Who can propose a session?
Proposals are accepted from postdoctoral SAA members in good standing.
What types of sessions will be considered?
While the traditional format has been three twenty-minute papers per session, the SAA invites proposals for other formats for engaging important ideas and issues. Paper panels, roundtables, and other formats for public discussion should address topics of current interest and general appeal for the SAA membership. For assistance in crafting a competitive proposal, consult any member of the Program Committee.
Can I include graduate students and speakers from previous meetings in my session?
Dissertation candidates are eligible to speak on SAA panels. No one may speak on an SAA panel more than once in any three-year period.
What information should I include in my proposal?
You should include a title and a description of the proposed session, a description of the objectives, a description of each presentation, and the name, affiliation, short bio, and e-mail of each presenter. Click to consult the proposal guidelines.
Will individual papers be considered?
The SAA is not currently accepting individual papers except for those applying for the NextGenPlen. See the NextGenPlen question below.
What is the NextGenPlen?
Each SAA meeting features a plenary session of short papers by early-career presenters. NextGenPlen papers are selected via a blind screening process, with precedence given to those introducing new topics, displaying fresh thinking about traditional issues, and demonstrating diverse approaches. Due to the cancellation of the 2020 conference, the 2020 NextGenPlen will roll over to the program for the 2021 conference in Austin, and we will not be taking applications for NextGenPlen this year. Instead the completion date requirements for application to the 2022 conference in Jacksonville, FL have been temporarily adjusted so that anyone who did not get a chance to apply for 2021 can do so for 2022.
I am enrolled in a seminar/workshop, can I still apply for the NextGenPlen?
Yes, but you need to withdraw from your seminar or workshop if you are selected for the NextGenPlen.
What is a Futures Panel?
The Shakespearean Futures initiative is a multi-year series of panel sessions exploring the material and institutional conditions of intellectual work, professional life, and the SAA. “Futures” panels are focused on topics that involve analysis of the broader realities that shape academic methodologies and institutions (for example: race; contingent faculty and labor; first generation academics; transnationalism and globalization; disability and access; inequalities related to gender, class, sexual identities, and religion; new technologies; funding changes).
Will the SAA provide audio-visual equipment for my presentation?
Audio visual requests must be made at program proposal time. For requests already approved, the SAA will provide a projector but not a computer. You will need to bring your laptop and the specific connector.