2027 CALL FOR PAPERS

67th Annual Conference Call for Papers

October 20-23, 2027 at Hilton Union Square, San Francisco, California

Theme: Resistant, Rebellious, and Radical Wests

In so many ways, San Francisco exemplifies the radical possibilities of the American West. It has been an LGBTQ+ sanctuary; a destination for immigrants from around the world; a haven for cultural, artistic, and political expression; a birthplace for leftist, anti-racist, anti-colonial, hemispheric, and pan-Indigenous movements; and a symbol of sexual freedom. Yet, in other ways, San Francisco also typifies a more mainstream American West: a site of unbridled capitalism that has generated great wealth and great poverty; a realm of nearly obscene beauty punctuated by brutal disasters; a place of extralegal political violence directed at people of color, including Chicanx and Asian American communities; and, though it remains a Native homeland where tribal peoples still survive, a location marked by dispossession and genocide.

As we prepare for the 2027 WHA meeting in San Francisco, the Program Committee calls for papers, panels, roundtables, and workshops that engage the theme “Resistant, Rebellious, and Radical Wests.” Here, we emphasize the plurality and dynamism of the West—its varied and contested meanings, the extreme and the quotidian, its possibilities and perils, and the region’s many contradictions. And, though “the West” holds significance for scholarly and popular audiences alike, we also recognize that descriptor as a colonial construct. The Program Committee therefore welcomes submissions from scholars who may not primarily identify as western historians, but whose work engages key themes in our field, including colonialism, diasporas, the built and natural environment, gender (including fluidity), immigration and migration, Indigenous studies, law, labor, politics, sexuality, and many others.

We are eager to see submissions from established and emerging scholars, as well as public historians, K-12 educators, and community members. Travel scholarships, support, and prizes for students and public historians are awarded annually by the WHA. For more information and submission guidelines, visit westernhistory.org/2027. Submit proposals via the Western History Association website by Dec. 5, 2026.