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 obtain the permission of all presenters. To list anyone as a participant in a session, a session proposer will have to have a Member Reference ID Number for that person. To find this number, after you have started to submit a proposal for a session, look for a link to the left labeled Search for Member Reference IDs. If the name of the person you have in mind does not appear there, you will have to create a profile for her or him or ask him or her to create one for her- or himself. (This is not a difficult process. Get out of the GSA web-page altogether and re-enter it, going directly to the log-in page, and go to “Click here to register.”)

b.   Proposals for individual papers may be submitted for inclusion in particular sessions only by people who are proposing the sessions. Proposals both for sessions and for individual papers should amount to 150-200 words.

c.   The PC is  glad to accept proposals for single papers, which it tries to assign to suitable sessions. 

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

e.   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.  

f. 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.)

g.  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.

h.  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.  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 presentation.  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 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. 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 a $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.  Funding for International Participants.  Although the GSA welcomes participants from outside North America, it can provide financial support for only a very small number of overseas participants. Scholars who seek such support are expected to have applied elsewhere first (the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft being an obvious place to begin). They may apply later to the Executive Director (at director@thegsa.org). Those persons who are granted funding and who subsequently cancel their participation are liable for all costs of ticket, hotel, registration, meal tickets, and may also be subject to a service charge of US$100 for such cancellation.

10. Additional Volunteers. If people want to volunteer, please write to the Program Director directly.