The National WWII Museum’s Jenny Craig Institute for the Study of War and Democracy is pleased to issue this call for papers for its Spring Emerging Scholars Workshop, “New Directions in World War II History.” This two-day experience will take place at the Museum in New Orleans and culminates with a one-day workshop on February 24, 2026.
The goals of this program are to inspire new conversations based on cutting-edge work that will foster a growing community of WWII scholars, and to provide early-career historians with the opportunity to receive feedback on their developing research and presentation skills from historians and staff of the Jenny Craig Institute.
The Institute encourages early-career historians (PhD candidates, ABDs, or post-docs) to submit proposals. The selection committee is open to a wide range of topics related to WWII history including but not limited to the European theater, the Asia-Pacific theater, and the Home Front. The workshop will also include one full panel specifically pertaining to victims of the Holocaust and other forms of Nazi persecution as they relate to policies, practices, perpetrators, victims, bystanders, and/or resisters.
The selection committee will take a broad view of WWII history topics and invites those who study the WWII-era through military, social, cultural, economic, technological, scientific, and gender-studies lenses to apply.
Proposals should include the following in a single PDF file:
• Abstract with title (300 words max)
• Curriculum Vitae
The deadline for submission is November 7, 2025, at 11:59 p.m. (CT). All applicants will be notified of their selection status no later than December 8, 2025.
If accepted, participants will be required to give a presentation on their full paper, submitted to their panel chair prior to the workshop. Details regarding the presentation requirements will be given after acceptance. The National WWII Museum’s mission encourages public engagement. All workshop presentations will be recorded for institutional archive purposes and may be made available to the public in consultation with the presenter(s).
Any questions should be directed to taylor.lindner@nationalww2museum.org for more information.
Accommodations
Accepted participants will be given three nights’ accommodation at the Museum’s own Higgins Hotel on February 22-24, as well as select meals and air travel. February 22 and 25 are considered travel days to and from New Orleans. Participants will attend The National WWII Museum’s Meet the Author event on February 24, 2026, featuring conversation with Dr. Jacob Flaws on his recent publication Spaces of Treblinka: Retracing a Death Camp.
About the Institute
The Jenny Craig Institute for the Study of War and Democracy is a community of scholars forming a national center for research, higher education, publications, and public programming, dedicated to promoting the history of World War II, the relationship between the war and America’s democratic system, and the war’s continued relevance for the world.
