2024 Southwest Symposium

Historical Trajectories in Northwest Mexico and the U.S. Southwest

Nuevo Casas Grandes, Chihuahua, Mexico – January 16-18, 2024
Hosts: Michael Searcy and Jose Luis Punzo

For most archaeologists, our research involves inserting ourselves somewhere along the timelines of people in the past. At any point we choose to begin our research, we must consider the historically contingent circumstances that came before a particular point in time that contributed to the conditions that exist at that moment. For example, widespread agricultural domestication likely required years of trial and error, the testing of various propagation techniques, experimentation, and even unintentional accidents that led to the eventual development of well-established farming practices. Tracing historical trajectories requires a focus on the entanglement of humans and nonhuman things, their environmental settings, and how they developed over time. The theme of this conference emphasizes the varied historical trajectories that led to moments of transformation which may include the development of novel technologies, new religious traditions, changes in political or social organization, and/or the development of artistic forms.

Session Submission Instructions

The 2024 hosts are now accepting session proposals for the Southwest Symposium that fit the theme outlined above. Proposals should include a title for the session, a brief abstract (250 words or less), a list of potential participants, name(s) and contact information (email) of the the session organizer(s). Proposals in Spanish and English will be accepted. The deadline for submissions is July 31, 2024. Please submit your 1-2 page proposal via email to Michael Searcy at msearcy@byu.edu.

Poster Submissions

We also invite submissions for individual poster proposals or group poster sessions. These are typically more broad in scope and can include topics outside the theme of the conference. Poster submissions should include your name, poster title, and a brief 150-word abstract of your proposed poster. As with session submissions, we will accept proposals in both Spanish and English. Please send these submissions via email to Michael Searcy at msearcy@byu.edu by November 15, 2024.