Undergraduate Symposium:

NEW WORK IN MATERIAL CULTURE STUDIES

Call for Papers

H-Material-Culture (an H-Net Network) is pleased to announce our first

Undergraduate Symposium in Material Culture Studies.

This event will be held via Zoom on Saturday, March 7, 2026.

We invite undergraduate students who have taken classes in material culture studies, art history, design history, fashion studies, museum studies, and related disciplines to submit abstracts for fifteen-minute presentations that will share new research in our dynamic field. We especially welcome studies grounded in a specific object or set of objects.

Our virtual symposium will consist of two consecutive sessions of student papers and a keynote lecture by Emily C. Casey (University of Kansas), each followed by Q&A. The symposium will be free and open to all.

To submit a proposal for a presentation, email the following materials as a single Word document to Professor Joseph H. Larnerd at JHL73@drexel.edu by 11:59pm EST on November 29, 2025:

·      Page #1: a cover page that includes your name, the title of your proposed paper, your university/college, and your academic major and year of study

·      Page #2: a 200-word abstract that introduces your object(s), foregrounds your paper’s thesis and/or central interpretation, and briefly explains how you intend to support it

Your proposal should be double spaced and in 12 pt. Times New Roman font. The document name and subject of your email should read as follows: “H-MC Symposium Abstract—Your Last Name.”

Proposals will be reviewed by a panel of scholars active in the field of material culture studies who will also serve as session respondents. Authors of selected abstracts will be notified by December 13. If you have any questions or concerns, do not hesitate to email JHL73@drexel.edu.

Funding for this event has been generously provided by H-Net.

We look forward to receiving your abstract!