Reading the Emigrant Letter:
Innovative approaches and interpretations

An interdisciplinary conference to be held at
Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada
7 - 9 August 2003

Emigrant letters have been used as historical sources for decades. It was recognized early in the twentieth century that they could be valuable for comparing old- and new-world experiences and providing individual insight into migration and acculturation, but mostly they have been used as mines for detail and narrative colour, and to give voice to ordinary immigrants. More recently they have been subjected to new forms of analysis. They are probed to explore comparatively across cultures, to provide evidence of linguistic evolution and usage, to investigate the development and meaning of communications, and examine questions of class, gender, and modernization. They are being explored at present by historians, literary and linguistic scholars, sociologists, anthropologists.

This international, interdisciplinary conference aims to draw together scholars who can bring new perspectives to the study of this valuable material. We welcome proposals from scholars of various disciplinary backgrounds with especially innovative approaches to the use of these documents. We impose no topical, temporal, or geographic limitations, recognizing that much of the most theoretically useful work is being done outside Canada.

In addition to proposals for 20-minute papers, participation is invited for panel discussions on the editing of emigrant letters, and for a panel on the digitization of such letters for electronic and web access. The Carleton University Art Gallery will be mounting an exhibition of letters and books on letters to complement the conference. The conference is hosted by the Carleton Centre for the History of Migration. We look forward to a varied and interesting exchange of ideas.