The 48th Annual Meeting of the African Studies Association will take place from November 17-20, 2005, at the Wardman Park Marriott Hotel in Washington, DC. The theme is Health, Knowledge, and the Body/Politic in Africa and the African Diaspora. The Program Chair is Elisha P. Renne (University of Michigan).

Call for Proposals Online Submission  - The online submission process is now closed!

Guidelines for Submission: Proposing a Paper, Panel, Roundtable, Young Scholar Paper or Poster Session

Checklist for Proposals

Theme Statement
 
 

 

Requirements for Participation  Individuals proposing a Panel, Paper, Roundtable, Young Scholar or Poster Session must be 2005 members of the African Studies Association. Membership and pre-registration fees or the non-member pre-registration fee must accompany the proposal if the fee(s) have not already been paid. Prospective participants who do not reside in the US should contact the ASA if they are unable to submit funds from overseas because of difficulties in obtaining foreign currency. Please note: the imposition of a fee for a US money order does not constitute difficulty in obtaining foreign exchange. The ASA does not provide funds for individuals to attend the Annual Meeting. Each individual may make only one presentation: as a paper presenter, a roundtable participant, a poster session presenter, or a discussant. Individuals may chair or co-chair one panel or roundtable in addition to making one presentation. The online system will not allow the submission of more than one paper proposal per presenter.  All proposals must be submitted through the ASA Secretariat online at www.africanstudies.org.  Individuals who reside in Africa will be mailed a hard copy of the Call for Proposals. Incomplete proposals will not be forwarded to the Program Chair form review. Hard copy proposal forms received from individuals residing outside of Africa WILL NOT BE ACKNOWLEDGED.   Annual Meeting Registration Individuals must pre-register for the Annual Meeting when the proposal is submitted. Proposals that are submitted without membership and pre-registration fees will not be forwarded to the Program Chair for review. Hard copy proposal forms received from individuals residing outside of Africa WILL NOT BE ACKNOWLEDGED. ASA members are required to be current with their 2005 dues. Dues and the discounted pre-registration fee should accompany the proposal if the fee(s) have not already been paid. Non-members are required to submit the non-member pre-registration fee with the proposal. Refund Policy During the Fall 2004 Meeting of the ASA Board of Directors, the Board adopted the policy that the ASA will no longer issue pre-registration refunds of any kind.  Letters of Invitation The ASA can provide Letters of Invitation to assist individuals in expediting visas and securing funding. Requests for Letters of Invitation should be addressed to asaamc@rci.rutgers.edu with “Annual Meeting Letter of Invitation” in the subject line. Please request the letter when the proposal is submitted.   The ASA does not provide funds for individuals to attend the Annual Meeting.   ASA Policy on Proposal Acceptances The Program Chair, working with the Program Committee, bears final responsibility for accepting or declining all proposals for the Annual Meeting. The Program Chair is responsible for ensuring that all papers, panels, roundtables, poster sessions and Young Scholar panels conform to the standards set by the ASA Board of Directors and the Program Committee. The Program Chair has full authority to add or delete presentations on panels in order to accommodate proposals for individual papers and to enhance the overall quality of the program. Efforts will be made to contact the chair of the panel affected by a change when it is made; however, publication deadlines may take precedence over such notification. All paper proposals, whether submitted individually or as part of a panel, will be reviewed separately. Notification The ASA Secretariat will make every attempt to notify individuals about the outcome of the Program Chair’s review of the proposal. Publication deadlines however, may take precedence over this individual notification. Accepted panels and presentations will be listed in the Preliminary Program, which will appear on the ASA website. Coordinate Organizations’ Panels ASA Sponsored Organizations may propose two panels, two roundtables, or a roundtable and a panel to be accepted without review by the Program Committee. Panels and roundtables must be identified as “not for review” when they are submitted and they must be submitted by the organization’s coordinator.  Proposals that are “not for review” must meet all administrative requirements, including paper and panel abstracts, and membership and pre-registration fees for all the participating individuals must accompany the proposal or be paid in advance and the proposals must be submitted on or before March 15. The Program Chair has the discretion to accept panels and roundtables that will be listed in the program as “Organized by” provided that the organizing group is an ASA Associate or Affiliate Organization or an Allied Group.   Proposals Individuals who reside in Africa will be mailed a hard copy of the Call for Proposals. All other individuals are required to submit proposals online at www.africanstudies.org beginning in February. Watch the website for details. Hard copy proposal forms received from individuals residing outside of Africa WILL NOT BE ACKNOWLEDGED. All proposals must be submitted on the hard copy form and the required copies must be legible. The authors and co-authors of all proposed papers must sign the paper proposal form. Incomplete proposals will not be forwarded to the Program Chair for review. Three (3) copies of all proposals must be sent to the ASA Secretariat for entry into the central database. Mail proposals to Annual Meeting Coordinator, African Studies Association, Rutgers University, Douglass Campus, 132 George St., New Brunswick, NJ 08901-1400 USA. Proposals sent via e-mail or fax will not be acknowledged. Panel Proposals Individuals who reside in Africa will be mailed a hard copy of the Call for Proposals. All other individuals are required to submit proposals online at www.africanstudies.org beginning in February. Watch the website for details. Hard copy proposal forms received from individuals residing outside of Africa WILL NOT BE ACKNOWLEDGED. A panel typically has a chair, up to four paper presenters, and a discussant.  A panel proposal consists of the “Panel Proposal” form, the panel abstract, and “Paper Proposal” forms and abstracts for each presenter. The panel abstract should consist of a statement about the topic and a brief summary of the main argument(s) to be explored (one paragraph, 8-10 sentences). Longer abstracts will not be considered and the proposal will not be forwarded to the Program Chair for review. The quality of the panel abstract is the main criterion for acceptance; a panel with a weak abstract is unlikely to be accepted. Two or more weak paper abstracts may eliminate the panel altogether. The Program Chair may add individual papers or discussants to proposed panels.

Individual Paper Proposals/ Poster Session Proposals Individuals who reside in Africa will be mailed a hard copy of the Call for Proposals. All other individuals are required to submit proposals online at www.africanstudies.org beginning in February. Watch the website for details.  Hard copy proposal forms received from individuals residing outside of Africa WILL NOT BE ACKNOWLEDGED. Individuals should complete the “Paper Proposal” form. The paper or poster session abstract should consist of a statement about the topic, the nature and extent of the research on which the paper or poster session is based and a brief summary of the main argument(s) (one paragraph, 8-10 sentences). The quality of the paper or poster session abstract is the main criterion for acceptance.  The Program Committee will create panels from individual submissions with common themes and will identify an individual to chair the session. Individual proposals may also be added to proposed panels at the discretion of the Program Chair. In no case will a co-author be added after a paper has been accepted by the Program Committee.   Roundtable Proposals Individuals who reside in Africa will be mailed a hard copy of the Call for Proposals. All other individuals are required to submit proposals online at www.africanstudies.org beginning in February. Watch the website for details.  Hard copy proposal forms received from individuals residing outside of Africa WILL NOT BE ACKNOWLEDGED. A roundtable typically consists of a chair and approximately four presenters. A roundtable proposal consists of the “Roundtable Proposal” form and the roundtable abstract. The roundtable abstract should consist of a statement about the topic and a brief summary of the main argument(s) to be explored (one paragraph, 8-10 sentences). Longer abstracts will not be considered and the proposal will not be forwarded to the Program Chair for review. The quality of the roundtable abstract is the main criterion for acceptance. A roundtable with a weak abstract is unlikely to be accepted.    Indicating Sections/Sub-themes All proposals should designate the section for which the proposal is most appropriate. The theme for 2005, Health, Knowledge, and the Body/Politic in Africa and the African Diaspora, is divided into 16 thematic sections labeled A through P. Please review the theme statement below for a listing of the sub-themes. All proposals will be reviewed by a Sub-theme Chair who will make recommendations to the Program Chair. Young Scholar Initiative Individuals who reside in Africa will be mailed a hard copy of the Call for Proposals. All other individuals are required to submit proposals online at www.africanstudies.org beginning in February. Watch the website for details.  Hard copy proposal forms received from individuals residing outside of Africa WILL NOT BE ACKNOWLEDGED.  The Young Scholar Panels are designed to highlight research in progress and reports from the field. Graduate students will be scheduled to make 15-minute presentations on panels chaired by senior scholars. Proposals submitted for participation in the young scholar panels must be identified at the time of submission. Graduate students should indicate an interest in participating on a Young Scholar Panel on the “Paper Proposal” form.  The ASA Board of Directors established the Graduate Student Paper Prize for the best graduate student paper presented at the previous year's Annual Meeting. All papers presented by graduate students at the Annual Meeting are eligible for the prize, which is awarded at the subsequent Annual Meeting The editors of the African Studies Review will coordinate an expedited peer review process for the prize-winning paper. The winning paper published in the African Studies Review. Graduate students may submit the papers with a letter of recommendation from their advisor postmarked on or before January 15 to: African Studies Association, Graduate Student Paper Prize Competition, Rutgers University, Douglass Campus, 132 George Street, New Brunswick, NJ 08901-1400, or emailed as an attachment to members@rci.rutgers.edu.    Audio Visual Equipment The ASA provides the following complimentary A/V equipment: a slide projector, an overhead projector, or a TV/VCR. Poster session presenters may also request a chalkboard and corkboard. AV equipment must be requested on the proposal form at the time proposals are submitted. Failure to request A/V equipment will result in the individual having to rent the equipment at considerable personal expense through the on-site AV vendor. Please Note: LCD Projectors WILL NOT be provided.

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