The North American Conference on British Studies (NACBS) is a scholarly society of over a thousand members dedicated to the study of British civilization in all its aspects. While the largest single group of its members teach British history in colleges and universities in the United States and Canada, the NACBS has significant representation among specialists in literature, art history, politics, law, and economics. Its membership also includes teachers at universities in other countries and independent scholars. The current directory of officers is listed here, Officers.

The NACBS is closely associated with seven regional conferences: the New England CBS, the Middle Atlantic CBS, the Southern CBS, the Midwest CBS, the Western CBS, the Pacific Coast CBS, and the Pacific Northwest CBS. These regional conferences, which have their own membership rolls, administrative officers, scholarly meetings, and newsletters, enjoy a combined membership of some 2,000 persons.

The Conference has maintained close cooperation with the British Council and the British Embassy, which recognize it as the principal scholarly North American organization in the field of British Studies. It has ties to the Institute of Historical Research at the University of London, the Historical Association in Great Britain, and other learned societies, libraries, and institutions with similar interests in Britain and elsewhere.

NACBS Publications

The NACBS sponsors two learned journals: The Journal of British Studies, founded in 1961 and published quarterly by the University of Chicago Press, contains scholarly articles and review essays; ALBION, published by Appalachian State University since 1973, also appears quarterly and, in addition to scholarly articles, provides the most extensive book reviewing coverage in the field. The NACBS newsletter, the British Studies Intelligencer, is published twice annually at the University of Arizona in Tucson. The Intelligencer includes information on forthcoming meetings in the United States and the United Kingdom, proceedings and summaries of papers at regional and national meetings, and a variety of additional announcements and news of interest to those active in British studies. The Conference has sponsored a bibliographical series, a monograph series, and several volumes of biography.

Scholarly Meetings

The regional conferences hold annual meetings, usually during the autumn, and each year the NACBS meets jointly with one of the regions. These joint meetings cover two or three days and offer a wide range of sessions as well as opportunity for exchange of views among scholars from around the world. The NACBS also sponsors a number of sessions at the annual meeting of the American Historical Association and at the annual Anglo-American Conference in London. From time to time, the NACBS cooperates with other organizations in the sponsorship of major scholarly symposiums.

Visitors Programs

Each year, through the generosity of the British Council and the British Embassy, two British scholars visit the United States to read papers at the NACBS annual meeting or at the meetings of one of the regional conferences and, if possible, at nearby universities. Information about this program can be obtained from the chair- person of the program committee of the NACBS, who administers it, or from the Executive Secretary.

Membership

Anyone interested in British institutions, society, and culture is cordially invited to join the NACBS. All members receive ALBION and the British Studies Intelligencer and can subscribe to the Journal of British Studies at reduced rates. Membership, which runs for a year from September 1, is available in a number of categories, which are detailed here.