approach, or methodology, as well as anticipated content; 

    3. whether you plan to attend in person or virtually and

    4. a one-page vita or resume for each presenter.

  3. Proposals for sessions should be sent as a package, including an overall session description as well as the requested materials for each participant.

Complete proposals should be sent via email to Erica Canela, program chair, at quakerhistoriansandarchivists@gmail.com 

The deadline for proposals is January 5, 2026.

Notes: 

Who we are: The Conference of Quaker Historians and Archivists (CQHA) will hold its conference, Revolution!, at Haverford College on June 12-14, 2026. 

CQHA is a community that brings together those who study the history of Quakers and Quakerism with practitioners from cultural institutions that make records of the Quaker past available for scholarship. The Conference takes place every two years at locations in North America and abroad, and welcomes both Quaker and non-Quaker participants from diverse backgrounds.

We are exploring potential funding opportunities.

Questions? quakerhistoriansandarchivists@gmail.com
Conference Website: https://www.quakerhistory.org/conference
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/quakerhistoriansandarchivists/