AAASS invites proposals for the AAASS 35th National Convention, which will be held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, 20-23 November 2003, at the Fairmont Royal York Hotel. Deadline for receipt of all proposals is 15 January 2003.

See below for detailed guidelines for submission. Call for papers and proposal forms were printed in the September 2002 issue of NewsNet, and are also available at AAASS Web site: www.fas.harvard.edu/~aaass.

The theme of this conference is “Opening Doors: Opportunities and Innovations in Scholarship and Teaching in the Post-Communist Era.” Robert E. Johnson of the Centre for Russian and East European Studies at University of Toronto will chair the Program Committee.

In the past 15 years, Eurasian and Central European studies have undergone vast changes. All of these openings have transformed the ways we and our students engage with the region we study. Programs of study, internships, NGO services, exchanges of personnel and research materials, and collaborate research projects are all now possible. Simultaneously, whole fields of study have been transformed by archival access, new channels of communication, and the opportunities to conduct first-hand research in the region. Panels dealing with these themes are strongly encouraged.

Proposals must be for complete panels (individual paper proposals cannot be considered) and should normally involve the presentation of prepared papers. Special consideration will be given to panels reporting on recent field or archival research, especially those that include presentations by advanced graduate students and/or junior faculty. The Program Committee also encourages the submission of panel proposals that include both women and men. Proposals for roundtables should be submitted only when the topic clearly justifies this format. Please note that proposals can be accepted only from AAASS members or foreign non-members.

In recent years, the AAASS has experienced a welcome increase in attendance at the national convention, and we are grateful to all of our members who seek to participate. Unfortunately, due to limited affordable convention space, the increase in convention attendance cannot be matched by an increase in the number of panels given. Please observe the following restrictions on panel/roundtable participation: No participant may serve in more than one role on a panel or roundtable; No participant may present more than one paper at the convention; No participant may appear more than twice in the convention program.

If a participant is proposed for more than one paper or more than two panels, all proposals listing that person will be returned to panel organizers for clarification of the conflicts, which will delay consideration of the panels involved.

Procedures for Submitting Panel/Roundtable Proposals:

1. By 15 January 2003 mail two copies of the proposal form and one copy of a one-page c.v. for each participant to: Wendy Walker, Convention Coordinator, AAASS, 8 Story Street, 3rd floor, Cambridge, MA 02138. AAASS will conduct initial screening of all proposals and forward them to the appropriate members of the program committee. All proposals must be received by the above deadline for consideration by the program committee. Late proposals will be discarded. WE WILL NO LONGER ACCEPT PROPOSALS SENT VIA FAX OR E-MAIL. We have had problems in the past with incomplete/missing proposals using these methods. Proposals submitted via these mechanisms will be discarded.

2. Indicate in the appropriate space on the form the category under which you would like your panel/roundtable to be considered. Choose only from the list of categories shown below to ensure that the appropriate member of the program committee receives your proposal.

3. Provide complete information on all panel/roundtable participants: name, affiliation, full address, phone, e-mail, and paper title. One-page c.v.’s for all participants must accompany the form. Incomplete proposals will be discarded. Each participant may only have one role on a panel/roundtable, may only appear on two panels/roundtables, and only give one paper. (i.e., you cannot be chair and discussant or chair and give a paper on the same panel). You may give a paper on one panel and be chair/discussant/participant on another one and you may organize as many panels or roundtables as you wish, but please do NOT sign up for more than two panels/roundtables.

4. All participants on panels/roundtables must preregister and pay the registration fee. All Slavic scholars living in the U.S. must be current AAASS members. Only foreigners and scholars outside the field of Slavic studies do not need to join AAASS.

5. Type or print very clearly, especially when title of the panel includes words in languages other than English and when names of the participants include special characters not used in English. Illegible forms will be DISCARDED.

6. Affiliate organizations of the AAASS are each allowed one panel/roundtable, which must be specified on the proposal form. Each affiliate-sponsored panel/roundtable will be screened in the usual manner by the Program Committee; we will not accept unscreened proposals.

7. Be sure to include any requests for audiovisual equipment. Please specify types of equipment (i.e., “overhead projector,” not simply “projector”). Please keep in mind that the AAASS can provide up to $100 worth of equipment; you will be charged for anything above this amount. The deadline for all audiovisual equipment requests is 1 July 2003.

8. We will only honor specific scheduling requests for religious reasons. Please make sure to include such requests on your panel/roundtable proposal form.

Categories for Submission of Panel/Roundtable Proposals:

Phone: (617) 495-0678
Fax: (617) 495-00680
Email: walker@fas.harvard.edu
Visit the website at http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~aaass