JUNE 7–10, 2007 • COLLEGE OF WILLIAM AND MARY, WILLIAMSBURG, VIRGINIA

Hosted by the College of William and Mary.

The Omohudro Institute of Early American History and Culture

The Society of Early Americanists
http://www.societyofearlyamericanists.org/

INTRODUCTION

In 2005 the Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture and the Society of Early Americanists agreed to collaborate in putting together a joint, interdisciplinary conference for 2007. The opportunity of the four hundredth anniversary of Jamestown’s settlement, with the consequent intersections of cultures and peoples, inspired our two groups to create an ecumenical venue for cross-disciplinary dialogue and collaboration. As a result, the Institute’s thirteenth annual and SEA’s fifth biennial will convene in the Williamsburg, Virginia, in the University Center on the campus of the College of William and Mary.

Meetings of both organizations are intended to reflect the broad interests and diverse membership of scholars engaged in the study of early America and are especially open to graduate students and faculty in the early stages of their careers. Indeed, the two organizations share a number of members in common. The Society of Early Americanists was formed by a group of literary scholars in the first part of the 1990s as an organization for early Americanists from all fields. Its purpose is to further the exchange of ideas and information among scholars of various disciplines who study the literature and culture of America to approximately 1800. Founded in 1943 by the College of William and Mary and the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, the Institute encourages and sponsors the study, research, and publication of the early history and cultures of North America from ca. 1450 to 1820, including related developments in the Caribbean, Latin America, Europe, and Africa—in short, any subject encompassing the Atlantic world in that period.

The program committee for 2007 is co-chaired by SEA president Dennis Moore (Florida State University) and the Institute’s Fredrika J. Teute, with Rhys Isaac as the Institute Council’s representative. Members include Stephen Carl Arch (Michigan State University), Wendy Bellion (University of Delaware), Holly Brewer (North Carolina State University), Mendy C. Gladden (OIEAHC), Mark Kamrath (University of Central Florida), SEA vice president Thomas Krise (University of Central Florida), Edward Larkin (University of Delaware), Sally M. Promey (Yale University), Jeffrey H. Richards (Old Dominion University), Marion Rust (University of Virginia), Mark Valeri (Union Theological Seminary), and Karin Wulf (College of William and Mary).