The 2025 Program Committee for the History of Education Society invites proposals for its
annual conference, which will be held in Providence, Rhode Island. The 2025 conference
theme is Freedom to Teach; Freedom to Learn. Thematically complete sessions, individual
papers, panel discussions, and workshop session submissions are welcome. Complete sessions
organized around a coherent theme are especially encouraged.
This year’s conference theme—Freedom to Teach; Freedom to Learn—encompasses enduring
questions about educational inclusion and struggles for equality. Conflicts over the freedom to
teach have occurred in k–12 and higher education institutions and beyond. They have often
centered on educators’ production and dissemination of knowledge and values within
particular civic contexts. Conflicts over the freedom to learn have frequently involved struggles
to access educational opportunities in the face of societal obstacles. They have also entailed
battles to define the purposes of educational institutions and practices. Beyond this year’s
conference theme, we invite all broadly conceived proposals related to the history of
education. We welcome international representation at our meeting and encourage
submissions showcasing perspectives from regions beyond the United States.
Participants are encouraged to create thematically coherent sessions and panel discussions by
connecting with potential collaborators through the History of Education Society’s various
Affinity Groups including: biography & life writing; carceral state;
global/transnational/imperial; higher education; intellectual history; policy & reform; political
education & social movements; popular culture; race; religion; sex & gender; teachers,
teaching, & curriculum; teaching & research in history of education; West Coast U.S.; and 18th &
19th century. Submission Guidelines
To submit a proposal, please go to the 2025 HES Conference Portal. If you don’t already have a
CMT account, be sure to create one following these steps. The submission site is now
accepting proposals, and the deadline for submission is March 17, 2025. Decisions on proposal
submissions will be available by June 15, 2025.
The History of Education Society requires all presenters at the 2025 conference to be members.
Invitations for membership and information about the conference will be sent to authors of
accepted proposals.
Please direct questions to HES Vice President and program chair, Sevan Terzian, at the
University of Florida (sterzian@coe.ufl.edu)