Conference Presentation Formats and Roles
Guidelines for Submission
Association for Asian American Studies 2012 conference

Rules for Submission

1. You are only allowed to present ONE paper per meeting (Panel Paper, Individual Paper, or Working Paper). If you submit more than one paper proposal, please indicate which paper you prefer to present.

2. You may participate in the conference in a maximum of TWO different roles. For example, that means you can Chair and present a Paper, but you cannot be in two Roundtables.

3. All paper and panel applicants must be members of AAAS. The membership form is available on the AAAS website by clicking here. NOTE: Participants in proposed panel, workshops and roundtables (aside from the person who submits the application) do not have to be AAAS members. However, ALL participants must pay the conference registration fee (as members or non-members) prior to the conference in order to be included in the printed conference program.

Each session is limited to one and a half hours. All submissions should be typed and double-spaced. All submissions should be accompanied by the submissions form (“Form for All Conference Submissions” completed via on-line submissions process) and a brief, two-page vitae for each participant. All notifications and announcements will be made by e-mail. Please make sure each presenter’s contact information is included with your submission.

Roles:

Chairs: Chairs introduce panel members, ensure that presenters keep within the time limits, and facilitate discussion. Paper presenters and discussants may chair a session in which they are presenting.

Discussants: Discussants should offer critical and comments on each paper and on the panel with an eye toward stimulating discussion. Discussants must send a brief biography for the purpose of introduction to the chair. Discussants may also serve as the session chair.

Paper Presenters:
Paper presenters, including Panelists, Individual Papers, and Working Papers) must send to the chair a brief biography for the purpose of introductions, and must send a copy of their paper to both the chair and discussant at least a month before the conference to ensure a substantive and stimulating session.

Roundtable and Workshop Participants:
Roundtable and Workshop participants prepare brief remarks rather than formal papers, to encourage discussion among participants and the audience. Participants must send a brief biography for the purposes of introduction to the chair.

Presentation Formats:

Panels:
The aim of panel submissions is to share knowledge with the audience through the presentation of papers that share a thematic concern. Panels must include a chair, have 3-4 paper presentations, and an optional discussant. The suggested division of time is five minutes for introductions, fifteen minutes for each paper, ten minutes for commentary from the discussant, and thirty minutes for questions and answers from the audience.

Panel proposals should include:

1. The Form for All Conference Submissions. The chair and discussant of the session should be clearly identified. Panel proposals will not be accepted without an identified chair.
2. A abstract/description of each paper in the panel (250 words max).
3. A 1-2 page CV for each presenter.

Individual Papers:
The aim of Individual Paper submissions is to share knowledge on a particular topic with the audience through the presentation of a paper. The Programming Committee will group papers into Panels (see above).
Paper proposals should include:

1. The Form for All Conference Submissions.
2. A abstract/description of the paper (250 words max).
3. A 1-2 page CV.
4. If the paper submitter is willing to also chair the session, clearly indicate this on the cover page. (See description of the role of Chair above.)

Working Papers:
For Working Papers, panelists will submit longer papers (15-25 pages) one month prior to the conference. These papers will be read before hand by other Working Papers participants and workshopped at the conference. Thus, conference time will be devoted to intensive commentary and discussion rather than reading papers. A faculty expert on the theme will chair each session and deliver detailed feedback to each author. Because of space limitations, we can only select a certain number of Working Papers. If your paper is not accepted as a Working Paper, it may still be accepted as a regular Individual Paper presentation (see above).
Working Paper proposals should include:

1. The Form for All Conference Submissions.
2. A abstract/description of the paper (250 words max).
3. A 1-2 page CV.

Workshops:
The aim of Workshops is to actively engage participants in learning new skills and activities that will benefit various constituents of the AAAS community. Examples include negotiating the job market, publishing, establishing AAS programs, etc.
Workshop proposals should include:

1. The Form for All Conference Submissions.
2. A description of the Workshop, including goals for participants and the ways these goals will be met (700 words max).
3. A 1-2 page CV for each presenter.

Roundtables:
The aim of Roundtables is to facilitate a discussion amongst presenters and audience participants about a particular topic or issue, which may be broader than a Panel topic. Roundtable submissions should include multiple viewpoints and diverse voices. The majority of the allotted time (c. 1 hour) should be devoted to discussion involving audience members.
Roundtable proposals should include:
The Form for All Conference Submissions, clearly identifying the chair on the cover page.
An abstract including:

1. A description of the Roundtable topic, its relevance or importance to Asian/Pacific American Studies, and a summary of each presenter’s contribution (700 words max).
2. A 1-2 page CV for each presenter.

Special Focus: Teaching Sessions
Any type of session focusing on teaching issues (curriculum, pedagogy, classroom issues, etc.) is encouraged and will be identified in the conference program. Please be sure to check off on your Form for All Conference Submissions whether your session is directly related to teaching.

Call for Additional Panel Chairs/Commentators:
The Program Committee seeks experienced scholars in all sub/fields relevant to Asian American Studies to serve as panel Chairs and/or Commentators. In order to increase the number and diversity of participants at the meeting, international scholars are particularly encouraged to apply. Priority will be granted to those who apply to participate solely as chairs/commentators, but those applying to present papers may also ask to chair and/or comment. However, no individual may present more than one paper or serve in more than one capacity.

Program Questions?

For specific questions regarding type of sessions, submission guidelines, or other programmatic issues, please contact the Program Committee Co-Chairs: Sylvia Chong and Nitasha Sharma

Submission Deadline and Instructions
Abstracts must be received by October 1, 2011. No late proposals will be accepted. We will accept proposals via postal mail and online submission. Faxed submissions will not be considered. Electronic submissions are strongly encouraged.

A cover page submitted on-line without attached abstracts or CVs is NOT considered complete. We will not accept or consider submissions that are lacking information. All notifications and announcements will be made by e-mail by the end of December.

Submissions FAQ:

Question: When is the last possible day I can submit my proposal online?

Answer: Note that the electronic submission site is likely to be very busy around the proposal submission deadline. You are strongly urged to submit your abstract as far in advance of the deadline as possible in order not to experience delays or problems in uploading your material. The deadline for 2012 conference proposals is Oct. 1, 2011.

Question: Do I need to specify my area or field when I submit my proposal?

Answer: As an individual paper submitter, you are required to choose the content area of your paper to assist the program committee in composing panels. Please note that this may be different than your actual field. Uncategorized papers will be given less consideration than those with specified fields.

Question: I want to submit my paper online, but it is a large document and I can’t upload the file. Can you help?

Answer: Do not upload or send full papers. AAAS requires a brief abstract or description of each paper (not to exceed 250 words). The preferred format for all uploads is pdf (Adobe Acrobat). In addition, do not upload or send CVs longer than two pages.

Question: Do you prefer all CVs and abstracts combined into one file, or may I upload multiple files?

Answer: We prefer that you combine all of your abstracts and CVs for your participants into one file. This lessens the chance of lost files and incomplete submissions.

Question: I’m having trouble submitting my proposal online. May I submit through email or fax?

Answer: While we strongly encourage online submissions, we also will accept proposals through email or fax as a last resort. Please send an email with the subject header: AAAS 2012 Conference Proposal – your last, first name to: piaseng [at] illinois [dot] edu. The fax number for conference submissions is 217-265-6235. For both fax and email submissions, please make sure to fill out the cover page with contact information for all panelists.

Question: My question hasn’t been answered, and I need help! Who should I call?

Answer: For general questions about the conference, you may call 217-333-3736. For questions regarding programmatic issues, please contact the 2012 Program Committee Co-chairs: Nitasha Sharma n-sharma [at] northwestern [dot] edu and Sylvia Chong schong [at] virginia [dot] edu.

Please click here to submit a conference proposal using the Online Submissions Form