CALL FOR PAPERS
7th Annual National Conference on the Underground Railroad
 
Lincoln’s Era
The Role of Religion in the Underground Railroad
November 6-8, 2008 / Cincinnati, Ohio
 
Coinciding with the Lincoln Bicentennial and the opening of "Lincoln: The
Constitution and the Civil War" (exhibit created by the National
Constitution Center), the conference will explore the roles of religion
and people of faith working against the institution of slavery during the
1800s, as well as the provocative debate over Lincoln and racism. The
conference also foregrounds the roles of faith in the anti-slavery
movement with a special focus on Abraham Lincoln’s evolution and
Christian, Islamic, and Jewish anti-slavery advocates.

Conference Highlights

Ø Talks by prominent theologians (Rabbi Gary Zola) and scholars (Lerone
Bennett, Jr., Harold Holzer, and Roger Billings);

Ø Panels on religion, faith, slavery, and abolitionism;

Ø Panels on Lincoln’s evolving views on slavery, race, and racism;

Ø Genealogy research at the Freedom Center;

Ø Spirituals concert;

Ø Interfaith service and historical re-enactment of services from the
era;

Ø Bus tours of historic faith sites on the Underground Railroad.

 
Break-Out Sessions on the following topics:

Ø Runaways and Cincinnati Churches

Ø Antislavery Literatures

Ø Spirituals and the Underground Railroad

Ø Lincoln’s Spiritual Journey to Abolitionism

Cost: Participants can attend the entire conference or individual events.
Registration for the entire conference, except for the bus trips, is $150
per person. Registration includes membership to the National Underground
Railroad Freedom Center.

Individual Events: Tickets for individual activities can be purchased in
advance beginning September 1: Thursday morning faith tours, Thursday
night keynote address, Friday luncheon speaker, or spirituals concert.

Call for Papers: The conference committee invites scholars, faith leaders
and activists from all disciplines to make presentations in Cincinnati on
the role of faith or religion in the spread of anti-slavery activism in
the 1800s and the lessons for today for cooperation across the faith
divide.

The Freedom Center and NKU support and value all scholarship examining
the history and lives of peoples involved in the Underground Railroad
movement.

Deadline for submissions is July 31, 2008.

Please submit 250 word abstracts or paper proposals electronically to
Academic Program Chair:

Dr. Eric R. Jackson
Northern Kentucky University
Department of History and Geography
Highland Heights, Kentucky, 41099
jacksoner_at_nku.edu

For more information on the conference, contact Ernest Britton at 513-333-
7511 or ebritton_at_freedomcenter.org; or visit the Freedom Center website:
http://www.freedomcenter.org/events/

Sponsored by Northern Kentucky University and the National Underground
Railroad Freedom Center with additional support from the Jacob Rader
Marcus Center of the American Jewish Archives at Hebrew Union College,
Ebenezer Second Baptist Church, Christ Church Cathedral, and the
University of Cincinnati.

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Received on Fri May 23 2008 - 09:19:24 EDT