The 2027 WMQ-EMSI Workshop
Convened by Peter C. Mancall
In recent years, scholars in early American history have turned increasingly to synthesis. Do these writings represent a turn in the field—or a return to a more traditional form of writing about the past? How has the craft and responsibility of writing synthetic histories changed given the expansion of topics and approaches employed by historians over the past generation?
To mark the 20th anniversary of the partnership between the William and Mary Quarterly and the USC-Huntington Early Modern Studies Institute, the workshop in 2027 focuses on the challenges, opportunities, and limitations of synthesis as a form of historical writing. We welcome proposals from scholars who are currently writing synthetic works about any aspect of the vast early American experience. Discussion may focus on issues such as the integration of primary materials into synthetic analysis, how visual materials (including maps) can contribute to synthetic writings, questions about narrative writing and its limitations, questions raised in efforts to write a grand narrative, and considerations of the audiences—public, scholarly, classroom—in the writing of synthetic works.
Participants will attend a two-day meeting at the Huntington Library, May 14–15, 2027, to discuss a precirculated, unpublished chapter-length portion of their current work in progress along with the work of other participants. Subsequently, the convener, Peter C. Mancall, will write an essay elaborating on the issues raised at the workshop for publication in the William and Mary Quarterly. The participants’ meals, lodging, and travel expenses will be covered by the EMSI and the Omohundro Institute.
Proposals for workshop presentations should include a two-page c.v., an abstract of a draft chapter the applicant seeks to present at the workshop, and a relatively brief (ca. 5 pages) description of the applicant’s larger project. The organizers encourage proposals from scholars who are working on their second (or subsequent) book. Graduate students are ineligible.
APPLY HERE by NOVEMBER 15, 2026.