Common Places: Keywords for a More Than Human World

press release: Saturday, April 30, 2022: In-person conference: 8 a.m.-4 p.m.; Hybrid Bill Cronon's keynote address: 4:30 p.m.; Reception: 5-6:30 p.m., Wisconsin Institute for Discovery, 330 North Orchard Street

We invite you to join us for a one-day conference in honor of Professor Emeritus William Cronon, who held the position of Frederick Jackson Turner and Vilas Research Professor of History, Geography, and Environmental Studies at the University of Wisconsin–Madison before his recent retirement.

The gathering will feature a special keynote address by Cronon and presentations written in Cronon’s honor by former students who earned a PhD under his guidance. Panel discussions will focus on the shifting cultural meanings of keywords that have guided their mentor’s thinking about nature, space, and history, in the tradition of Raymond Williams’ classic book Keywords: A Vocabulary of Culture and Society.

The conference will build on Cronon’s work as a scholar, teacher, and writer to explore the many ways history and geography can serve as tools for understanding the past, present, and future of humanity.