Call for panels

Session formats

All session lengths will be 90 minutes.

The ASA encourages the submission of session proposals in three types of format:

Panels

Panels structured in the traditional manner of four papers per session. Ideally we’d like to limit panels to a maximum of two consecutive 90-minute sessions, each holding a maximum of four papers/presentations (so eight papers altogether). However, if a panel receives more than 16 proposals, additional sessions will be allowed. No panel may run for more than four sessions, however.

Roundtables

Roundtables in which no more than 5 scholars discuss particular themes/issues in front of (and subsequently with) an audience. While a roundtable may include short (5-10 min) contributions/presentations, the main idea is to create a lively debate, not to focus on any one presenter. In your roundtable proposal, you can list/name the participants in your long abstract, or leave the list open and take in 'contribution' proposals during the Call for Papers/Contributions, accepting five of those to be on the roundtable. Roundtables will be limited to one 90-minute session.

Laboratories

Laboratories are characterised by experimentation, collaboration, interaction or improvisation. They bring a focus to methods and process. Rather than exhibiting already finished work, the aim of laboratories is to organise collective research activities that are open-ended and cultivate possibilities for surprise, novelty and learning. Laboratories will be designed as interactive, reflexive sessions that prioritise exploration, rather than the discussion of already established research results. They can be used to tackle practical problems, to re-evaluate concepts, to find new theoretical and political directions, or to understand emergent cultural dynamics. Whether concerned with possibilities and limitations in current anthropological practice, or with cultural and political problematics in an unequal world, labs can provide space for addressing any themes in creative, interactive, and open-ended fashion.

Submission process

All session proposals must be submitted via the Propose a Panel button on the conference website (below). Proposals consist of:

• A panel/roundtable title

• Format selection

• A short description of no more than 300 characters

• An abstract of no more than 250 words

A proposal may include the names of any chairs or discussants, although these can be added later. On submission the convenors will receive an automated email confirming receipt. If you do not receive this email, please first check your spam, and then the login environment (click login on the top right) to see if your proposal is there. If you do not find the proposal listed, you will need to re-submit. Your co-convenors, chairs and discussants will be notified by email to confirm their roles (by following the link/button in those emails).

Proposals will be marked as pending until Scientific Committee decisions are published in September, when the conference administrators will inform you of the decision. The status is also visible in the login environment.

Rules

• The ASA requires all accepted panels to be open to paper proposals through the website, so panels should not be organised as 'closed' sessions (however, roundtables can be).

• All panels/roundtables must have at least two convenors, so as to avoid session cancellations if one convenor cannot attend the event.

• You do not have to be an ASA member to propose a panel, roundtable, paper or lab. However, conference registration for members will be notably lower than for non-members, so there may be a financial incentive to join the Association.

• All those attending the conference, including discussants and chairs, will need to register and pay to attend.

• A delegate (those attending the conference) may only convene once (be that a plenary, panel, lab or roundtable) and be a discussant or a chair in one plenary session, panel, or roundtable.

• The Scientific Committee (made up the Local Committee plus representation from the ASA Committee) will decide which panel, roundtable and lab proposals to accept.

Convenor responsibilities

It is the convenors' responsibility to ensure that all session participants are well briefed and that panels, roundtables and labs meet ASA2025 requirements. To that end, convenors should not only communicate their decisions about proposals to their session, but also later in the process email the participants to: inform them of the speaking order (displayed on the panel page) and how much time they are allocated, remind them to register to attend the conference (author registration status can be seen in the login environment), notify them of any late changes, additional chairs/discussants and any other information related to the session. If participants withdraw, convenors should mark these withdrawals when logged into the panel edit page.

If you have any questions, please contact the conference administrator on conference(at)theasa.org.