Call for Papers: Seventh National Conference of the National Coalition of Independent Scholars

The seventh national NCIS conference will be held in New York City, October 15-17, 2004. The program committee invites submissions of papers that deal with participants’ specific research interests in relation to the overall theme of how and why independent scholars do their work. We invite suggestions for topics and panels. Those suggested so far include:

• how and why we choose our subjects (or subjects that choose us)
• methodological and intellectual issues that we address in our work
• whether being an independent scholar specifically influences our intellectual approach or scale of our projects
• working outside of the fields in which we received our scholarly training
• balancing scholarly integrity with the need/desire to reach a popular audience
• dealing with “information overload” (the internet, e-mail)
• bilingual and multilingual scholarship: benefits and problems

In addition to panels featuring papers submitted by individuals, we plan to have sessions with invited speakers on subjects such as funding for scholars, publication (print and electronic), access to scholarly resources, etc. We invite other suggestions for sessions of this kind.

Deadline for submission is March 15, 2004.

Prospective participants should submit a brief abstract (up to 250 words) and a one-page c.v. The proposal can be mailed to the address given below, or it can be e-mailed to the contact listed. (E-mail submission is preferred. Please send the proposal in the e-mail message, not as an attachment.) For further information, contact:

Joanne Lafler
43 Abbott Drive, Oakland, CA 94611

The National Coalition of Independent Scholars (NCIS) was formed in 1989 to facilitate the work of independent scholars and gained non-profit, tax-exempt status in 1991. Now international in membership and scope, NCIS establishes links with, and supports, independent scholar groups in the United States and abroad.

NCIS is unique among scholarly organizations in its multi-disciplinary nature, with members in the humanities, sciences, and arts. Members share a concern for the production of fine scholarship and for issues that affect scholars working outside of an institutional setting, including: access to research libraries, archives, and other scholarly resources; equal consideration in competition for grants and fellowships; inclusion in the scholarly review process and the making of research policies.

NCIS created and manages the H-Net discussion list H-Scholar. For more information about the organization, visit the website.