SESAH 2022 ANNUAL CONFERENCE IN MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE

November 2-5, 2022

Annual Conference Co-Chairs: Robbie D. Jones, Richard Grubb & Associates and Claudette Stager

Find the latest Conference Program, Schedule, and Paper Abstracts right here.

For a downloadable PDF of the conference information (with all links embedded) listed below, please click here (7.8 MB PDF).

2022 SESAH Conference – Join us in Memphis!

We hope to see you in Memphis where we will celebrate our 40^th anniversary. For the last four decades, the mission of SESAH has been to promote scholarship on architecture and related subjects and to serve as a collegial and inclusive forum for exchanging ideas among architectural historians, architects, preservationists, students, and others in professions related to the built environment. Founded in 1983 as a regional chapter of the Society of Architectural Historians, SESAH originally served five states, including Georgia, Tennessee, Florida, and the Carolinas. Since then, we have expanded to 12 states stretching from Virginia to Texas with nearly 300 active members throughout the U.S.

Located on the bluffs of the Mississippi River in Tennessee’s Delta region, the history of Memphis spans thousands of years with mound builders and the Chickasaw calling it home. When founded in 1819, Memphis was named for the ancient capital of Egypt on the Nile River. With steamboats and railroads, Memphis grew into a major inland port city and the world’s largest cotton market.

Memphis played pivotal roles in the Civil Rights Movement, the American music industry (blues, soul, rock-n-roll), transportation, and shipping in the twentieth century. Today, the city is the fifth largest in the SESAH region and welcomes 10 million visitors annually.

Conference Highlights

See Preliminary Schedule below for details.

Paper Sessions – More than 75 presenters from around the U.S.

Keynote Address by Brent Leggs of the National Trust for Historic Preservation

A Harvard University Loeb Fellow, professor at Columbia and the University of Pennsylvania, and author of Preserving African American Historic Places, Brent Leggs is a leader in the historic preservation movement in the U.S.

The Keynote Address will be held in the Cossitt Library and hosted in collaboration with the University of Memphis and Memphis Public Libraries. Located at 33 South Front Street, the library is one block from the conference hotel.

Keynote Reception – The post-lecture reception will be held in the historic 1927 Kress Building adjoining the conference hotel.

Business Lunch Meeting and Award Ceremony – Learn more about SESAH’s programs, new Strategic Plan, and celebrate our 2022 award recipients in the 1927 Kress Building. Lunch provided.

Downtown Walking Tours – Guided walking tours of downtown landmarks (optional).

Group BBQ Dinner at Charlie Vergos’ Rendezvous restaurant (optional).

Saturday “Big Mojo” Study Tour – Join us for a tour of local landmarks including Universal Life Insurance Company Buildings, Crosstown Concourse, Sun Studio, and Clayborn Temple. Along the way you will see and learn about Beale Street, Stax Studio, Lorraine Motel, Cotton Row, Peabody Hotel, Overton Park, Central Gardens district, St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital, and early homes of Elvis, B.B. King, and Johnny Cash. The rehabilitated 14-story Sears Crosstown building was the recipient of the 2019 SESAH Best of the South: Preserving Southern Architecture Award. Plus, the tour buses will feature live blues guitar music provided by Backbeat Tours. Boxed lunch included.