Meet the Keynote and Call for Proposals for 2018 Conference

[Council on American Studies Education]

Friends of the Council on American Studies Education- 

The keynote for this year's CASE Conference on "Hatred and Healing in America" is Shannon Martinez. As a former neo-Nazi who now works to help others leave hate groups, she has a particularly valuable perspective on America in 2018. She says, “Through sharing my personal narrative about my entrance, time in, and eventual disengagement from the violent, extreme right, my talks mostly focus on the shared elements common amongst radicalized individuals : a search for identity, belonging, purpose, and value, and the ‘amplification effect’ which happens to keep a person involved.” See a recent profile from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution: www.myajc.com/news/how-american-youth-become-neo-nazis/FKoXQqmH0TM13GStMM27mN/

The conference will be held Friday, Feb. 23, at the Art Institute of Chicago. To register, submit a session proposal, or find more information, go to www.casechicago.org or the Facebook page at www.facebook.com/casechicago 

Also, please do your part to spread word about the conference through social media, such as Facebook and Twitter. 

Here is an overview of this year's theme: 

From major incidents like Charlottesville to daily issues about racism, bias, and prejudice, these are challenging times for people of all backgrounds and political leanings. Words and actions are hurtful in a variety of ways, and leave wounds that need to be healed. This happens on personal, group, and societal levels and is no easy task. These matters impact the lives of our students, and can be especially difficult to explore in an American Studies classroom.

Early registration: 

Register now for the reduced rate of $75 ($85 after January 12). Please visit www.casechicago.org/conference/registration/ 

If you prefer to pay by check, click on "Show other payment options” when you reach the Eventbrite page. Also note there is small processing fee added to this price. 

Conference fee includes: keynote speaker/program, breakout sessions, continental breakfast and luncheon, and time to meet with fellow American Studies teachers. 

Call for proposals: 

Proposals are due January 12! You can submit them online at www.casechicago.org/conference/call-for-proposals/ or e-mail Neil Rigler at nri...@dist113.org or Ken Kramer  at kkr...@dist113.org with the following information:

-School 

-Contact person and e-mail address 

-Title of Presentation 

-Proposal description 

-Special equipment needed