The Center for Big Bend Studies hosts a two-day conference in the Morgan University Center on the campus of Sul Ross State University every fall. The conference brings together historians, archaeologists, folklorists and other researchers studying the past and present of the Big Bend region and northern Mexico. The 29th Annual Conference is November 10 and 11, 2023.

Attending the Conference

Conference attendees are invited to renew old acquaintances and meet new friends at the complimentary social hour and silent auction Friday after presentations conclude. The Annual Banquet and Keynote Speaker presentation will take place Friday evening at the historic Granada Theater in downtown Alpine and requires separate registration. The silent auction will continue Saturday during the conference.

Center for Big Bend Studies members receive a registration form in the mail several weeks before the conference that offers a discount for CBBS members and a discounted price for early registration. Registration can also be completed online at the CBBS store.

Non-members may register after September 1, 2023 online at the CBBS store.

Presenting at the Conference

If you would like to present, please complete the Call for Papers form and send materials to the Center for Big Bend Studies. For detailed instructions for presenters, see the Instructions page.

Presentations should focus on prehistoric, historic and modern cultures of the Borderlands Region of the United States and Mexico, with emphasis on the area encompassed by the greater Big Bend region of Texas or adjacent areas of West Texas and northern Mexico.

All presenters are encouraged to write up their presentation as a formal paper following the conference and submit it for consideration for the next fall’s Journal of Big Bend Studies. It is not required that journal papers be presented at the conference, but all conference presenters may write a paper on their presentation topic or another topic and submit it to the journal. All papers are required to follow a specific format which can be referenced here.

Abstracts for the 2024 conference are due October 3.

Register

CBBS Store

Downloadable Registration Form
(available in Sept.)

Conference Schedule

Conference Location

For Presenters

Call for Papers Form

Instructions for Presenters

Format for Paper Submissions