2020 will mark the 400th anniversary of the Mayflower voyage to America in 1620. On board was the first group of “Pilgrims”, English religious dissenters who had for twelve years had found refuge in Leiden (1609-1620).
To commemorate this event, the North American Studies program (LUCAS) and the Institute for History (IG) will organize a two-day international conference in Leiden titled “Four Nations Commemoration, 1620-2020: The Pilgrims and the Politics of Memory,” in cooperation with the city of Leiden and academic partners in the UK and US (August 26-28, 2020). The conference will challenge the traditional Anglo-American approach to the early colonization of North America, and prioritize a “four nations” approach to include Dutch and Native American perspectives. Taking the Mayflower anniversary as starting point and central concern, this interdisciplinary conference seeks to interrogate the myths, power-bases, mobility, and knowledge production of colonial pasts through three distinct but related strands:
- Contesting memories and commemorations
- Colonialism, migration, and Indigenous impact and resistance
- The production of knowledge, print culture, and national myths
The Call for Papers is now online; deadline: November 15, 2019. For CFP and further information, check attachment or the Conference website or email Johanna C. Kardux, North American Studies, Leiden University j.c.kardux@hum.leidenuniv.nl