Programs · Conferences & Institutes
Multi-day gatherings on the history of the Ohio Valley.
The Filson convenes scholars, public historians, archivists, and educators around the most innovative research on Kentucky and the region. Members are invited; visiting researchers come from across North America.
Biennial conferences
Two-day public scholarship gatherings, every other year.
Each conference takes a single major theme in the history of Kentucky and the Ohio Valley. Sessions, papers, and roundtables are open to Filson members and the broader public. Recent themes have ranged from post-WWII regional history to material culture to the history of irregular warfare.
The Filson Institute
A one-week immersive cohort, every summer.
The Society’s research fellowships, organized into a single immersive week. The cohort works deeply in the Filson’s collections under a unifying theme; the week closes with a public roundtable. The 2026 theme is E Pluribus Unum, La Belle Rivière, and the Pursuit of Happiness — the Filson’s contribution to America250.
Apply (deadline March 2, 2026)The record
A decade of Filson conferences.
Synopses, programs, and audio recordings from past conferences remain available on request to the Filson’s research staff.
2023
with MESDA
Filson + MESDA: New Voices in Kentucky Material Culture
Co-presented with the Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts (MESDA), surfacing new scholarship on Kentucky furniture, ceramics, textiles, and the makers behind them.
2021
1946 Reconsidered: The Ohio Valley in the Post-World War II Era
October 22–23, 2021. The Filson’s biennial conference taking the Ohio Valley as the unit of analysis for the post-war American story.
2017
From Colonial Encounters to the Iraq War: Prisoners of War and Their Place in History
How prisoners of war — from the colonial frontier through Iraq — have shaped the wars they fought in, the politics that followed them, and the historical memory of both.
Fall 2014
The Hard Hand of War: Irregulars and Civilians in the Civil War
Confederate guerrillas, Union counter-insurgency, and the civilian populations of the border South. A Civil War conference focused on the irregular war.
Spring 2014
A Nation of Immigrants: How the Introduction of New Cultures Changed America
Four historians, four eras of American immigration. A program built on comparative perspective — who came when, from where, and what they brought with them.
Fall 2013
The New Encyclopedia of Southern Culture
Viewing the South from a 21st-century perspective — a working session organized around the multi-volume reference work being assembled at the time.
Spring 2013
The Roots of Feuding in Appalachia
A serious historical look at the social and economic conditions that produced the long-running feuds of central Appalachia — from Hatfield-McCoy to the lesser-known.
For scholars
Want past conference papers, recordings, or programs?
Contact the Filson’s research staff — we maintain working files on every conference and can usually pull the materials you need within a business day.