2027 Symposium: Ireland and the Great War
Onsite at National WWI Museum and Memorial
Oct. 29-30, 2027
Call for papers and Registration open Tuesday, Dec. 1, 2026
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2027 Digital Summit
Paris at War
Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2027 | 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Central
Featuring Dr. Michael Neiberg, Dr. Richard S. Faulkner and more!
At the turn of the 20th century, Paris embodied the pinnacle of French imperialism and influence. Mythic for its beauty and endurance through upheaval and revolution, it seemed immune to the flickers of conflict sparking in the Balkans.
The Great War dimmed the City of Light. But it was not extinguished.
From bustling boulevards to quiet chapels, every corner of Paris became a scene of survival and hope. As the war ended, the city’s residents helped shape historic peace treaties, whose echoes still reverberate today.
Delve into the spell-binding story of “Paris at War” – a city and a people navigating an uncertain future.
Who should attend?
All who have a general or professional interest in French and Francophone studies, as well as the periods prior to, during and after World War I. We especially recommend this symposium to educators, historians and members of organizations that study these periods.
Hosted in conjunction with the exhibition
Paris at War
Step into the streets of wartime Paris. Connect with the lives of those who called it home and those who traveled through on their way to battle.
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Coming soon!
Register
| Early Bird | Starting Jan. 1, 2027 | |
|---|---|---|
| In-Person* | $70 | $80 |
| Online Only | $40 | $50 |
| Active Museum and Memorial Volunteer | $25 | $25 |
| Teacher/Student | $15 | $15 |
*In-Person Registration includes access to all digital sessions (via large screen with group seating), an exclusive in-person tour of the Paris at War exhibition, lunch and light refreshments.
Call for Proposals
Friday, Aug. 21 – Friday, Nov. 20, 2026
Are you interested in presenting at the 2027 Digital Summit: Paris at War? We invite you to apply by 5 p.m. Central Time on Friday, Nov. 20, 2026.
We strongly encourage proposals from early career researchers.
Applicants will be asked to provide a sample of work that pertains to the theme of the summit, including (but not limited to) the following topics:
- Paris on the Frontlines: exploring urban operations, civil defense and/or other ways Parisians encountered the Great War in their streets.
- Avenues of Change: analyzing the cultural and political transformations that created post-war Parisian society. Research on the stories of women and French colonial subjects particularly welcome.
- Vive l’Amérique: examining the uniquely American experiences of “Gay ol’ Paree.”
- Armistice and Beyond: evaluating the enduring global impact of the 1919 Paris Peace Conference. Research on former French colonies particularly welcome.
Applicants will also be asked to select an artifact from the Museum and Memorial’s collection, via the Online Collections Database, and write a 500-word essay on the importance of this object to the theme of the summit.
Deadline:
Friday, Nov. 20, 2026
5 p.m. Central Time (U.S.)
Notification of acceptance:
We will notify applicants of acceptance via email by 5 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 11, 2026.
If accepted:
Applicants will be asked to participate in a virtual session on Tuesday, Feb. 2. Additionally, accepted artifact essays will be published on the Museum and Memorial’s website.
The working language of the summit and all submissions is English.
Past Symposia
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Digital Summit | The World’s Game: Football and WWI
June 9, 2026
Kick off North America’s FIFA World Cup 2026™ celebrations with this virtual symposium tracing football’s rise as a global phenomenon. Starting from the early 20th century, discover the fascinating and often untold history of the world’s favorite sport.
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Beyond the Trenches: Indirect Approaches and Irregular Warfare in WWI
Oct. 23-25, 2025
As large armies fought for mere meters of dirt and mud along the Western Front, strategists increasingly turned to finding other ways to gain advantages over enemies. Aviation technology, tunneling and mining, proxy fighters, insurgents and spies – these all achieved flexibility and surprised the enemy. Explore the wide variety of battle strategies beyond trenches.
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War and Morality Digital Summit
Nov. 15-16, 2024
As the defining event of the 20th century, how does World War I inform our understanding of “just” war?
Despite the efforts of multinational coalitions like the Triple Entente and League of Nations, crises have persisted throughout the 20th and 21st centuries, revealing the strategic and ethical complexities that define modern conflict and its impact on our global society.
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Milestones and Cornerstones
Oct. 27-28, 2023
1923 ushered in a new era of military commemoration in the wake of WWI. Remembrance became less about victory and more about peace: monuments and cemeteries, enshrining the memory of those who served and sacrificed, were built not as trophies of the past but as touchstones for the future.
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Shifting Tides: Citizenship in a World of Conflict
Nov. 4-5, 2022
Engulfed by four years of total war, the world emerged transformed. Amid the unfamiliarity of wartime and post-war societies, populations were both bound by tradition and buoyed by bids to reshape political, economic and social landscapes.
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Fractured Fronts
Oct. 29-30, 2021
As the Great War “ended,” many questions confronted the global community that remain just as pressing today as they did one hundred years ago: How does war impact how we understand ourselves and our place in the world? What does it mean to “come home” when the places and people you called home have changed irrevocably?
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1919: Peace?
Nov. 1-2, 2019
1919 was a year of sweeping changes in a landscape dramatically altered by years of unrelenting warfare. Leaders advanced towards elusive peace amid political instability, economic uncertainty and social conflict. As terms of the Treaty of Versailles were negotiated, a world reordered faced decisions and realities that would leave a complex legacy.
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1918: Crucible of War
Nov. 1-3, 2018
Explore the irrevocable changes five years of cataclysmic conflict wrought on the global stage. As borders were literally and figuratively redrawn, Allies celebrated a victory and the world came to terms with the irreparable devastation and losses of the “war to end all wars.”
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1917: America Joins the Fight
Nov. 3-4, 2017
The United States emerged from its traditional isolation in 1917 and began to take its place in the forefront of world affairs. As the U.S. mobilized its farms, industries, and formed a large army, it confronted curtailing civil liberties and faced a possible demand for equity in return for support.
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Remembering Muted Voices
Oct. 19-22, 2017
Although the U.S. actively took part in the conflict for only 18 months, the war effort introduced mass conscription, transformed the American economy and mobilized popular support through war bonds, patriotic rallies and anti-German propaganda. Nevertheless, many people desired a negotiated peace, opposed American intervention, refused to support the war effort and even imagined future world orders that could eliminate war.
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1916: Total War
Nov. 4-5, 2016
Explore the pivotal year of 1916, where global socio-political tensions created by World War I continued escalation and irrevocably changed the economic, military, and cultural landscape of the world.
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1915: Empires at War
Nov. 6-7, 2015
Explore the rising tensions in America and the globally escalating conflict that defined the world in 1915. Follow the trajectories of different countries around the world as the conflict escalated to total war, including fighting in the colonies and East Asia, stalemate in the West, Churchill’s disaster at Gallipoli, mobilization at home, and the polarization of American society around the issue of war.
1914: Global War and American Neutrality
Nov. 7-8, 2014
Examine the origins of, reactions to and early confrontations in the First World War including the political, diplomatic, military, cultural and scientific developments prior to the war that contributed to its outbreak.