Topics ranging from World War II liberty ships to how schools will be celebrating Detroit's upcoming 300th anniversary are among some two-dozen on the agenda for "Michigan in Perspective - the 42nd Annual Michigan History Conference" Friday and Saturday, April 7-8, at Wayne State University's McGregor Memorial Conference Center.

A small sampling of other topics: "Happenings in Michigan's Lighthouse World," "Detroit's Early Black Dentists," "The Maltese Community in Detroit," "The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850," "Celebrating Michigan's Barns and Cultural Landscape."

The two-day event, which gets under way with registration, a coffee hour and exhibits at 9 a.m. Friday, April 7, also will include films on the history of Irish settlers in Oakland County, the Manuscript Division of the Library of Congress and postcards from past years.

Maud Lyon, executive director of Detroit 300, will discuss plans for the city's 300-year celebration at a noon luncheon on April 7. William H. Mulligan Jr. of Murray State University will deliver the Henry Brown Memorial Lecture at 12:15 p.m. Saturday, April 8. His topic will be "History, Heritage and Tourism: Looking Ahead at How We Use Our Past."

There will be a reception at the Detroit Public Library's Burton Historical Collections Room on April 7 from 5:15-6:30 p.m. and a get-acquainted breakfast hosted by the Michigan Oral History Association at 8:30 a.m. April 8 in the McGregor Center.

Conference registration is $10. Admission to the luncheon programs is $11 each, and $7 for the breakfast on April 8. Advance payment for breakfast and luncheon programs is recommended to ensure seating. For more information and a registration form call (248) 349-6774.