*****************Call for Speakers/Papers*****************************

Third International City Museum Symposium
"Challenges of a Changing Urban World"
 Call for Papers/Speakers

        Cities around the world are undergoing rapid, often dramatic
change. New populations, continued expansion and suburbanization, evolving
political and economic environments, and civil unrest all pose new
challenges to institutions responsible for preserving and interpreting the
history of the city. These challenges must be met creatively if city
history museums are to preserve existing and develop new collections, tell
meaningful histories, and serve traditional audiences as well as attract
new visitors. "Challenges of a Changing Urban World" will provide a forum
in which to identify the issues and to explore the opportunities facing
city history museums as they approach the new millennium.

        The Planning Committee is currently looking for speakers
(particularly international ones) to participate in the Third International
Conference (the first two Conferences were held in London in 1993) and
Barcelona in 1995).  If you would like to be considered or know of someone
who would be an appropriate candidate, please fill out the attached form
and a curriculum vitae and return it to: Dr. Catherine Lewis, Atlanta
History Center, 130 W. Paces Ferry Road, Atlanta, GA 30305-1366; phone
(404) 814-4117; fax (404) 814-2041; or email: [log in to unmask]

When and Where

27 through 30 May 1999 at the Atlanta History Center, Atlanta, Georgia, USA

Plan for the Symposium

The Symposium begins on Thursday with a keynote address identifying several
broad issues related to the changing urban world. The challenges and
opportunities these issues present for city history museums will provide
the focus for three plenary sessions and discussion groups on Thursday and
Friday. Sessions devoted to collecting, interpretation, and audience
development will each feature three short papers developing a specific
proposition or thesis. At the conclusion of each plenary session,
participants may select from among three discussion groups focused on each
of the papers. Additional papers on any of nine topics (see below) may be
submitted by Symposium attendees for consideration during the small group
discussions. During the lunch break on Thursday and Friday, there will be
additional opportunities for Symposium participants to share information
with colleagues through the optional hour-long Museum Showcase sessions.

Saturday, the Symposium's closing day, will feature plenary sessions on
exhibition critiquing, collaborative projects, and a conference summary.
The Symposium will conclude with the selection of the site for the 1999
gathering.

Simultaneous interpretation will be offered in English, French, German, and
Spanish for all plenary sessions.

******************************Symposium Format and
Topics*******************************

Thursday

1. "Urban Change: Challenges and Opportunities for City History Museums"
The keynote address will be distributed prior to the Symposium. The keynote
speaker will summarize the paper, after which three respondents will offer
comments to stimulate general discussion.

2. "Collections: Representing Our Changing Cities" The first plenary
session will consider a paper on each of the three topics below. The papers
will be distributed prior to the Symposium, so each presenter will have 15
minutes to summarize the paper's argument before the discussion group
convenes. A preselected discussion leader will facilitate each group,
leading the consideration of the issues raised by one of the papers as well
as summarizing the arguments made in papers prepared specifically for this
discussion topic but not distributed to all Symposium participants. The
three collection topics will be: a. How can we relate our existing
collections to the changing identities of our cities? b. What can we
collect in the future that will be distinctive of our city? c. How can new
information technologies inform our current and future collecting
activities?

Friday

3. "Historical Interpretation: Differing Roles Amid Change" The second
plenary session and set of discussion groups will follow the same format as
the first and will consider the following three topics: a. What are the
various roles assumed by urban history museums in preserving the urban
landscape and why have these roles evolved differently in various
countries? b. What are the implications of the museum as a forum for
discussion and an agent for social change? c. What are the sources and
limits of the interpretive legitimacy of our city museums?

4. "Museum Audiences: How They Are Changing" The third plenary session and
set of discussion groups will follow the same format as the previous two
and will consider the following three topics: a. What mutual expectations
exist between urban history museums and their visitors, how can they be
anticipated, and, where desirable, how can they be changed? b. What are the
strategic alternatives available to reach more people? What obstacles
prevent us from achieving that goal? c. What roles do and should we assign
our visitors in determining what we do?

Saturday

6. "Exhibition Critiques: A Panel Discussion" A panel including a
journalist, a museum professional, an academic historian, and an audience
evaluation specialist will consider questions surrounding exhibition
critiques, using the Atlanta History Center's "Metropolitan Frontiers:
Atlanta, 1835-2000" as a case study.

7. "Collaborative Projects: Costs and Opportunities" A plenary discussion
of collaborative projects will focus specifically on the costs and
challenges associated with these joint efforts. Symposium participants will
be asked to come to Atlanta with ideas for possible collaboration.

8. "A Symposium Summary" A panel composed of the three respondents to the
keynote address will summarize the Symposium proceedings.

**************** Participant Opportunities and Profiles
****************************

1. Keynote Address:  The keynote speaker will be expected to set an
intellectual tone for the Symposium by identifying issues that will help
shape city history museums in the future. Accordingly, the speaker should
have a broad familiarity with urban trends worldwide and an interest in the
history of cities that extends beyond traditional academic boundaries.
Ideally, the keynoter will have an active acquaintance with city history
museums; at a minimum, he or she must be open to the consideration of the
roles these institutions play in shaping public understanding of the urban
past and must be interested in engaging in the discussions centering around
the issues identified as key to the Symposium's deliberations.

The keynote speaker will be asked to prepare the address well in advance of
the Symposium for circulation to all participants. He or she will have
fifteen minutes to summarize the major points of the address.

Compensation: $1,500 plus all travel and lodging expenses

2. Respondents to Keynote Address:  Three members of the city history
museum community will be asked to prepare responses to the keynote address.
The respondents must be able to adopt a broad perspective that reaches
beyond their own institutional experience when framing their responses.
Additionally, each respondent will be asked to monitor three discussion
sessions, one each on the three topics, and participate on the panel
summarizing the Symposium. Ideally, these respondents will represent
different interpretive and collecting models mirrored in city history
museums around the world. Thus, there might be a respondent representing
the North American, English, Scandinavian, or northern European museums;
one representing southern European or Mediterranean museums; and one
representing Asian or African museums.

Compensation: $1,000 plus all travel and lodging expenses

3. Presenters on Collections:  Three members of the city history museum
community will each prepare a paper on one of the following topics: a. How
can we relate our existing collections to the changing identities of our
cities? b. What can we collect in the future that will be distinctive of
our city? c. How can new information technologies inform our current and
future collecting activities?

These papers will be prepared for circulation, with the keynote address, to
all participants prior to the start of the Symposium. Every effort will be
made to insure that these papers present points of view that are broader
than a single institution's experience, and are representative of different
geographic areas of the world.

Compensation: All travel and lodging expenses

4. Discussion Leaders on Collections:  Three members of the city history
museum community will each be expected to lead a discussion of the issues
raised by one of the papers. The discussion leader will also be responsible
for reading any additional papers on the specific topic submitted prior to
the Symposium and introducing the papers' arguments into the discussion
where appropriate.

Compensation: Airfare

5. Presenters on Interpretation:  Three members of the city history museum
community will each prepare a paper on one of the following topics: a. What
are the various roles assumed by urban history museums in preserving the
urban landscape and why have these roles evolved differently in various
countries? b. What are the implications of the museum as a forum for
discussion and an agent for social change? c. What are the sources and
limits of the interpretive legitimacy of our city museums?

Same responsibilities and compensation as #3 above.

6. Discussion Leaders on Interpretation

Same responsibilities and compensation as #4 above.

7. Presenters on Audience:  Three members of the city history museum
community will each prepare a paper on one of the following topics: a. What
mutual expectations exist between urban history museums and their visitors,
how can they be anticipated, and, where desirable, how can they be changed?
b. What are the strategic alternatives available to reach more people? What
obstacles prevent us from achieving that goal? c. What roles do and should
we assign our visitors in determining what we do?

Same responsibilities and compensation as #3 above.

8. Discussion Leaders on Audience

Same responsibilities and compensation as #4 above.

9. Panelists on Exhibition Critiques:  The panel will include a journalist,
a museum professional, an academic historian, and an audience evaluation
specialist. Each will be expected to have spent time analyzing
"Metropolitan Frontiers: Atlanta, 1830-2000" prior to the panel discussion.
As is the case throughout the Symposium, it will be desirable to have a
broad spectrum of viewpoints represented in this session.

Compensation:    Airfare

********************************Please
Reply********************************************

Third International City Museum Symposium
Suggested Participants
Please return this completed form to:

Dr. Catherine Lewis, Atlanta History Center, 130 W. Paces Ferry Road,
Atlanta, GA, USA, 30305-1366; phone (404) 814-4117; fax (404) 814-2041; or
email: [log in to unmask]

Please list your suggestions for possible participants below, including an
institutional affiliation, telephone, fax number, and curriculum vitae if
possible. Please include yourself if there is a topic in which you are
interested.

1. Keynote Speaker



2. Respondents to Keynote Address (3 are needed)




3. Presenters on Collections (3 are needed)

Topic: How can we relate our existing collections to the changing
identities of our cities?


Topic: What can we collect in the future that will be distinctive of our city?


Topic: How can new information technologies inform our current and future
collecting activities?

4. Discussion Leaders on Collections (3 are needed)

5. Presenters on Interpretation (3 are needed)

Topic: What are the various roles assumed by urban history museums in
preserving the urban landscape and why have these roles evolved differently
in various countries?


Topic: What are the implications of the museum as a forum for discussion
and an agent for social change?


Topic: What are the sources and limits of the interpretive legitimacy of
our city museums?


6. Discussion Leaders on Interpretation (3 are needed)

7. Presenters on Audience (3 are needed)

Topic: What mutual expectations exist between urban history museums and
their visitors, how can they be anticipated, and, where desirable, how can
they be changed?


Topic: What are the strategic alternatives available to reach more people?
What obstacles prevent us from reaching more people?


Topic: What roles do and should we assign our visitors in determining what
we do?

8. Discussion Leaders on Audience (3 are needed)



9. Panelists on Exhibition Critiques


Journalist


Museum professional


Academic historian


Audience evaluation specialist


10. Additional papers addressing any of the nine topics under
consideration. These papers will not be formally presented at the
conference, but will be considered as during the discussion sessions at the
discretion of the discussion leader.

Submitted by:                                           Date:



Address:                                                Phone/fax/email:

Catherine M. Lewis