Society for the History of Discoveries 60th Anniversary Conference
Open Registration
2020 marks the 60th anniversary of the Society for the History of Discoveries. SHD was formed to stimulate interest in teaching, research, and publishing the history of geographical exploration and its impact. Founded in 1960, the Society includes members from several academic disciplines as well as archivists, non-affiliated scholars, and laypersons with an interest in history. We are open to all with an interest in the subject. As part of our 60th anniversary celebration we invite all interested parties to attend our virtual conference via Zoom free of charge. To participate in this virtual conference you must register ahead of time by visiting https://discoveryhistory.org/product/2020-conference-registration/
Registration fee: FREE
When: November 13-14, 2020
Theme: New Orleans and the Mississippi Delta: Cultural Crossroads
Louisiana is home to some of the earliest Paleo-Indian sites in North America, and the area which became New Orleans was settled by the Chitimacha people as early as 400 AD. Spanish expeditions, under Panfilo de Narváez and Hernando De Soto, entered the area in the sixteenth century, and French fur traders began to settle in Native American villages in the delta region in the late seventeenth century. New Orleans was founded as a French city in 1718, was later ceded to the Spanish in 1763, and finally became a part of the United States under the provisions of the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. In the 1710s enslaved Africans were shipped to Louisiana in large numbers, and after the Haitian Revolution (beginning in 1791) French creoles and Creoles of color, fleeing the violence, settled in New Orleans. Germans, too, had a presence in early Louisiana, beginning in 1721, with the Karlstein settlements just north of the city. This culturally rich and unique region offers the inspiration for our conference.
In addition to the presentations which focus on the New Orleans and Mississippi Delta region, our program also includes papers on early exploration and colonization, maritime history and cartographic history. For a full list of presenters, abstracts and the conference schedule please visit https://discoveryhistory.org/2020-conference-schedule/