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 Between April 9 and 11, the University of Arkansas at Monticello (UAM) will host the 85th annual conference of the Arkansas Historical Association (AHA).  

Other local sponsors of the conference are Monticello’s A&P Commission and Commercial Bank. A complete program, which includes a full list of sponsors, is available on the AHA’s website. 

The Arkansas Historical Association has published the “Arkansas Historical Quarterly,” the state’s premier peer-reviewed history journal, since 1942. Each year, the organization holds a three-day themed conference. The theme for the 2026 meeting in Monticello will be “Arkansas at Work: Histories of Labor, Land, and Learning.” This year marks the first time that the conference will be held in southeast Arkansas in over two decades. 

The conference will kick off on Thursday afternoon with an archival workshop in the Gibson University Center, moderated by UAMS Historical Research Center Director Tim Nutt. This will be followed by an evening reception at the UAM Trotter House. On Friday and Saturday morning, historians and history students will gather in the Gibson University Center to present 36 selected research papers during 12 thematic sessions. 

These paper sessions will be followed by catered luncheons that include addresses by keynote speakers. Friday’s luncheon speaker will be University of Arkansas Professor Jeannie Whayne, who will discuss the history of Italian immigrants at Sunnyside Plantation in Chicot County. Saturday’s luncheon speaker will be University of Arkansas Associate Professor of History Michael C. Pierce, who will speak about labor history in Arkansas after the Second World War. 

Following the Friday luncheon, conference attendees will have the option to participate in a tour of UAM’s Taylor House near Winchester, led by Arkansas Archeological Survey Station Archeologist Matthew P. Rooney. A Friday evening reception and awards banquet will be held at the Monticello Country Club. 

Those who wish to attend the conference can preregister on the AHA’s website. The deadline to register with meals included is March 31. Registration without meals will be available on site during the conference at the Gibson University Center. 

For more information, contact Renwick Hudson at renwickh@uark.edu or 479-575-5884.