13th Annual Atlanta Studies Symposium

“Ultimately, you judge the character of a society, not by how they treat their rich and the powerful and the privileged, but by how they treat the poor, the condemned, the incarcerated” –Bryan Stevenson

A city is not judged by the beauty of its center, but by the dignity with which it treats those on its margins. Many of us are Atlanta boosters. We love its charm, its history, its people, its culture, and its vibrancy. But, for Atlanta to be the great city it should be, we must consider how those on the margins are treated. We are not talking, though, about charitable outreach. Instead, how is Atlanta influenced by those from the margins? How are they incorporated into the fabric of the city? How are ‘marginal ideas’ brought into the mainstream? When and where do we listen to stories from different sources?

 

The Atlanta Studies Symposium invites participants to consider Atlanta from the margins and how the margins impact and drive us to improve. Questions one might explore under this theme could include, but are in no way limited to:

• Arts and Culture
• • Atlanta was once considered marginal in the arts world, but we are now mainstream. How did that happen? How do we keep our outsider status?
  • Who decides which stories are told? And who are the storytellers? How can Atlanta bring a voice to so many who have not been heard?
• Urban planning and design
  • Atlanta has to be more than just a gentrified center. How does urban planning and design include those outside the center?
  • How do we design a future Atlanta that gives more opportunities to those often left behind while protecting what makes us unique?

• Housing and Affordability
  • The Beltline has been a significant achievement. But has it redefined the city’s center versus its margins?
  • Can Atlanta find a way for all of its citizens to create a home here?
• History and Archives
  • Atlanta’s story is one of Coca-Cola, Delta, Ivan Allen, Alonzo Herndon, and Maynard Jackson. But can we find the history of  those whose daily, often unnoticed work built the city we love?
  • How do we collect and maintain the information about those who are often left out?

 

In addition to these questions, researchers and contributors to the symposium might consider the role of environmental sustainability, public health, economic development, and education in making Atlanta a more equitable place. The multidisciplinary approach, which includes the humanities, social sciences, planning, engineering, sciences, and the arts, hopes to share a broad perspective on the complex and evolving interplay of the center and margins.

 

This year, we seek a diverse array of symposium sessions from scholars and practitioners at academic institutions, and public, private, and nonprofit organizations. We welcome proposals for:

• Fully constituted panels with up to 4 presenters and a moderator
• Individual papers or posters
• Roundtable discussions
• Interactive workshops
• Film screenings
• Any other creative form of presentation you’d like to propose

 

Please submit abstract and session proposals via this Google form no later than February 13, 2026.

Notifications will be sent out by early March 2026.

If you have questions about the event or proposals, please contact us via email at atlantastudiessymposium@gmail.com.

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Symposium Organizing Committee

Taylor Shelton (Co-Chair), Department of Geosciences, Georgia State University

Katherine Hankins (Co-Chair), Department of Geosciences, Georgia State University

Brennan Collins (Co-Chair), Center for Excellence in Teaching, Learning and Online Education, Georgia State University

Jean-Paul Addie, Urban Studies Institute, Georgia State University

Alexander Cors, Emory Center for Digital Scholarship, Emory University

Marni Davis, Department of History, Georgia State University

Nedra Deadwyler, Independent Scholar

Enkeshi El-Amin, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Agnes Scott College

Ed Hatfield, New Georgia Encyclopedia

Keith Hollingsworth, Division of Business and Economics, Morehouse College

Allen Hyde, School of History and Sociology, Georgia Institute of Technology

LeeAnn Lands, Department of History and Philosophy, Kennesaw State University

Na’Taki Osborne Jelks, Department of Environmental and Health Sciences, Spelman College

Marshall Shepherd, Department of Geography, University of Georgia