The Pioneer America Society: Association for the Preservation of Artifacts & Landscapes (PAS: APAL) will hold its 44th annual conference in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on September 26-29, 2012. The meeting will be held in downtown Philadelphia at Loews Hotel, housed in the historic 1932 Philadelphia Saving Fund Society skyscraper.
The 2012 Conference theme is: Philadelphia: the Vernacular to the Spectacular. Philadelphia has a unique history among major U.S. cities and has garnered many descriptions — City of Brotherly Love, Athens of America, Greene Country Town, the Holy Experiment, City of Firsts, Cradle of Liberty, City of Neighborhoods, and Workshop of the World. You can explore these themes and many more on the website http://philadelphiaencyclopedia.org/
The meeting will begin on Wednesday with registration and an evening welcoming reception. On Thursday, participants may choose between walking tours of Center City Philadelphia, or a day-long field trip. The Thursday bus trip will focus on historic houses (including log structures), barns, cemeteries, and past rural landscapes of Montgomery County outside of Philadelphia. Friday will be devoted to paper presentations and the annual Awards Reception & Banquet. Saturday will offer a second field trip that will spotlight urban landscapes within Philadelphia and will include vernacular to spectacular structures, neighborhoods, and post-industrial & gentrified landscapes.
The conference committee is currently soliciting proposals for papers, special sessions, and panel discussions relating to the conference theme. However, papers on all material culture and landscape topics of interest to the Society will be welcome. Note: Only papers submitted by registered participants will be accepted for the Friday program. You can submit your abstract for approval before you register for the conference. You must be a member (or register as a non-member) to present your paper.
Presentations will be limited to 20 minutes with additional time for comments and questions. All presentation equipment will be provided. Abstracts must be no longer than 300 words, including the authors' names, affiliations, and title. Electronic submission in Microsoft Word is preferred. Abstract submissions are due by 5:00 p.m. Friday, August 31, 2012, and will be published in P.A.S.T. (Pioneer America Society Transactions). Abstracts should be sent directly to Wayne Brew.