See below for a call for conference participation in an event to celebrate the history of one baseball franchise, the New York Mets, which will be hosted by Hofstra University next April. For full details and contact information, see the original announcement here.

April 2012 will mark the 50th anniversary of the New York Mets, one of the most popular and culturally significant baseball franchises.

On Thursday through Sunday, April 26-28, 2012, Hofstra University will host a conference to consider all aspects of the history and culture of the team. This will be the first multidisciplinary conference to consider every aspect of a Major League Baseball franchise.

Expected participants at the conference will include current and former members of the Mets’ organization; baseball executives, journalists, broadcasters, and analysts; baseball scholars, historians, and cultural critics; and writers, artists, filmmakers, cartoonists, bloggers, collectors, and fans.

Presentations will be accepted on the basis of 300-500 word abstracts submitted by December 1, 2011.

Possible topics include: The Origins of the Mets; The Roots, Myths and Evolution of Mets Fandom; Defining Individuals in Mets History; Mets Icons, Symbols and Mascots; The 1969 Mets Season: How It Happened, What It Meant to People, and How It Survives as a Cultural Metaphor; The Mets in Subsequent Eras; The Mets and Queens; The Mets and Long Island; The Mets and New York Baseball; The Mets in Film; The Mets in Literature; The Mets and the Culture and Politics of New York City; Mets Broadcasting; Mets Journalism; Famous Fans; The Mets and New York’s Ethnic and Cultural Communities; Defining Moments in the History of the Mets; Mets Controversies; Shea Stadium; The Mets Blogosphere; The Pleasures and Perils of Professional Baseball in New York; and Covering a Baseball Team in the Unique Media Environment of New York.