General Rules
1. Conference Registration Fees: All individuals attending the AAS-in-ASIA conference are required to pay conference registration fees. Individuals accepted to appear must register and pay fees by the July 31, 2020 registration deadline. There are no fees required to submit a proposal for consideration; however, accepted participants (and anyone interested in attending) must pay the registration fees in order to gain access to sessions and other conference events.
2. One Appearance Rule: No individual is to be on the formal program in more than one (1) session. The AAS allows for an individual to participate in only one (1) session/proposal. This rule applies to ALL panel roles: Chairs, Paper Presenters, and Discussants. However, please note that an individual may serve multiple roles WITHIN ONE PANEL. For example, an individual may serve as both chair and discussant or as paper presenter and chair on the SAME ONE PANEL.
3. Confirm Commitment to Participate prior to submission: A proposal should be a commitment, in the sense that its original configuration (the original proposal submission) should match its final appearance in the printed programme, and its delivery at the conference. Replacement/substitute participants are allowed, but additional presentations and co-authors are not allowed after the panel has been accepted. Toward this end, the Program Committee will expect strict compliance with the April 2020 participant pre-registration deadline, which assures inclusion in the printed Programme, and will expect the in-person participation of all those named in successful proposals.
4. Habits of collegiality and professional courtesy are expected at the conference. Most fundamental are the honouring of commitments to present papers and the provision of papers to discussants in a timely fashion. The Program Committee assumes and celebrates an interactive style and effective communication in the evolution and delivery of a well-coordinated panel session.
5. The language for conference presentations is English. Non-English speaking presenters are also welcome, but it is expected that panel organizers will make arrangements to provide translation or a summary in English for the audience.
NO-SHOWS. The Program Committee has noted a growing number of “no-shows” among session participants. It is disrespectful toward fellow panelists and audiences, and unfair to those applicants who were not selected for inclusion on the program. Therefore, sessions will be closely monitored at the conference to note all no-shows. Participants who fail to notify the AAS Secretariat in advance that they will not be able to attend the conference and participate in their session will not be allowed to submit a proposal for the following year’s conference.
Proposal Selection Criteria
Proposals are welcomed from scholars throughout the field of Asian Studies, wherever they may be based academically, and are especially encouraged from scholars representing academic communities that are relatively underrepresented in international meetings. One of the goals of this AAS-in-ASIA conference is to foster lines of dialogue and scholarly communication that cross the ordinary (often nation-specific) boundaries of academic networks. The Program Committee will strongly favour and give preference to proposals that include participants from two or more countries, whether the panel focuses on a single nation or culture or focuses on some comparative dimension. The program discourages panel proposals from a group of scholars all based at the same institution. Generally speaking, panels with diverse (gender, academic rank, national origin, disciplinary approach) participation will be favoured over narrowly constructed panels. Panels that address topics of broad relevance will also be preferred.
The criteria on which the committee focuses are:
- Relevance of panel topic to the conference theme.
- Intellectual quality of the research (originality of material or interpretations, soundness of methodology, knowledge of the field, etc.).
- Coherence of the papers proposed for a given panel.
- Quality of the written abstracts, the overall panel abstract being of greatest importance (clear, jargon-free prose is especially valued).
- Indication of a commitment to stimulating active discussion at panel sessions.
- Gender, ethnic, and institutional balance and a combination of junior and senior scholars.
- Attention to the conference submission guidelines (deadline, prohibition on more than one appearance, limits on the number of presenters, etc.).
Innovative Session Formats
The Program Committee supports innovative formats that will encourage bold thinking, lively dialogue, and audience involvement. We urge session organizers to explore ways in which ideas can be communicated most effectively and ways in which the audience can contribute to the liveliness of the dialogue. We encourage a variety of presentation formats. The following list of potential formats for the panel illustrates a range of styles, but is not meant to confine your options:
- Formats that highlight through their structure a clash of perspectives, interpretations, or methodologies.
- Formats that involve a number of mini-presentations (5-10 minutes) around a single theme (organizers of such panels should choose the roundtable format; the application allows a maximum five presenters to be listed in the program, though more participants could be included).
- Formats involving the discussion of primary sources.
- Formats in which commentators begin by summarizing and commenting on the papers and the paper-givers then respond.
- Panels in which participants present one another’s work rather than their own.
- Workshop-style sessions on works-in-progress.
- Formats that allow sharply focused commentary from the audience at an early point in the panel.
- Formats in which a single, major paper, film, or book is the subject of attention. The commentary and other papers would focus on the work in question.
- Roundtables that examine teaching in the field or that explore innovative approaches to teaching a particular subject.
- Formats involving a performance, presentation, or reading of a creative work followed by a discussion.
- Formats that involve pre-circulating papers available to all attendees. In these panels, members of the audience would be expected to have read the papers in advance and presenters would give only brief introductory remarks (for example, five minutes) before comments and discussion.
Session organizers suggesting innovative formats should check the appropriate box on the application form and make a case for the innovative character of the panel’s format in their proposals. If you are submitting an innovative format that includes paper presentations, select the Organized Panel proposal type. If your innovative format does not include papers, select the Roundtable proposal type. Select “Yes” on the application to the question “Would you like this proposal to be considered an Innovative Panel proposal?” Be sure to indicate what makes your roundtable or workshop innovative in your proposal (that is, indicate why these panels go beyond the usual expectations of a roundtable or a workshop). Organized Panels proposing the use of pre-circulating papers should clearly indicate this format in the proposal (please use the words “pre-circulating papers” at some point).
Organizers of sessions with innovative formats need to keep in regular communication with participants about the special expectations of their panels (in terms of time limits, papers circulated among participants well in advance, presentation form, etc.).
Session Sponsorship
Panel organizers may request to have an academic institution, research centre/archive, learned society, or official AAS affiliate or committee listed in the printed program book as the sponsor of the accepted panel session (e.g., if the institution has provided funding for the research being presented, is subsidizing the participation of presenters, has requested and peer-reviewed the submitted proposals, etc.). The listing of a sponsor for the submitted proposal is taken into consideration by the Program Committee during the review process but is not a guarantee of acceptance.
Anti-Harassment Policy
The Association for Asian Studies strives to provide a safe and welcoming conference environment free from bias and intimidation for all participants. The Association has a zero-tolerance policy toward discrimination and all forms of harassment, including but not limited to sexual harassment. No form of discriminatory or harassing conduct by or towards any employee, member, vendor, or other person in our workplace or at AAS conferences or workshops will be tolerated. The Association is committed to enforcing its policy at all levels within the Association. Anyone who engages in prohibited discrimination or harassment will be subject to discipline, up to and including expulsion from the conference site and revocation of membership in the association. Instances of harassment should be brought to the attention of the AAS Executive Director, who will then consult with the executive officers regarding a course of action.
AAS Forum: Organizers Seeking Participants/Paper Authors Seeking Sessions
Session organizers seeking participants to join their proposed panel, or roundtable may list their proposed session topics on the AAS website, along with their contact information. Additionally, individuals interested in participating but without the means or necessary contacts or network to build an organized (paper) or roundtable session proposal may post their interest and paper topics on this forum. Those interested in joining one of the sessions may contact the organizer directly to further inquire about joining their panel proposal. For more information, please visit the Individuals seeking Sessions/Organizers seeking Participants Forum. (only available to AAS Members). The page includes instructions on how to submit a proposed topic and contact a session organizer/paper author.