Call for Papers for the 2026 APHI Graduate Conference Now Available!

For its sixteenth annual graduate student conference, Boston University’s American Political History Institute (APHI) invites submissions that examine the issues of migration, movement, and motion in American history.

Charting the movement of people, goods, and ideas provides a critical framework through which to study the political, economic and cultural history of the United States. Examining this constant motion, and the networks that created and sustained it, is integral to understanding environmental change, community formation, and the creation of distinctive identities.

The academic study of migration and movement has diversified significantly in recent years. Immigration, in particular, has emerged as a central focus for scholars exploring the intersections of labor, race, citizenship, and cultural exchange. Additionally, the study of internal migration has provided new interpretative opportunities for historians to explain significant shifts in the country’s development. Finally, some scholars have documented the exploits of Americans who have moved beyond the nation’s borders, venturing outwards in search of knowledge, adventure, or to proselytize national values to the world.

Outside the academy, debates over migration and movement have profoundly shaped public discourse. Issues of physical and social mobility drive policy debates on multiple levels; from  national immigration laws to local level fights over housing, economic development, and gentrification. At the heart of these contests are complex discourses on fundamental rights, political power, community identity and belonging, and economic opportunity and stability. Thus, scholarly inquiry into human movement is vital to understanding some of the most charged issues animating contemporary American life.

We are excited to solicit submissions that broadly explore themes pertaining to the subject of movement. We are especially interested in papers that explore topics such as voluntary and forced migrations, internal and transnational movement, as well as the political, social, cultural, and environmental impacts of these shifts. We encourage submissions that innovatively engage with movement on multiple scales of experience.

All presenters must be current graduate students. Distinguished faculty from both BU and the wider Boston area will serve as commentators for each panel. Submitted papers should be 20 pages max and presentations at the conference will be no more than 15 minutes. The most outstanding paper will receive the APHI Outstanding Graduate Student Paper Prize, which includes a $1,000 cash award. There is no registration fee for our conference.

Please visit https://bu.edu/aphi/grad-conference/ for more information.