Note to persons unfamiliar with SPE conferences: the lectures and presentations are usually 45 minutes, panels 90 minutes. Lecture room capacity ranges from 60 to 200. National Conference attendance has been in the 1000-1200 range. We encourage applicants from outside photography.

Photography and Place: Home - Neighborhood - Nation - World
Newport, Rhode Island

Society for Photographic Education 41st National Conference
Hyatt Regency Goat Island, March 25-28, 2004

The place is Newport and it is spectacular. Founded in 1639, Newport occupies a rocky promontory at the confluence of Narragansett Bay and the open Atlantic Ocean. While famous for its summer resort atmosphere, yachting culture, and ornate mansions, Newport's real beauty is in its humble colonial architecture (this small city of 30,000 year-round residents boasts more pre-1800 houses than any other city in America), intimate walkable streets, and breathtaking coastal views. After two conferences in cities best known for their nightlife, here's one for the morning people, the outdoor photographers, the lovers of wild skies and windy shores. But don't worry, party dolls - there are plenty of restaurants with great seafood, and plenty of pubs with great spirits.

The 2004 conference theme is Photography and Place: Home - Neighborhood - Nation - World. We welcome proposals from all photographers, writers, educators, curators, historians, and professionals from other fields concerned with the character of place and our place on the planet. Topics may include, but are not limited to, educational issues, funding, imagemaking, history, contemporary theory and criticism, multidisciplinary approaches, new technologies, effects of media and culture, and presentations of work in photography, film, video, performance and installation. All submissions for presentation are reviewed by the national conference peer review panel, which forwards recommendations to the 2004 conference committee. The national board's executive committee approves the final conference program to assure the broadest representation of concerns in the field.

Our theme springs from Newport itself, one side of town facing back across America, the other facing out across the ocean to foreign lands. We will examine what "place" means, from inside our homes to outside ourselves in our neighborhoods and natural environment. We'll also push further outward to those nations overseas or across borders where we have lived or visited, and photographed. Over the past half-century we have witnessed the alarming effect of homogeneous sprawl on the visual and social diversity of American places, and on our sense of community as we sit estranged in our cars and suburban office parks. We have a lot to learn from other countries about the value of local character and community identity. Let's bring it on home.

Sandy Sorlien
2004 Conference Chair

DETAILS
We highly encourage electronic submission as an Adobe Acrobat Reader PDF file or a Microsoft Word file with j-pegs. The total file submitted should be no larger than 2 MB. Please e-mail submissions.

Once accepted, current paid 2004 members of SPE will receive the full conference fee waiver. Non-members whose proposals are accepted will be asked to become SPE members to receive a full conference fee waiver. Waivers are limited to 4 per panel (1 moderator and up to 3 panelists) and one per lecture and imagemaker presentation.

• Title of Submission
• Submitted by
• Address
• City, State, Zip
• Home Phone
• Fax
• E-mail
• Current SPE member? Y/N

Along with an SASE for return of visual materials, please submit 10 copies of:

1. This completed form (one form per proposal)
2. A one-page detailed abstract
3. A 50-word (max) biographical over- view for each intended participant (one page total).
4. One page of visual support material , if appropriate (20 slides or a printed page of thumbnail images)

Presentation Format
[Please check only ONE]

• Lecture
• Imagemaker
• Panel Discussion
• Demonstration/Workshop

PROPOSAL SUBMITTED FOR
[Please check only ONE]

• General Review
• Multicultural Caucus
• Women's Caucus

Please assemble and postmark by June 16, 2003 to the address below.

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