We invite paper proposals for a planned panel at the Association for Asian Studies (AAS) Annual Conference in Vancouver BC in March 2026, tentatively titled "Public History in South Asia."
Public History involves engaging the broader public in understanding, preserving, and interpreting past, often moving beyond academic institutions. Our panel seeks to assess Public History practice in South Asia, exploring projects and practices that explore the complex and diverse histories in South Asia in relation to the public, the relevance of historical research to public life, and practices that seek to make a diversity of histories, voices and identities present within public engagements with the past.
We welcome papers that address the following themes, but are open to many others!
- Public history practices in South Asia
- Displaced or erased histories and practices to represent them
- Public history institutions: museums, community organizations, libraries
- Cultural revival projects and activism
- State and non-state narratives
Submission Details:
To submit a paper proposal, please submit the following, in the order listed below, all in a single Microsoft Word file or PDF document, by July 15, 2025.
- Applicant information: complete name, rank and affiliation, email address, gender, and current city/state/country (full address not required)
- Full paper title
- Abstract: 250 words
- Short bio: 100 words describing current institutional affiliation, a brief sentence or two about current research, and any significant publications.
- Deadline: July 15, 2025
Please send your submission to Dr. Anne Murphy at anne.murphy@ubc.ca
This panel is organized by Dr. Anne Murphy (University of British Columbia) and Dr. Khola Cheema (Islamia University of Bahawalpur, Bahawalnagar Campus). Accepted papers will be part of a panel submission to AAS 2026 (due August 6), scheduled for March 12-15, 2026 in Vancouver, BC, Canada,. Please note that panellists are responsible for securing funding and registration.
------------------------------
Anne Murphy
Associate Professor
University of British Columbia
anne.murphy@ubc.ca------------------------------