CfP: Poverty in America: The Past, Present and Future

2019 marks fifty-five years since President Lyndon B. Johnson declared an “unconditional War on Poverty” in the United States and one year since President Donald J. Trump’s Council of Economic Advisers declared the War on Poverty “largely over and a success”. While most would agree America’s War on Poverty is “over”, few – from either side of politics – would agree that it was won. According to the US Census Bureau, 39.7 million Americans, or 12.3% of the total population, currently live in poverty. More than half of America’s children qualify as either “poor or low income”. Over 40 million Americans rely on food stamps to provide their meals.  

To understand why America is still plagued by the “paradox of poverty amidst plenty” a two-day interdisciplinary conference entitled "Poverty in America: The Past, Present, and Future" is being convened at the Rothermere American Institute of the University of Oxford.

We are looking for papers and panels which address America’s historical and contemporary relationship with poverty, and why the politics of poverty have proved so intractable. We are particularly interested in papers from the fields of history, politics, and public policy, including practitioners.

Proposals of no more than 250 words per paper, accompanied by a 1-page CV, should be sent to the organisers (Alex Coccia and Mitch Roberson - povertyinamericaconference@gmail.com) no later than 1 March 2019. Proposals for individual papers or full panels are welcome.

Thanks to the generosity of the BAAS/US Embassy Small Grants Programme we will be able to offer some travel bursaries for this event.

Contact Email: povertyinamericaconference@gmail.com