About the Conference
The Chesapeake Studies conference is an interdisciplinary, scholarly exploration of the Chesapeake Bay, its watershed, and the Delmarva region. Sponsored by Salisbury University and the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, the conference brings together scholars, researchers, policymakers, practitioners, students, and interested non-academics from diverse disciplinary perspectives, including the humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, and the arts. This continuing series of conferences intends to promote communication between professionals and scholars working in disciplines and offices that do not often interact and to enrich the scholarly study of the region.
PLEASE NOTE: Our intention is that this will be largely a face-to-face conference. We believe that face-to-face is important, because of our goals to bring together people from disparate fields and professions and to promote Chesapeake Studies as, essentially, a new interdisciplinary field. Nonetheless, in order to allow participation from people interested in the Chesapeake but unable to attend in person, the keynote panels and possibly other sessions will be available via streaming online (registration required).
Salisbury University is home to numerous professors, centers, and organizations that study the Chesapeake and Delmarva, making it an ideal home for Chesapeake Studies. The Edward H. Nabb Research Center for Delmarva History and Culture boasts extensive archival and artifact collections and sponsors exhibits, lectures, and other programs. The Eastern Shore Regional GIS Cooperative and the Department of Geography and Geosciences use modern mapping to examine the interactions among the economic, cultural, and physical environment. The Department of Environmental Studies explores complex environmental issues from a variety of perspectives. Individual faculty and students from across the University study, document, and interpret the region’s history, culture, economy, biodiversity, and people.
The University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science leads the way toward better management of Maryland’s natural resources and the protection and restoration of the Chesapeake Bay. From a network of laboratories located across the state, its scientists provide sound advice to help state and national leaders manage the environment and prepare future scientists to meet the global challenges of the 21st century. A globally eminent research institution aimed at advancing scientific knowledge of the environment, UMCES has research locations from the mountains to the sea—the Appalachian Laboratory in the mountains of western Maryland, the Chesapeake Biological Laboratory at the mouth of the Patuxent River, the Horn Point Laboratory on the Eastern Shore, and the Institute of Marine and Environmental Technology in Baltimore. Its Integration and Application Network produces the annual Chesapeake Bay Report Card and assesses ecosystem health around the world, and it administers the Maryland Sea Grant College.
Both Salisbury University and the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science are members of the University System of Maryland.
