We invite current graduate students and emerging scholars studying art and architectural history of the long eighteenth century to join our community. HECAA prides itself on supporting emerging scholars with dedicated programming and opportunities. Broadly, we define emerging scholars as those in or just out of graduate school, in early-career pre- or non-tenured positions, in contingent positions, and/or those working towards a first book or exhibition. However, we welcome you to self-identify as an emerging scholars as you see fit. To help you decide if joining HECAA would be beneficial to you, we’ve highlighted membership benefits below.

Emerging scholar membership is offered at a reduced rate of $10 per year with the same benefits. Membership entitles you to apply for our prizes and awards, vote for our officers, speak on our panels, and attend our conferences. Members may also use the forums, discussion boards, and syllabus-exchange features of our website, connecting with colleagues around the globe. Most importantly, our membership fees fund grants for graduate students to support their work advancing our field. Plus we have a great time when we get together. Join us!

HECAA awards two prizes directed towards graduate student members. The Dora Wiebenson Prize is awarded once a year to a graduate student member of HECAA for an outstanding paper presented during the previous calendar year at a scholarly conference or as a sponsored lecture. The Mary Vidal Prize is awarded twice a year to graduate student members and members who have received their PhDs within the past three years to defray costs associated with research travel, conferences in which the recipients are presenting, or reproduction permission fees for a publication. For more information regarding how to apply for these awards, please log into the membership portal.  For more information on applying to these awards and a list of past winners, please see the dedicated awards page.

Born of the COVID-19 pandemic, HECAA’s Emerging Scholars Showcase allows emerging scholars the opportunity to give a very short presentation on their work–often just an overview or a particular question or object they are working on. The showcase is intended as a platform for emerging scholars to connect with the wider HECAA community and get feedback on their research. We hold a call for Showcase participants in late September, and typically hold two sessions a year, depending on interest. Emerging Scholars may participate more than once with different projects, different aspects of the same project, or an “update” on how the project develops. However, we ask that presenters apply no more than once every three years to allow for as many individuals as possible to participate. Please note that you do not have to be a member of HECAA to apply to participate in the Emerging Scholars Showcase. For a list of past participants, please see here.

Launched in the Summer of 2022, HECAA offers monthly office hours with members for members seeking guidance. While initially an initiative for emerging scholars, HECAA’s Office Hours have since expanded to the entire community, facilitating mentorship at all career stages and breaking down hierarchies. We encourage emerging scholars to use Office Hours as an opportunity to connect with HECAA members and seek advice on a broad array of topics.

HECAA is an affiliate of ASECS (American Society of Eighteenth-Century Studies), CAA (College Art Association), and BSECS (British Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies). We sponsor a panel at every ASECS conference dedicated to promoting the research of graduate students: The Anne Schroder New Scholar’s Session. We also sponsor sessions at the annual CAA and BSECS conferences. Graduate student members are encouraged to apply for the Anne Schroder New Scholar’s Session and to offer panel proposals for the sponsored sessions at CAA and BSECS.

In November 2018, HECAA hosted its first conference at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, which took place over four days, including a session dedicated to graduate student members that featured 10 graduate student members. Following the great success of our first HECAA conference, HECAA is instituting the tradition of hosting conferences dedicated to the art and architecture of the long eighteenth century every four to five years.

Stay tuned for news about HECAA@30 in 2023!

In 2018, the HECAA members voted to expand the board to include three board members at-large. One of these three positions is reserved for a graduate student. The graduate student board member at-large is elected by a majority of HECAA members and serves for a two-year term. This position provides graduate student members of HECAA with the opportunity to become more involved in our community and to advocate directly for graduate students’ interests and needs. The current graduate student board member at large is Daniella Berman, Institute of Fine Arts, New York University. Please contact her with your ideas, questions, and concerns.

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