Twenty-Eighth Annual Conference on Baseball in Literature and Culture
Twenty-Eighth Annual Conference on Baseball in Literature and Culture
Friday, March 21, 2025
On the campus of Ottawa University, Ottawa, Kansas
Morning plenary speaker: David Block, author of Baseball before We Knew It and Pastime Lost
Luncheon keynote speaker: Bobby Dernier
The twenty-eighth annual Conference on Baseball in Literature and Culture is currently soliciting one-page proposals for presentations to be given at the conference on Friday, March 21, 2025. A Thursday night pre-conference reception on March 20 will take place on or near campus (location TBD). Presenters will have 15 minutes in panels comprised of three or four participants. Proposals should summarize the talk as clearly as possible. The conference defines “culture” loosely: in addition to baseball literature, topics could include but are not limited to the following:
- Negro Leagues baseball
- women’s baseball; baseball and gender
- baseball history
- baseball memoirs and biographies
- baseball in foreign or non-US cultures
- baseball in painting, theatre, music, or the other arts
- baseball material culture
- cultural appropriations of baseball
- the business/economics of baseball
- cheating in baseball
- MLB’s recent rule changes
- readings of creative works (fiction, non-fiction essays, poems, plays)
All presentations must follow the 15-minute format, and proposals should indicate how baseball relates to some aspect of local, ethnic, regional, national, or international culture. Proposals by graduate and undergraduate students are welcome, as are pre-formed panels.
This year, for the first time, undergraduate and graduate students who submit entire papers ahead of the conference will be eligible to apply for the Pete Carino Award for Young Scholars, which comes with a stipend of $500 and a waiving of the conference fee.
Proposals should be sent to Dr. Andy Hazucha (andy.hazucha@ottawa.edu) and/or Dr. Justin Clarke (justin.clarke@ottawa.edu). Include your name, address, phone number, school affiliation if any, and e-mail address. The deadline for proposals is January 31, 2025. Presenters will be notified of acceptance by February 15. Conference registration fee is $120 (for both presenters and attendees), which may be paid in advance via the conference website.