FITP XXI will be held on April 2nd, 2011

Forward Into The Past is a one-day symposium that arranges speakers on a broad range of historical topics including the arts and crafts practiced by various cultures, history of particular regions, cultures, or times, and where feasible allows this learning to be conducted in a hands-on environment. An open-format day Forward Into The Past is designed to allow academics, experimental archaeologists, members of the public, and members of various historical re-enactment and recreation groups to gather and explore history.

FITP will be held at the
Bricker Academic Building
Wilfrid Laurier University
Bricker St., Waterloo, ON
There is no specific address for the building but entering 30 Bricker Ave, Waterloo, ON into your map software is approximately correct.
Parking is available in a number of locations. There are restrictions on weekend parking so please do not park in lots 12, 15, 18, 19A, 21, 30, 31, 35, 36 and 38 or the orange spaces in lot 7. The closest lot to the Bricker Academic Building is lot 7 which is entered off University Ave. or parking is available along Bricker Ave.

Submissions for presentations are due January 31st, 2011 and may be submitted to Neil Peterson.

Submissions must include the session title, type of session planned, session description and speaker(s) biography. Descriptions and biographies should be 75-250 words. Examples can be seen in last years speakers and sessions.

Attendees for the sessions are drawn from a broad range of society. There may be undergraduate or graduate students, faculty, re-enactors from a range of groups, other speakers, and the general public in your session. Their previous knowledge of the subject will therefore vary widely. For this reason a very broad range of topics are appropriate from the most basic cultural or technological overviews through very specific topics. For these reasons it is important to make sure that the descriptions are accurate in how they portray the session.

It is worth looking at previous feedback such as last year before submitting to understand what the attendees are expecting.

Sessions are 50 minutes long including the Q&A session with a ten minute break between sessions - Please help us stay on time do not go over your 50 minutes. If required a single topic can span multiple sessions. Session times can be seen here. Session types include:

• Papers
  • The speaker will present (not read) a summary of a formal paper.
  • Thesis or abstract should be in the session description.
  • Paper can be submitted to the proceedings
  • Papers can either be submitted singly (for a 50 minute session) or in groups of 2-3 papers where each paper gets only a part of the session.
• Lectures
  • Can be expositive (speaking of history in the 3rd person)
  • May also be interpretive (taught as a 1st person historical character)
  • Presents an element of history, a culture, or various combinations
  • Presentation and notes if desired can be submitted to the proceedings (powerpoint or pdf)
• Panel Discussion
  • 2-3 presenters discuss a topic area offering different perspectives
  • Uses a moderator to control the discussion and assign/provide questions
• Demonstration
  • Presenter demonstrates a technique/technology accompanied by a lecture.
  • This could include a performance such as a play
  • Attendees do not perform the technique
• Workshop
  • Must be at least 50% hands on time
  • WIll commonly span two sessions (1 hr 50 minutes) to allow enough time to work on projects
  • Beginners workshops assume no previous knowledge or skill
  • Intermediate workshops assume a beginners level course was already taken or the attendee has previous skills in the area. It is expected that attendees will supply their own tools.
  • Advanced workshops assume the attendee has attended multiple courses or practiced for more than a year. It is expected that attendees will supply their own tools.
  • Attendees at Intermediate or Advanced sessions without required skills may be asked to leave in fairness to other attendees.
  • Materials fees may be requested to cover the cost of materials provided to the attendees. Such fees should be kept as low as possible and provided on a cost-only basis. Please consider other options before providing handouts - we can host files on our webserver for example.
  • If you require specific facilities for you demonstration or workshop please let us know. The basic information about what is in each room can be seen on this website. Additional information about the media centers is available on the speakers FAQ page.

There will also be some space for "poster sessions" for those more interested in just putting up the results of their work without actually presenting them.

We are going to try and put together a proceedings for this year. Papers and presentation materials will both be considered for inclusion but all submissions will be juried. Note that you will be asked if you will be submitting your paper or presentation for the proceedings. It is not a requirement that you do so. The proceedings will be available as a downloadable zip file, and arrangements for printed copies can be made if desired.

Speakers will be provided free admission, but lunch will not be included. There will be a catering group making a lunch available for purchase, and there are places on campus you can eat (including Tim Hortons for coffee). A snack table will also be available all day.

If you have any questions or wish to discuss a concept before proposing it please email Neil Peterson at