Past Conferences & Meetings

The SEA hosts and sponsors annual conferences. In odd-numbered years, the Society hosts an open-topic general conference known as the Biennial Conference. In even-numbered years, it may sponsor Special Topics conferences and workshops. The SEA also sponsors panels at our affiliated societies: the American Literature Association & the American Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies.

SEA Biennial Conferences

  • 2023: The thirteenth Society of Early Americanists Biennial Conference was held in College Park, Maryland, June 8-11, 2023. Conference website.
  • 2021: The twelfth Society of Early Americanists Biennial Conference was held Virtually, March 3-7, 2021. Conference website.
  • 2019: The eleventh Society of Early Americanists Biennial Conference was held in Eugene, Oregon, February 28-March 2, 2019. Conference website.
  • 2017: The tenth Society of Early Americanists Biennial Conference was held in Tulsa, Oklahoma, March 2-4, 2017. Conference website.
  • 2015: The ninth Society of Early Americanists Biennial Conference was held jointly with the Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture in Chicago, June 18-21, 2015. Conference website.
  • 2013: The eighth Society of Early Americanists Biennial Conference was held in Savannah, Georgia, February 28-March 2, 2013. Program.
  • 2011: The seventh Society of Early Americanists Biennial Conference was held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, March 3-5, 2011. Program.
  • 2009: The sixth Society of Early Americanists Biennial Conference was held in Hamilton, Bermuda, March 4-7, 2009. Program.
  • 2007: The fifth Society of Early Americanists Biennial Conference was held in Williamsburg, Virginia, June 7-10, 2007, jointly with the Thirteenth Annual Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture conference. Program. Dennis Moore’s Presidential Address; OIEAHC’s Director Comments.
  • 2005: The fourth Society of Early Americanists Biennial Conference was held in Old Town Alexandria, Virginia, March 31-April 2, 2005. Zabelle Stodola’s Presidential Address.
  • 2003: The third Society of Early Americanists Biennial Conference was held in Providence, Rhode Island, April 10-13, 2003. Program.
  • 2001: The second Society of Early Americanists Biennial Conference was held in Norfolk, Virginia, March 8-10, 2001. Information. Program. David Shields’s Presidential Address.
  • 1999: The Society of Early Americanists held its first conference in Charleston, South Carolina, March 4-7, 1999. Program.

Special Topics Conferences

  • What Does it Mean to Remember?, Plymouth, 24-27 June 2020, Cancelled. However, a number of panels and papers were included in the SEA 2021 Biennial Conference in March 2021.
  • Religion and Politics in Early America, March 1-4, 2018, St. Louis, Missouri.
  • Translation and Transmission in the Early Americas: The Fourth Early Americanist ‘Summit’, June 2-5, 2016, Washington DC and the University of Maryland.
  • London and the Americas, 1492-1812, July 17-20, 2014, Kingston University, London. Program.
  • “Triumph in my Song”: 18th & 19th Century African Atlantic Culture, History, & Performance, May 31-June 2, 2012, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland.
  • Early American Borderlands, May 12-15, 2010, St. Augustine, Florida.
  • Prophetstown Revisited: A Summit on Early Native American Studies, April 3-5, 2008, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana.
  • Early American Cartographies, March 2-4, 2006, The Newberry Library, Chicago, Illinois.
  • Second Ibero-Anglo Summit, November 4-6, 2004, Providence, Rhode Island.
  • First Ibero-Anglo Summit, May 16-19, 2002, Tucson, Arizona.

SEA Workshops and Symposia

SEA Seminar Series

SEA Affiliated Societies Conferences

American Literature Association Conference: SEA Sponsored Panels
  • American Literature Association, May 25-27, 2023, Boston, Massachusetts, Program
  • American Literature Association, May 26-29, 2022, Chicago, Illinois, SEA Panels 2022
  • American Literature Association, July 7-11, 2021, Boston, Massachusetts, SEA Panels 2021
  • American Literature Association, May 23-26, 2019, Boston, Massachusetts, SEA Panels 2019
  • American Literature Association, May 24-27, 2018, San Francisco, California, SEA Panels 2018
  • American Literature Association, May 25-28, 2017, Boston, Massachusetts, SEA Panels 2017
  • American Literature Association, May 26-29, 2016, San Francisco, California, SEA Panels 2016
  • American Literature Association, May 21-24, 2015, Boston, Massachusetts, SEA Panels 2015
  • American Literature Association, May 22-25, 2014, Washington, DC, SEA Panels 2014
  • American Literature Association, May 23-26, 2013, Boston, Massachusetts, SEA Panels 2013
  • American Literature Association, May 24-27, 2012, San Francisco, California, SEA Panels 2012
  • American Literature Association, May 26-29, 2011, Boston, Massachusetts, SEA Panels 2011
  • American Literature Association, May 27-30, 2010, San Francisco, California, SEA Panels 2010
  • American Literature Association, May 21-24, 2009, Boston, Massachusetts, SEA Panels 2009
  • American Literature Association, May 22-25, 2008, San Francisco, California, SEA Panels 2008
  • American Literature Association, May 24-27, 2007, Boston, Massachusetts, SEA Panels 2007
  • American Literature Association, May 25-28, 2006, San Francisco, California, SEA Panels 2006
  • American Literature Association, May 26-29, 2005, Boston, Massachusetts, SEA Panels 2005
  • American Literature Association, May 27-30, 2004, San Francisco, California, SEA Panels 2004
  • American Literature Association , May 22-25, 2003, Cambridge, Massachusetts, SEA Panels 2003
  • American Literature Association, May 30-June 2, 2002, Long Beach, California, SEA Panels 2002
  • American Literature Association, May 24-27, 2001, Cambridge, Massachusetts, SEA Panels 2001
American Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies Conference: SEA Sponsored Panels
  • American Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies, March 31-April 2, 2022, Baltimore, Maryland, Program
  • American Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies, March 21-23, 2019, Denver, Colorado, SEA Panel
  • American Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies, March 22-24, 2018, Orlando, Florida, Program
  • American Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies, March 30-April 2, 2017, Minneapolis, Minnesota, Program
  • American Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies, March 31-April 3, 2016, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Program
  • American Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies, March 19-22, 2015, Los Angeles, California
  • American Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies, March 20-22, 2014, Williamsburg, Virginia
  • American Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies, April 4-7, 2013, Cleveland, Ohio
  • American Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies, March 22-25, 2012, San Antonio, Texas
  • American Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies, March 17-20, 2011, Vancouver, BC, Canada
  • American Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies, March 18-21, 2010, Albuquerque, New Mexico
  • American Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies, March 26-29, 2009, Richmond, Virginia
  • American Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies, March 27-30, 2008, Portland, Oregon
  • American Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies, March 22-25, 2007, Atlanta, Georgia
  • American Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies, March 30-April 2, 2006, Montreal, Quebec
  • American Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies, March 31-April 3, 2005, Las Vegas, Nevada
  • American Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies, March 24-28, 2004, Boston, Massachusetts

Portrait of Benjamin Franklin


 Image credit: Portrait of Benjamin Franklin (Chamberlin), 1762. London. Mason Chamberlin. Oil on canvas; Stretcher size: H. 50 3/8 in. (128.2 cm), W. 40 3/4 in. (103.5 cm); framed: H. 66 in. (167.5 cm), W. 58 in. (147.5 cm). Philadelphia Museum of Art (Philadelphia, Pa.), 1956-88-1. Benjamin Franklin Tercentenary

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