The Joint Archives of Holland is pleased to announce that it will be hosting the 11th biennial conference of the Association for the Advancement of Dutch American Studies (AADAS). The conference is entitled, "The Sesquicentennial of Dutch Immigration: 150 Years of Ethnic Heritage," and will focus on the various Dutch settlements in western Michigan, Iowa, and other places as well as take a look at the personalities of individuals who have played a part over the course of a century and a half of Dutch ethnic immigration in the middle west.
The conference will be held in the Maas Center on the campus of Hope College on June 12 and 13, 1997. Presenters will include Dutch scholars from the Netherlands including Hans Krabbendam, George Harinck, Albert Ypma, and Jaap van Marle, as well as American scholars Elton Bruins, Robert Swierenga, Philip Webber, Earl and Cornelia Kennedy, Suzanne Sinke, Jack Elenbaas, Margriet Lacy, Sander de Haan, Larry Wagenaar and others.
Topics will include an in depth look at Albertus C. Van Raalte, exploration of Cornelius Vander Meulen, the leader of group which settled Zeeland, Michigan, the troublesome relationship between Hendrik Scholte and A. C. Van Raalte, discussions of the Pella and northwest Iowa Dutch settlements, a look at gendered relationship and the Dutch ethnic experience, Dutch soldiers in the Civil War, and the emergence of Dutch ethnic Christian schools among other topics.
Registration for the conference is $25 for individuals and $35 for couples. Information for registration can be obtained by calling the Joint Archives at 616-395-7798 or writing to us at the Joint Archives of Holland, Hope College, P.O. Box 9000, Holland, MI 49422-9000. Checks should be made payable to the Joint Archives of Holland.