Canadian Historical Association | Société historique du Canada

Call for Papers: Self | Other | History

CHA Annual Meeting 2026 – University of Prince Edward Island, Charlottetown – 1-3 June 2026

History illustrates the process through which self and other interact, and, from a different perspective, how self and other are imagined. This call for papers invites participants to consider the way conceptions of self and other change over time, their tensions, and mediations. What divides self from other; what factors build connections that can transcend divisions and boundaries? How can the historical relationships between self and other connect people even while they provide points of disagreement, divergence, and contention?

The 2026 Canadian Historical Association annual meeting will be held from June 1st to 3rd at the University of Prince Edward Island. This is an in-person conference and the first CHA meeting held in Atlantic Canada since 2011. The Program Committee invites proposals for papers and panels that reflect on the relationships between self, other, and their power dynamics either in the past, as represented in public history, or in historical pedagogy.

The Canadian Historical Association acknowledges that 2026 is the 150th ‘anniversary’ of the Indian Act. Throughout its 150-year existence, the Act has sought to define and redefine the self and the other through the operation of both individual and state power. We encourage proposals that reflect on this history, this ‘anniversary’, and its implications.

The Program Committee will consider contributions that address other historical themes. This conference is open to all historians regardless of their geographic focus, including work that is comparative, trans-national, and interdisciplinary. Submissions and other communications may be made in either French or English.

Session proposals should include the completed form (with the presenters’ names, email addresses of the session organizer and presenters, and a list of three keywords), the session’s title, paper titles, and brief abstracts (250 words) for each paper.

Individual paper submissions should include the completed form (with the author’s name, contact information, and list of three keywords) as well as a title and a brief abstract (250 words).

This meeting of the CHA will overlap for one day with the bi-annual Atlantic Canadian Studies conference. We are pleased to offer the opportunity to create joint sessions that reflect on the conference theme in relation to the Atlantic region and the significance of place. If you are interested in a CHA/ACS joint session, please indicate this in your proposal description. It will be considered by both program committees.

The CHA also plans to collaborate with the Canadian Catholic Historical Association and will have an overlap with their conference. Proposals for joint sessions are similarly encouraged.

Please note that individuals can only submit one abstract for the CHA meeting (i.e. either an abstract for an individual paper or an abstract as part of a session proposal.) You do not have to be a member to submit a proposal. However, should your proposal be accepted, please note that all participants at the annual meeting must be members of the CHA.

Click here to submit your proposal. Deadline: November 15, 2025.

Alternative Forms of Participation

Seeking to broaden the ways the past is discussed, presented, and considered, the Program Committee invites alternative contributions in a range of different forms, as follows:

Poster Presentation: The Program Committee invites proposals for a poster session which will be held during the conference. A poster session is an interactive event. Posters will be displayed throughout the conference but there will be a specific poster session during which other sessions are not scheduled. This will allow conference participants to see the posters and discuss them with their creators. This provides an opportunity for feedback and discussion. A poster should be approximately 36 x 48 inches in size (92 x 122 cm), be titled, and list its creator(s). It should combine visual and textual elements in a way that presents and highlights the focus of research, potential findings, and significance. Posters can also address methodologies or provide a means to show visual data. Poster proposals should include the creator’s contact information, the proposed title, and a brief (not more than 250 words) abstract of the poster’s contents. The proposal can note the significance of the work and provide a list of conclusive or tentative findings.

Click here to see information on best practices and information about posters, provided by the AHA.

Workshops: A workshop is an interactive sixty to eighty-minute session that is intended to promote critical and creative engagement with a specific theme, interpretive framework, practical professional issue, or subject matter. They can take a variety of forms and – potentially – even locations depending on the central focus. While local resources are limited, we invite workshop proposals that seek to experiment and innovate. Please contact the Program Chair with questions about what can be supported. Regardless of their structure, all workshops will provide materials (text, image, sound, etc.) for participants to review in advance and provide some broad questions for consideration. Once a proposal is accepted, it will be advertised in Winter 2026 and then participants will sign up by a certain deadline to receive the materials and questions. Coming from individuals or a small group (two or three normally), workshop proposals should provide the organizer’s contact information, a 250-word description of the workshop, a list of its outcomes, and a provisional list of background materials. It should indicate how the workshop will connect to the themes of this conference or another important historical issue and explain why its form is appropriate to its content and outcomes. Unless otherwise requested, workshops will be scheduled in regular panel session timeslots.

Pedagogical Sessions: A pedagogical session is an interactive presentation consisting of one or more contributors that addresses key issues in learning and teaching. Pedagogical sessions will promote specific educational outcomes connected to learning about the past and its relevance in the contemporary world. Pedagogical sessions will be scheduled in a regular panel timeslot. Proposals should include the presenter’s contact information, a 250-word description of the session, a list of its outcomes or the key issues it seeks to raise, and a list of its modes of interaction. Pedagogical sessions can also provide participants with resource materials either during the session or ahead of time.

Click here to submit your proposal. Deadline: November 15, 2025.

Andrew Nurse, Chair of the 2026 Program Committee
Email: chashc2026@mta.ca