2008 Guidelines

WHAT YOU MUST KNOW IN ORDER TO SUBMIT A PROPOSAL:

1. Deadline. The deadline for submission of proposals is February 15, 2008.

2. Proposal Form.  After reading these Guidelines, to fill out a proposal form (for either an entire session or just an individual paper), click on to "Begin the Submission Process," to the left on this page. To proceed further, you will need to log in.  If you have never done so before or have forgotten how to do so, you will be told there what to do.  If you need help, write to techsupport@thegsa.org.

3. Multiple Proposals. Individuals may not propose more than one paper, and they should not propose that they fulfill more than two roles at the conference (e.g., give a paper and appear on a round table; give a paper and moderate a panel in a second session; moderate one panel and serve as commentator on another one).  They may take on extra duties only if asked to do so by a member of the Program Committee (= PC).

4.  General Ground Rules.

a.  The PC encourages (but does not require) proposals for complete sessions.  Submitters of such proposals must get the permission of all presenters and include all relevant information about them, including addresses and e-mail addresses. Proposals for individual papers may be submitted for inclusion in particular sessions after the sessions have been proposed. Individuals who submit such paper proposals must not indicate that their papers are to be included in sessions proposed by others without the permission of  those who have proposed the sessions in question.  Proposals  both for sessions and for individual papers should amount to 150-200 words.

b.  The PC is  glad to accept proposals for “orphan” papers, which it tries to assign to suitable sessions.  There is no such thing as an “orphan session.”  Do not try to create one. When asked to indicate a session for an “orphan” paper, indicate choose “unknown” on the drop-down menu.

c.  Titles of all presentations must be given in the language (English or German) in which they will be presented if accepted.

d.  Each  proposal must be submitted to one and only one Session Coordinator, under one and only one heading (e.g., pre-1800, nineteenth-century, etc.) He or she will send it to another member of the PC if doing so seems advisable.

d.  Each  proposal must be submitted to one and only one Session Coordinator, under one and only one heading (e.g., pre-1800, nineteenth century, etc.) He or she will send it to another member of the PC if doing so seems advisable.  

e.  The PC accepts but does not encourage proposals for roundtable discussions without papers. If you plan to submit such a proposal, it must include a thorough rationale. A submission should include the information required for complete panel proposals, as outlined above. No more than five persons may participate in a roundtable. (One of the five should be a moderator. There should not be a commentator.)

f.  Each session may have no more than two graduate students. Graduate students are expected to be at the dissertation stage. They may not serve as commentators or moderators.

g.  No session may include more than two participants from a single institution.

ADDITIONAL POINTS TO BEAR IN MIND:

1.  Audiovisual Equipment.  Indicate on the proposal form if you wish to be assigned to a room that has a digital projector suitable for use with a laptop and a screen.  In most cases, the PC has been able to accommodate such requests.  The GSA will probably be able to provide some lap-top computers, but bringing one’s own is safer than relying on one that belongs to the Association. (No other a-v equipment will be available.  Nor is it feasible to use a projector you bring yourself, inasmuch as projectors will work only in rooms in which special wiring is in place.) The PC will try to honor all these requests, but in case it cannot you should indicate why you need what the GSA may provide.  If your request is granted, a charge of $35.00 will be added to the registration cost for your session (for the session as a whole—not for each participant).  Please bear in mind that this charge is only a small fraction of what the hotel will charge the GSA.  Please make sure during the registration period that you make this payment. If more than one participant in your session will use a-v equipment, please sort out the matter of how the costs are to be shared among yourselves. If you wish to avoid this charge, please consider distributing handouts.

2. The Decision Process. The GSA Conference has no unified theme, requiring all proposals to address a particular topic, nor can the Association permit a disproportionate number of sessions to address a single theme, to the exclusion of others. The selection process involves not only an examination of the quality of proposals, but also a determination of balance among many factors. These include discipline, theme, and even century. The competition for acceptance is very stiff, because the number offmeeting rooms is very limited. Each year, many proposals cannot be accepted. The Executive Committee has determined that priority will be given to good quality proposals from individuals who have not presented as often over those who have presented more often in prior years.

3. Rejections. The PC makes its determination in accordance with GSA policy and has the advice of the Executive Council through the president and the Executive Director on this matter. There is thus no appeal from a negative decision. The PC works very hard in a very short time. Proposers should make their proposals as clear and as strong as possible, so that the PC will have the proper information on which to base its decision.

4.  Changes in Composition of Panels. The PC reserves the right to add a paper or papers to a proposed session and/or to delete a paper or papers from a proposed session, or to replace a moderator or commentator.

5.  Affiliated Societies.The GSA has recognized certain affiliated organizations or societies, which are granted one session each at the conference. These are also subject to modification. Certain societies may place a second session, provided that this second session is vetted through the normal process. Therefore, such organizations must prioritize their proposed sessions. Accepted sessions are listed as "Sponsored by" in the program. You should indicate such sponsorship in a proposal for a session.

6.  Circulation of Papers.  If the commentator does not receive the paper from a presenter at least three weeks in advance of the conference, he or she  may not have sufficient time to review the presentation, and the presenter may be denied an opportunity to present at the next Conference.

7. Withdrawal from the Conference. Persons who apply to present at the GSA Conference are expected to do so if their proposals are accepted. Withdrawal is accepted through April 1 without penalty. Withdrawal after April 1 must be justified in a letter to the Executive Director of the Association. In accordance with a decision of the Executive Committee of the Association, persons whose withdrawal is not accepted by the Executive Director may be barred from presentation for three years.  Should an individual withdraw from the Conference after paying registration and/or meal fees, refunds will be made as follows: withdrawal prior to ten days before the beginning of the Conference will allow a refund of the fees paid minus $25 service fee; withdrawal within ten days of the beginning of the Conference will not permit a refund of any registration or meal fees paid. Meal tickets cannot be transferred by the Association. Should a member pick up her/his meal ticket at the Conference and give it to someone else, that is acceptable. The Association will not reassign tickets.

8. Hotel Reservations.  The GSA does not make these for conference participants.  However, conference registration is a prerequisite for receiving a hotel reservation at the special conference rate.  After April 15, 2008, participants will be able to register online for the conference and, once that process has been completed, they will have access to a special webpage connected directly to hotel reservation.  Please note that the Association does not confirm hotel rooms. This is the responsibility of the hotel. Should a conference participant wish to cancel or change the dates of the hotel reservation, this is the responsibility of the participant and not of the Association, and it must be done directly with the hotel. The Association takes no responsibility for changes or cancellations of room reservations.

9.  International Participation.  Because of the necessity of obtaining funds for transatlantic travel, overseas participation is dependent upon outside factors. The Association knows that the transatlantic nature of our conference is a unique feature, and the GSA is a transatlantic dialogue. That German is a co-equal language at the Conference aids in this. GSA is the least expensive form of transatlantic conference in German Studies reaching the largest number of excellent scholars that is held anywhere! We try to maximize the number of foreign scholars, but are very dependent upon outside funding. Cancellations occur here,too, and we are also unable to accept every excellent transatlantic session. Our funding sources should understand that those transatlantic participants who ARE accepted are very special, and are genuinely deserving of funding. We understand the shortage of funds everywhere.