CFP: Culture Matters

Open for Proposal Submissions: 1 August, 2011

*Deadline for Proposals: 19 September, 2011*

*Conference Registration Opens: September, 2011*

The Cultural Studies Association (CSA) invites participation in its tenth
annual conference. This year’s theme, “Culture Matters,” calls for proposals
that critically and creatively reflect on culture and “the material” broadly
conceived. How do we theorize the relationship between culture and
materiality? In what ways might interdisciplinary formations such as ethnic
studies, critical gender studies, queer theory, indigenous studies, and new
media studies challenge or redefine notions of the material? How should
cultural critics understand the material in relationship to the immaterial?
What are the cultural-material aspects of knowledge production both inside
and outside the university? How does culture become a material force and how
can cultural critics and producers intervene in or transform institutions
and material practices? In short, what do materialist cultural studies
projects look like now and what forms should they take in the future?

We welcome proposals from all areas and on all topics of relevance to
cultural studies, including but not limited to literature, history,
sociology, geography, politics, anthropology, communications, popular
culture, cultural theory, queer studies, ethnic studies, indigenous studies,
feminist studies, postcolonial studies, legal studies, science studies,
media and film studies, material culture studies, visual art and performance
studies.

While the program committee accepts individual presentation proposals, we
especially encourage submissions of pre-constituted sessions. We also invite
proposals that engage with this conference location and its many resources.

All conference formats – papers, panels, roundtables, workshops, and
seminars – are intended to encourage the presentation and discussion of
projects at different stages of development and to foster intellectual
exchange and collaboration. Please feel free to adapt the suggested formats
or propose others in order to suit your session’s goals. If you have any
questions, please address them tocsaus@pitt.edu.

All of the conference formats will be 105 minutes in length.

The conference has a finite set of resources available in terms of space and
technology. In your proposal, you can request specific space and technical
accommodations, including audio-visual equipment such as video/data
projectors and DVD/VCR combo players. You will be asked to provide a short
justification for your request in terms of the goals and format of your
session. Requests will be evaluated in terms of these justifications and
available resources.

Submission Deadline
and Process

You may begin submitting proposals on August 1, 2011. The CSA administers
submissions electronically. Please prepare all the materials required to
propose your session according to the given directions before you begin
electronic submission. We recommend saving a copy of this information in a
rich or plain text document--not an MS Word document. You will be asked to
enter the information into the fields provided (you may choose to cut and
paste).

The Program Committee will send final notifications regarding session
proposals no later than 5 December 2011.

Registration

Conference registration opens September, 2011. In order to be listed in the
program, conference registration – which includes
membershipin
the CSA – must be completed online before 27 February 2012. All program
information – names, presentation titles, and institutional affiliations –
will be based on initial conference submissions.
Conference Formats

*1. PRE-CONSTITUTED PANELS*

Pre-constituted panels allow a team of 3-4 individuals to present their
research, work, and/or experiences, leaving 30-45 minutes of the session for
questions and discussion. Panels should include 3-4 participants. Proposals
for pre-constituted panels should include: the title of the panel; the name,
title, affiliation, and contact information of the panel organizer; the
names, titles, affiliations, and email addresses of all panelists, and a
chair and/or discussant; a description of the panel's topic (<500 words);
and abstracts for each presentation (<150 words). Pre-constituted panels are
preferred to individual paper submissions.

*2. INDIVIDUAL PAPERS*

Successful papers will reach several constituencies of the organization and
will connect analysis to social, political, economic, or ethical questions.
Proposals for papers should include: the title of the paper; the name,
title, affiliation, and email address of the author; and an abstract of the
20 minute paper (<500 words).

*3. ROUNDTABLES*

Roundtables allow a group of participants to convene with the goal of
generating discussion around a shared concern. In contrast to panels,
roundtables typically involve shorter position or dialogue statements (5-10
minutes) in response to questions distributed in advance by the organizer.
The majority of roundtable sessions should be devoted to discussion.
Roundtables are limited to no more than five participants, including the
organizer. We encourage roundtables involving participants from different
institutions, centers, and organizations. Proposals for roundtables should
include: the title of the roundtable; the name, title, affiliation, and
contact information of the roundtable organizer; the names, titles,
affiliations, and email addresses of the proposed roundtable participants;
and a description of the position statements, questions, or debates that
will be under discussion (<500 words).

*4. WORKSHOPS*

Workshops allow a facilitator or facilitating team to set an agenda, pose
opening questions, and/or organize hands-on participant activities. The
facilitator or team is responsible for gathering responses and results from
participants and helping everyone digest them. Proposals for workshops
should include: the title of the workshop; the name, title, affiliation, and
contact information of the (lead) facilitator and of any co-facilitators; a
description of the activities to be undertaken (<500 words). Please also
include a description of space requirements, if appropriate.

*5. SEMINARS*

Seminars are small-group (maximum 15 individuals) discussion sessions for
which participants prepare in advance of the conference. In previous years,
preparation has involved shared readings, pre-circulated ''position papers''
by seminar leaders and/or participants, and other forms of pre-conference
collaboration. We particularly invite proposals for seminars designed to
advance emerging lines of inquiry and research/teaching initiatives within
cultural studies broadly construed. We also invite seminars designed to
generate future collaborations among conference attendees. Once a limited
number of seminar topics and leaders are chosen, the seminars will be
announced through the CSA's various public e-mail lists. Participants will
contact the seminar leader(s) directly who will then inform the Program
Committee who will participate in the seminar. Seminars will be marked in
the conference programs as either closed to non-participants or open to
other conference attendees as auditors (or in other roles).

A limited number of seminars will be selected by the program committee, with
a call for participation announced on the CSA webpage and listserv no later
than 10 October 2011. Interested parties will apply directly to the seminar
leader(s) for admission to the session by 14 November 2011. Seminar
leader(s) will be responsible for providing the program committee with a
confirmed list of participants (names, titles, affiliations, and email
addresses required) for inclusion in the conference program no later than 21
November 2011.

Please note: To run at the conference, seminars must garner a minimum of 8
participants, in addition to the seminar leader(s). Proposals for seminars
should include: the title of the seminar; the name, title, affiliation, and
contact information of the seminar leader/team members; and a description of
the issues and questions that will be raised in discussion, along with a
description of the work to be completed by participants in advance of the
seminar (<500 words). Examples of successful seminar descriptions are
available on the conference website. Individuals interested in participating
in (rather than leading) a seminar should consult the list of seminars and
the instructions for signing up for them, available at conference website
after 10 October 2011. Please direct questions about seminars to S.
Charusheela .

*6. DIVISION SESSIONS
*

Please see the list of CSA
divisions.
All divisions have two sessions at their command. Divisions may elect to
post calls on the CSA site for papers and procedures for submission to
division sessions or handle the creation of their two division sessions by
other means. Division chairs will submit their two sessions, including the
appropriate information as listed above, to the conference website. They
should also email their two sessions directly to the CSA’s “division
wrangler” – Bruce Burgett – by 19 September 2011.

*7. PANEL CHAIRS*

We invite people to volunteer to chair panels. To do so please submit your
name, title, affiliation, and email address, as well as a brief list of your
research interests through the conference website.

Chair a panel (not yet open)

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