The International Society for the History of the Map
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2018 ISHMap symposium
The Society holds a Symposium every two years. The Society's 2016 AGM selected Portland, Me., as the venue for the 2018 symposium. Full information about the meeting is available at http://www.oshermaps.org/ishmap2018.
Prof. Török is now (3 January 2018) cynically manipulating the symposium simply to sow confusion within the community, under the pretense of following the Society's rules.
Having prevented the initial cfp for the Symposium from being disseminated on the Society's listserv,[n1] Prof. Török then had Prof. Edney unilaterally removed from the listserv's membership so that the Symposium could not be announced to the Society's membership.[n2]
After failing to support the Symposium, Prof. Török has since sought to assert control over it. On 20 December 2017, he emailed the Symposium organizers, reminding them that the Society had established procedures for running the conferences. And this is correct, but given that these procedures require submission of the papers through the Society's website, still controlled by Prof. Török, it was not considered an option for the 2018 Symposium. On being informed that the administration of the conference was in Prof. Edney's hands (27 December 2017), Prof. Török sent a further email asserting his authority over the Symposium (29 December 2017).
At that point, Prof. Török posted, on the old Society website, a page claiming to be the only method for submitting proposals to the Symposium.
This decision can only complicate matters to the detriment of the Society. It is a cynical ploy that can only affect unsuspecting scholars.
The only valid information and mechanism for submitting proposals about the 2018 Symposium is through the website: http://www.oshermaps.org/ishmap2018.
[n1]
The initial cfp for the Symposium was distributed by email on 31 October 2017 and included a post to the ISHMap listserv. Prof. Edney, as convener of the Symposium, received the automatic email response:
Your mail to 'ISHM' with the subject
CFP: 2018 International Society for the History of the Map
Is being held until the list moderator can review it for approval.
The reason it is being held:
Post to moderated list
Either the message will get posted to the list, or you will receive
notification of the moderator's decision.
The post did not appear and Prof. Edney received no notice as to why it was not accepted. That is, the posting was blocked by the moderator, one of Prof. Török's students.
[n2]
Significantly, when Prof. Edney sent a request on 15 November 2017, asking why the cfp had not been posted, the automatic response stated that he was no longer a member of the members-only list:
Your mail to 'ISHM' with the subject
why announcement of ISHM 2018 symposium not yet posted to
ISHMap-List ??
Is being held until the list moderator can review it for approval.
The reason it is being held:
Post by non-member to a members-only list
Either the message will get posted to the list, or you will receive
notification of the moderator's decision.
That is, Prof. Török unilaterally removed a paid-up member of the Society from the listserv without permission. So much for behaving in a democratic manner and with regard for existing protocols.
Please see other pages on this temporary website for more complete explanations of the constitutional crisis.
The Current Situation (this page)
Explanation of the 2017 Constitutional Crisis
Become a member of ISHMap and subscribe to Imago Mundi
SHMap Council for 2017–18:
Matthew H. Edney, Hon. Chair
Leif Isaksen, Hon. Treasurer
James R. Akerman, Hon. Secretary
Junía Furtado, Trustee
