Founding Constitution

This constitution has been superceded by revisions in 2008.

Constitution of the
FORUM ON EUROPEAN EXPANSION AND GLOBAL INTERACTION (F.E.E.G.I.)

Adopted June 1994; revised April 1998

PREAMBLE

How the technology, languages, institutions, and even pastimes of Western Europe came to dominate global civilization—or better said, came to create it—is the greatest historical question of modern times. The name given to this process, the "Expansion of Europe," dates from the 1880s, but it received its proper scope in 1916 when the late Columbia University professor William Robert Shepherd identified the movement as bi-directional and called attention to its "outward' and "inward" dimensions. Shepherd perceived that not only had European colonialism forever transformed the non-Western world, but that simultaneously, new ideas, products, and peoples from non-European cultures flowed back into Europe and inexorably changed the "mother" civilization as well. Finally, others have drawn attention to the diverse and, in some cases, totally different ways in which different cultures--African, Indian, Chinese, Japanese, Amerindian-interacted with European expansion.

Universities in the United States and Canada have never institutionalized the study of European expansion, and there are few specific faculty positions or courses of study allotted to it. Instead, the unique history of European expansion and its consequences is usually subsumed under rubrics of "global history" or "world civilization," neither of which captures the singular importance to modern history of European expansion in particular.

Although some historians, archaeologists, anthropologists, linguists, and specialists in the history of art regularly devote their best efforts to the study of European expansion and the global interactions that followed from it, they have, so far, labored in isolation or at best had the benefit only of informal contacts with like-minded colleagues at other institutions. The newly established Forum on European Expansion and Global Interaction is designed to provide what its name implies: a regular meeting place for those concerned with the study of this subject, where its membership can sharpen and/or broaden concepts, learn about work in progress, and meet new colleagues working on related problems.

Finally, the Forum on European Expansion and Global Interaction is intended to facilitate the teaching of European expansion as an advanced undergraduate course by giving its members a new feeling of purpose and solidarity. Through its corporate role as a publicist, the Forum will help to convince deans and department heads that European expansion and its direct consequences is a field here to stay and ought to be reflected in college and university curriculums.

I. PURPOSE:

The Forum on European Expansion and Global Interaction exists to promote study and research related to the history of European expansion and the complicated reactions to it worldwide. The initial focus of the Forum is on the early modern period, but the study of later periods in the history of European expansion is not excluded.

II. MEMBERSHIP AND DUES:

The members of the Forum on European Expansion and global Interaction shall be those persons who have an interest in the programs of the Forum and who pay the annual dues established by the Executive Committee, or who are exempted from payment by that Committee. A member in good standing may vote, hold office, and participate in all of the activities of the Forum. The schedule of dues shall be proposed by the Executive Committee of the Forum and approved by a majority vote of those present at the biennial business meeting of the Forum. Dues will be payable annually on the first of January.

III. OFFICERS AND COMMITTEES:

The officers of the Forum on European Expansion and Global Interaction shall be: President, Vice President, Editor, and Secretary-Treasurer.

The standing committees shall be: Executive Committee, Program and Local Arrangements Committee for the Biennial Meeting, Nominating Committee, and Off-year Program Committee.

IV. DUTIES AND TERMS OF THE OFFICERS:

The President shall preside over the biennial business meeting of the Forum, call meetings of the Executive Committee at least once annually, and, in consultation with the elected officers, appoint at-large members of the Executive Committee, members of the two Program Committees and the Chair of the Nominating Committee. S/he is also empowered to name other committees as need arises.

The Vice President shall fulfill the duties of the President in the absence of the President and chair the Program and Local Arrangements Committee for the Regular Meeting, and assist the other officers as necessary.

The Secretary-Treasurer shall record the proceedings of the business meetings of the Forum and of the Executive Committee meetings and publish the minutes in the Newsletter of the Forum. The Secretary-Treasurer shall receive the dues of the Forum and be empowered to spend funds at the direction of the Executive Committee. S/he shall keep an accurate accounting of the Forum's financial transactions and report annually to the membership on the state of the Forum's finances. Further, the Secretary-Treasurer shall maintain the membership list of the Forum and implement all mailings to the members as needed or as directed by the President or the Executive Committee.

The terms of the President and Vice President shall be two years and are not immediately renewable, although any officer may be re-elected after an interlude of two years. The term of the Secretary-Treasurer shall be two years and is renewable indefinitely.

The terms of elected officers will ordinarily begin immediately following the conclusion of the biennial business meeting, or in any case, at any agreed upon time not more than ninety days after the biennial business meeting.

V. DUTIES AND TERMS OF THE COMMITTEES:

The Executive Committee shall consist of the President, Vice President, Editor, Secretary-Treasurer, immediate past President, and four members-at-large, including one graduate student. The Committee members-at-large will be appointed by the President, with due consideration for the diverse interests of the Forum's membership. A meeting of the Executive Committee shall be called by the President at least once annually. A quorum shall consist of four members. The graduate student member shall serve for two years; other members-at-large shall serve for four years.

The Nominating Committee shall consist of three members. The chair shall be named by the outgoing President. The other two members of the Nominating Committee shall be elected at the biennial business meeting. Members of the Nominating Committee shall serve for two years. The Nominating Committee shall canvas the membership for names of possible candidates to fill the offices of the Forum and shall have ready at the next biennial business meeting a single slate of nominees for the offices in which there are vacancies.

The Program and Local Arrangements Committee for the Regular Meeting shall consist of the Vice President, who will serve as chairperson, and at least three other members appointed by the President. The Program and Local Arrangements Committee is responsible for drawing up the programs of the Forum and determining the site of the biennial meeting. At least six months before each biennial meeting, the Program and Local Arrangements Committee shall solicit the membership for proposals for papers.

The Off-year Program committee shall arrange for sessions at the Annual Meeting of the American Historical Association related to the interests of the Forum. The chairperson of this committee shall be named by the President. The chairperson will then recruit additional members to this committee as needed.

V. MEETINGS OF THE FORUM:

The Forum shall have a "regular" meeting every other year, and shall sponsor a session at the American Historical Association annual meeting in the years when regular meetings are not held. The regular meetings of the Forum are the responsibility of, and shall be planned by, the Program and Local Arrangements Committee, of which the Vice President serves as chairperson. The off-year meetings at the American Historical Association shall be planned by the committee named for that purpose by the President.

VII. BUSINESS MEETING:

A business meeting of the Forum shall be included in the regular biennial meeting of the Forum, at which time the President, Vice President, Editor, and Secretary-Treasurer shall report to the members of the Forum and new officers will be nominated and elected. Nominations from the floor may be proposed at these business meetings. The members present at the regular business meeting or at any special business meeting shall constitute a quorum for the purpose of conducting any business of the Forum. A summary of the business meeting shall be prepared by the Secretary-Treasurer and published in the first issue of the Newsletter after the meeting takes place.

VIII. AMENDMENTS:

Proposed amendments to the constitution of the Forum must be in writing and endorsed by three members in good standing. The President shall bring such proposals before the Executive Committee. Upon an affirmative vote of a majority of the Executive Committee (i.e., five members of the Committee), the proposed amendment shall be brought to the next biennial business meeting. Amendments must be approved by a majority vote of members attending that meeting.

IX. POWERS:

All duties and responsibilities not specifically assigned will fall under the authority of the Executive Committee.

[Published in the newsletter of the Forum on European Expansion and Global Interaction, volume 5, issue 1 (Summer 1999), pp. 1-3.]