17 November 2000

Dear Colleague:

The Society of Early Americanists will be having our second biennial conference on March 8-10, 2001 and we invite you to participate. Our meeting will be in Norfolk, Virginia, a city founded in 1682 and long known as a seaport and shipbuilding site. We also have an exciting lineup of panels and plenary addresses from the variety of disciplines that study post-contact civilization in North America before 1800. Our plenary speakers include Peter Linebaugh, co-author with Marcus Rediker of the groundbreaking book, Many-Headed Hydra: The Hidden History of the Revolutionary Atlantic; William Kelso, who is literally breaking ground with Jamestown Rediscovery, the major archaeological dig at the site of the first permanent English colony; and Joyce Chaplin, a historian whose interest in Southern agricultural technology and attitudes toward nature has produced exciting new work.

In addition, the Society will present two evenings of instruction and entertainment. On the night of Thursday, March 8, musicologists David and Ginger Hildebrand will perform and discuss early American music. On the evening of Friday, March 9, dance historian Kate Van Winkle Keller will present a demonstration workshop on the minuetñone can learn not only about the dance but how to do it. The conference will conclude on Saturday, March 10, with a roundtable discussion on the new direction for the study of early American literature.

Conference attendees will want to consider sightseeing before or after the conference. Norfolk, Colonial Williamsburg, Jamestown, and Yorktown are a few of many of the historic riches available. Please see details in the enclosed program.

Each participant needs to enroll in the Society; look for a separate mailing from Zabelle Stodola or click here: JOIN THE SEA. Meanwhile, to register for the conference, fill in the REGISTRATION FORM and mail it with registration fee to the address on the form. You will need to contact the hotel directly to make reservations, and we suggest you do so as early as possible. The hotel cut-off date is February 5, 2001.

For a schedule of events click:  PROGRAM

Please feel free to ask any officer or program chair about the conference. The conference schedule includes a website address where we will post updates. We look forward to seeing you in Norfolk in March.