CALL FOR PAPERS 2024

2024 Biennial Meeting of the Lutheran Historical Conference

October 10-12, 2024

Baltimore, Maryland and Gettysburg, Pennsylvania

“Lutherans Uniting and Dividing” 

The 2024 LHC Program Committee invites proposals which reflect the themes of Lutherans either uniting for a common cause or Lutherans who felt compelled to divide for a greater good. Paper proposals dealing with any aspect of this theme or with any other aspect of Lutheran history in North America will be considered. We also welcome proposals from archivists and those of adjacent disciplines (e.g., public history or museum studies).


The 2024 LHC meeting (rescheduled from 2021) will return to the East Coast when it will meet at Christ Lutheran Church in the Inner Harbor of Baltimore, Maryland. This gathering will also visit Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, the location of the largest battle of the American Civil War, fought in part on the grounds of Gettysburg Lutheran Seminary, now part of United Lutheran Seminary. The day at Gettysburg will be in conjunction with the Lutheran Historical Society of the Mid-Atlantic. This biennial meeting will commemorate several recent anniversaries, including the bicentennial of the General Synod (1820), the seventy-fifth anniversary of Lutheran World Relief (1945), and the eightieth anniversary of the Lutheran Immigration and Refuge Service (1939). 


Speakers will be given twenty minutes for their presentations, followed by five to ten minutes of Q & A and discussion.


Paper proposals, including a title and 250-word abstract, along with a brief biographical sketch of the presenter, are due March 4th, 2024. Please send by email attachment to the Program Chair, Jesse David Chariton, at chariton@iastate.edu.


Other members of the 2024 Program Committee:

Kathryn Galchutt: kathryn.galchutt@cui.edu

Mirko Hall: mirko.hall@converse.edu

Joel Thoreson: joel.thoreson@elca.org


Please contact for inquiries.


The Program Committee will inform each submitter about acceptance decisions via email by May 5th. Presenters must be or become members of the LHC in order to present (https://www.luthhistcon.org/membership). Presenters are responsible for covering conference fees and all travel costs and are encouraged to apply for financial support from their home institutions. Students are encouraged to submit paper proposals and to apply to the LHC Board for limited scholarship assistance with travel-related expenses (https://www.luthhistcon.org/people).


LUTHERAN QUARTERLY ANNUAL ESSAY PRIZE


The purpose of the Lutheran Quarterly Annual Essay Prize is to nurture and reward young scholars in Lutheran history and theology for their contributions toward making the Lutheran Reformation known to the contemporary church.  One prize of $5,000 will be awarded annually 2024–2033.

Authors submitting essays for this Prize will contribute a standard journal-length (6,000 to 7,000 words) essay compatible with the stated goals of Lutheran Quarterly: “The aims of the New Series are unchanged: to provide a forum 1) for the discussion of Christian faith and life on the basis of the Lutheran confession; 2) for the application of the principles of the Lutheran church to the changing problems of religion and society; 3) for the fostering of world Lutheranism, and 4) for the promotion of understanding between Lutherans and other Christians.”

We hope this Essay Prize will encourage a cohort of younger scholars devoted to the history and theology of the Lutheran tradition, with the anticipation that this will strengthen both the church and the academy.  Candidates for this prize should either be currently working on their dissertations or be newly minted PhDs, making their initial submission within five years of earning the degree. 

The submitted essays are first entered into the normal, double-blind peer review process for possible publication.  There is no specific deadline for submission but rather a rolling process of consideration for a decade of annual prizes.  The finalists annually are those essays that are in fact published in Lutheran Quarterly over a given year, according to the normal peer review and editorial process.  The criteria for the winning essay include that it should be grounded biblically, historically, and confessionally, display vigorous writing and original scholarship, and convey significance for contemporary readers.  The winning essay will be selected by the editorial staff of Lutheran Quarterly, chaired by the editor.  If there is no eligible essay published in a given year, that year’s prize will be postponed one year.

Submissions and questions should be directed to Editor Paul Rorem, paul.rorem@ptsem.edu.  For more on Lutheran Quarterly in general, see www.lutheranquarterly.org.

Paul Rorem, LQ Editor

August 2023

 

CONFERENCE REGISTRATION IS NOW AVAILABLE

Lutheran Historical Conference

Biennial Meeting – September 30-October 2, 2021

Baltimore, MD and Gettysburg, PA

Registration Fee:   $150.00 includes Conference, 2 Breakfasts, 2 Lunches, 1 Banquet 

Dinner, Coffee breaks, Transportation to Gettysburg and back, and incidentals

Registration Link

Does NOT include:   Hotel, and transportation to/from the airport

Hotel rate: $139.00 + tax at the Royal Sonesta Harbor Court, 515 Light Street, Baltimore, MD 21202; 800-766-3782.  Call Hotel directly to book and mention that you are with the “Lutheran Historical Conference” group. If you go online, the reservation booking link is “Lutheran Historical Conference Room Block.”

Light Rail from BWI Airport: $1.75 each way; Uber/Lift: $24 each way; Taxi: $30.  

NOTE: HOTEL PRICES ARE GUARANTEED ONLY UNTIL SEPTEMBER 3, 2021



2021 CALL FOR PAPERS

“Lutherans Uniting and Dividing”

            The 2021 LHC meeting, now rescheduled for this fall, will return to the East Coast when it will meet in the Inner Harbor area of Baltimore, Maryland. This biennial meeting will commemorate several recent anniversaries, including the bicentennial of the General Synod (1820), the seventy-fifth anniversary of Lutheran World Relief (1945), and the eightieth anniversary of the Lutheran Immigration and Refuge Service (1939). This gathering will also visit Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, the location of the largest battle of the American Civil War, fought in part on the grounds of Gettysburg Lutheran Seminary, now part of United Lutheran Seminary.

              The 2021 LHC Program Committee invites the membership of the Conference to submit proposals which reflect the themes of Lutherans either uniting for a common cause or Lutherans who felt compelled to divide for a greater good. Paper proposals dealing with any aspect of this theme will be considered. Since the 2020 LHC [in-person] meeting was canceled because of the global pandemic, all proposals that were sent to the Program Committee in 2020 remain accepted for the 2021 meeting, with the exception of the six papers that were presented at the 2020 LHC virtual meeting which was held online this past October. In creating the 2021 program of speakers, the Program Committee will contact those who submitted proposals in 2020 to ascertain if there is continued interest in presenting on this fall’s meeting.

              Speakers will be given twenty minutes for their presentations, followed by five to ten minutes of Q and A and discussion. Paper proposals must include (1) title (2) a 250 word (maximum) abstract; and (3) a brief biographical sketch of the presenter.

              Proposals and inquiries are due by Monday, April 12, 2021 and are to be sent by email attachment to the Program Chair: Joel L. Pless, at joel.pless@wlc.edu; office phone (414) – 443-8930. The other members of the 2021 Program Committee are Susan McArver: susan.mcarver@lr.edu and Timothy Grundmeier: grundmtd@mlc-wels.edu.

              The Program Committee reserves the right to accept or reject any paper proposal for the good of the Lutheran Historical Conference and its biennial meeting. Presenters must be or become members of the LHC before the convening of the meeting. Presenters are alone responsible for covering conference fees and all travel costs and are encouraged to apply for financial support from their home institutions. Students are also encouraged to submit paper proposals and to apply to the LHC Board of Directors for limited scholarship assistance with travel-related expenses.

              The 2021 Program Committee will seriously consider all legitimate submissions and will inform each submitter via email of its decision in a timely manner, whether or not to include his/her paper as part of the program in Baltimore. Besides listening to and reacting to scholarly papers, the LHC will transact official conference business, hold elections, and will participate in a bus tour of Lutheran sites of interest in the area.

Virtual Conference Time and Date

Virtual Meeting Information:Our previously scheduled face-to-face conference October 1 -3,2020, in Baltimore has been cancelled.  Instead, the Lutheran Historical Conference is having a virtual annual meeting from 6:00-8:00 PM (Central Time) on Thursday, October 1, 2020. Papers will be discussed by six researchers of Lutheran history: Martin Lohrmann, Trenton Ferro, Matthew Borrasso, Benjamin Phelps, Mark Braun, and John Hannah. In order to receive the links for viewing the papers and attending the discussion, you must register here: REGISTRATION. Registration is free, simply add the item to your cart, checkout and fill out the required forms. You will receive the necessary links at a later date.

LHC Call for Papers 2020

CALL FOR PAPERS

Lutheran Historical Conference Biennial Meeting

Thursday through Saturday, October 01‒03, 2020

Christ Ev. Lutheran Church, Inner Harbor

Baltimore, Maryland

 

“Lutherans Uniting and Dividing”

The October 2020 LHC meeting will return to the East Coast when it will meet in the Inner Harbor area of Baltimore, Maryland. This biennial gathering will commemorate several significant anniversaries, including the bicentennial of the General Synod (1820), the seventy-fifth anniversary of Lutheran World Relief (1945), and the eightieth anniversary of the Lutheran Immigration and Refuge Service (1939). This gathering will also visit Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, the location of the largest battle of the American Civil War, fought in part on the grounds of Gettysburg Lutheran Seminary, now part of United Lutheran Seminary.

The LHC Program Committee invites the membership of the Conference to submit proposals which reflect the themes of Lutherans either uniting for a common cause or Lutherans who felt compelled to divide for a greater good. Paper proposals dealing with any aspect of this theme are welcome. Proposals outside of the theme are also welcome and will be respectfully considered.

Speakers will be given twenty minutes for their presentations, followed by five to ten minutes of Q and A and discussion. Paper proposals must include (1) a title; (2) a 250 word (maximum) abstract; and (3) a brief biographical sketch of the presenter. 

Proposals and inquiries are due by March 01, 2020 and are to be sent

via email attachment to the Program Chair:

Joel L. Pless, Ph.D.—Wisconsin Lutheran College, Milwaukee (414) – 443-8930

joel.pless@wlc.edu

Some basic ground rules for submissions: The Program Committee reserves the right to accept or reject any paper proposal for the good of the LHC and its biennial meeting. Presenters must be or become members of the Lutheran Historical Conference before the convening of the meeting. Presenters are alone responsible for covering conference fees and all travel costs and are encouraged to apply for financial support from their home institutions. Students are also encouraged to submit paper proposals and to apply to the LHC Board of Directors for limited scholarship assistance with travel-related expenses.

The Program Committee will seriously consider all legitimate submissions and will inform each submitter via email of its decision in a timely manner, whether or not to include his/her paper as part of the 2020 LHC program. Besides hearing and reacting to papers, the LHC will transact official business, hold elections, and will go on a bus tour of Lutheran sites of interest in the area.

Attention Grad Students and Seminarians: The Abdel Ross Wentz Prize 2019

Read below for information on the Abdel Ross Wentz Prize 2019:

Abdel Ross Wentz was a leading figure in American Lutheranism. From 1916-1956 he was a professor of church history and later President of the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg. Wentz also served as the first vice-president of the Lutheran World Federation. His family established with the Lutheran Historical Society of the Mid-Atlantic an endowment providing prize money for the best history paper on a topic related to North American Lutheranism produced by a first-degree seminarian or graduate student. The prize is in the amount of $2,500. Read more about Wentz and the prize details on the society’s web site: www.lutheranhistoricalsociety.com. Papers for consideration by the prize committee should include a letter of recommendation from a professor along with two copies and a cover sheet which includes the author’s contact information (address, phone, email), institution, and degree program to be postmarked by August 31, 2019 and mailed to

Lutheran Historical Society of the Mid-Atlantic

61 Seminary Ridge

Gettysburg, PA 17325

An electronic copy of the paper should also be emailed to info@lutheranhistoricalsociety.com Attention to Pastor Stephen Herr.

Scholars with a special interest in Lutheran history in the American West may also be interested in the Arrington-Prucha Prize: https://www.westernhistory.org/awards/arrington-prucha#recipient2

LHC Mini-Grants Available

The Lutheran Historical Conference continues to award mini-grants to support projects and activities that promote the study, documentation, and preservation of the history and record of Lutheranism in North America. Mini-grants will be awarded on an annual basis for up to $1,000. Preference may be given to those who have not previously received a mini-grant award and only members of the LHC are eligible to apply. The grant process is competitive and the LHC board will determine the number of awards each year based upon the quality of the applications.

Completed applications must include a cover page (below); a project description (one page); a statement of significance and likely impact of project relative to Lutheran identity (one page); and a detailed budget. All application materials should be submitted electronically to LHC Secretary Joel Thoreson at joel.thoreson@elca.org. Applications are due by 15 February 2019 and will not be considered beyond that date. All applicants will receive notification of award decisions by April 2019.

Those receiving mini-grants are expected to submit a formal written report summarizing progress and outcome of project one year after the award is granted. Any funds not used within two years of award shall be returned to the LHC.

The application form can be found under the Research tab of our website or by clicking the link below:

LHC Mini-Grant Application