POLISH AMERICAN HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION

2026 ANNUAL MEETING

CALL FOR PAPERS

The deadline for submissions is Monday, April 14, 2025. Abstracts for papers and panel proposals should be submitted to Karen Majewski at kmajewska@comcast.net

The Polish American Historical Association’s 82nd annual meeting will be held in Chicago from Thursday, January 8 through Sunday, January 11, 2026, as part of the 139th yearly meeting of the American Historical Association. 

We invite scholars who study the Polish American communities or the greater Polish diaspora as well as those who deal with migration, ethnic, and/or regional studies and would like to join discussions related (but not limited) to the following topics: 

• Polish Americans and their relationship to Poland and/or historically Polish lands 
• Polish Americans and their contributions to the civic, institutional, and political life of the United States 
• Intersections of ethnicity, nationality, class, gender, and race in Polish American and/or comparative contexts
• Various meanings of ethnic/national heritage in Polish American and/or comparative contexts
• Identity politics and the role of migrations in the past and contemporary world in Polish American and/or comparative contexts
• Immigration to the USA and state building in Poland or historically Polish lands and in the United States
• Transatlantic migrations to the Americas in Polish American and/or comparative contexts
• State building in Poland or historically Polish lands and migrant communities in North and South Americas
• Heritage, legacy, and roles that ethnicities and/or nationalities play in the modern world in Polish American and/or comparative contexts
• Polish Americans vs. other ethnic groups in a comparative perspective on both American continents and in Europe 
• Responses to Polish transatlantic migrations, also in a comparative perspective 

We invite proposals for sessions as well as individual papers related to all aspects of the Polish American experience (in history, sociology, literature, art, music, etc.) on both American continents. 

Individual participants should include the following information when submitting a proposal:

• Paper title and short abstract of no more than 300 words
• Biographical paragraph up to 250 words 
• Please indicate if you are willing to serve as a chair for a session

 Panel/session organizers should include the following information when submitting a panel proposal:

• Panel/session abstract up to 500 words
• Individual paper titles and abstracts up to 300 words
• E-mail address for each participant
• Biographical paragraph up to 250 words for each participant 
• Chair for the session
• Commentator for the session (optional)

 All PAHA conference presenters are required to join PAHA and register for the conference via the American Historical Association registration system. PAHA conference registration is free. However, while PAHA presenters do not need to join AHA, they are required to pay the presenter fee for AHA conference registration. AHA registration fees may change in 2026, but please see the AHA 2025 registration rates for your reference.

All presenters are encouraged to consider submission of their papers for publication in PAHA’s peer-reviewed journal Polish American Studies: https://polishamericanstudies.org/text/13/polish-american-studies.html.

Karen Majewski, President

Polish American Historical Associaiton