Date: October 17-19, 2025

Location: SMU Main Campus, Dallas, TX

Theme: Archetypes & Myths

Submission Deadline: August 29, 2025

Keynote(s): TBD

Graduate students of Southern Methodist University’s Departments of English, Anthropology, and History, in collaboration with the Moody School of Advanced Studies, Dedman College Interdisciplinary Institute, and the department of English, have collaborated to hold the second annual Engaging Research Across the Humanities (ERAH) Conference at SMU from October 17th-October 19, 2025. 

ERAH 2025 will prioritize the development of interdisciplinary connections and aims to foster a supportive environment for both graduate students and advanced undergraduates engaged in strong research. There will be special emphasis placed on programming aimed at regional networking, professional development, and skill-building, creating opportunities for participants with limited or no prior conference experience. The theme for ERAH 2025 is Archetypes & Myths. 

Mythmaking permeates both the humanities disciplines and popular culture. Myths and archetypes often function by simplifying complex events, histories, and identities into more recognizable, and sometimes misleading, narratives. From national founding stories to literary tropes, from cultural stereotypes to regional notions of progress, myths and archetypes deeply influence how we interpret the past, frame the present, and imagine the future. This year’s theme asks us to think critically about the role of archetypes and myths in our respective disciplines: how has mythmaking pervaded the ways in which we make meaning of our social world?  How do archetypes delineate elements of human experience? We invite you to consider the roles of both archetyping and mythmaking within the works you study—be it literary works, historical archives, etc.—as well as how pervasive disciplinary paradigms shape the ways in which you approach your scholarship. 

Possible topics may include but are not limited to:

• Stereotypes

• Individual vs. community

• Sociocultural History

• History vs. myth

• Myths of gender

• Myths of race and ethnicity 

• Social and cultural mythologies 

• Nationalism and imagined communities

We invite abstracts of 200-250 words for both individual presentations and fully-constructed panels (3-4 speakers). Papers in STEM fields that clearly articulate  relevance to the theme are welcome. Full-panel proposals will be given priority. Panel proposals must include a 200-250 word proposal for the panel in addition to abstracts for each individual participant. A select number of travel grants will be awarded on a competitive basis for those traveling more than 50 miles. To qualify for a travel grant, you must submit your application by August 15, 2025. Further details will be included in your registration sign-up. Please submit abstracts via the following link:http://bit.ly/ERAH2025

If you have any questions, please email arundhatig@smu.edu.

We will notify participants of acceptance and registration steps no later than Sept. 19, 2025.