EASA2022: 26-29 July in Belfast

1. Do panels have to be on the conference theme?

While adherence to the conference theme is NOT a criteria for panel selection, EASA encourages conveners (those proposing/organising a panel) to make an effort to address issues outlined in the theme. Please read the information below and then click the button that follows to reach the proposal form.

2. Conference format

Having sought member feedback (via a recent survey) and bearing in mind developments in online engagement this past 18 months, we are planning for a fully hybrid conference: delegates will have the option to attend in person (f2f) or online, with both types of delegate able to convene (see below), present, chair, discuss, and attend all conference content, with the only exceptions being meals/drinks that those present might enjoy. This means that all panels will be hybrid, allowing for a mix of f2f and online presentations/participants. Consequently we are not asking you to specify f2f/online format, nor will the call for panels request such information: panel and paper proposals must be judged on their merit and not on the f2f/online mode.

This has several consequences you should consider BEFORE proposing a panel.

At least one of the panel’s convenors must attend in person (f2f), unless there is an additional Chair who will attend in person.
The attending convenor(s)/chair must run the panel in such a way that ALL present - whether f2f or online - feel welcome, involved and engaged. During any Q&A, attention must be given to online delegates, as well as those in the room, allowing their questions/views to be considered/heard.
The f2f convenor(s)/chair will be expected to have the capability to run both the f2f room and the Zoom meeting that brings in the online participants. Those who’ve been delivering hybrid/dual teaching in 2021/22 may have pertinent experience. While there will be a conference volunteer present to start the meeting, remove the waiting room after prep time, turn on/pause cloud recording, and assist with presenters/equipment in the room, it is expected that the convenor(s)/chair will be able to both chair the room and the Zoom, keeping an eye on the chat/raised hands to ensure equitable participation. The conference organisers/volunteers CANNOT take this role, and without a convenor/chair present doing this, condition 2 above will NOT be met.
When papers are proposed to an accepted panel, they will NOT state whether they plan to attend online/f2f, NOR should this be a criteria in your decision whether to accept/reject the paper. It is possible that you may end up running a panel where several presenters are attending online - this is a hybrid conference and does not negate the purpose of your f2f attendance. Based on feedback to a survey of all EASA members, we estimate that 70% of delegates will attend f2f: this will vary across panels. There may be non-presenters who attend in person, and you will have the other positives of f2f across the rest of the conference.

In proposing a panel, EASA considers convenors to have agreed to these conditions. The full and equitable running of the panel is a convenor responsibility.

3. Panel format

You will need to select a panel format at the beginning of the submission process. EASA encourages the submission of various panel formats:

Panel: ‘traditional’ panel with 5 papers per 105-minute session (up to a maximum of two sessions).
Roundtable: a group of scholars (no more than 5) discuss themes/issues of general scholarly interest in front of (and subsequently with) an audience. While a roundtable can include short (5-10 min) provocations/presentations, the main idea is to create a lively debate, not to focus on any one presenter. You do not need to list participants in your abstract; known participants should add themselves during the Call for Papers, or you may take in unknown 'provocation/presentation' proposals during the Call for Papers and subsequently choose five of those to be on the roundtable.
Lightning panel: fast-paced presentation panel using Pecha Kucha, Ignite or Lightning Talks type formats.
Lab (Laboratory): the ultimate alternative format characterised by experimentation, collaboration, interaction, improvisation will have a separate call that will open on 10 February.

The rules

Panels should have at least two co-convenors (panel organisers) from different institutions, and ideally from different countries and may have a combination of f2f and online presenters ( = hybrid format). See above (Conference format).
At least one of the convenors must have a PhD degree. One of the convenors must attend in person (f2f). See above (Conference format).
‘Each conference role only once per person’- delegates (those attending the conference either online or in person) may only make one presentation each. It is allowed to be a co-author on additional papers if you are not the one presenting them. In addition, a delegate may also convene once (be that a plenary, panel, lab or roundtable) and be a discussant or a chair in one plenary session, panel, or roundtable. Roundtable participation counts as being a discussant, not a presenter.
All convenors and presenters must be members of EASA (during 2022), and pay their subscription before the conference. You need not conform to this rule when making your proposal, but must address it after your proposal has been accepted.
EASA requires all accepted panels to be open to paper proposals through the website: panels should not be organised as 'closed' sessions, although roundtables can be.
When proposing an EASA network panel, please inform the network convenors of your proposal before submitting it. The network name must be appended to the title of the proposed panel. e.g. Latest research in soul kitchens [Anthropology of Food Network].
All attending the conference (whether online/f2f), including panel convenors, paper presenters, discussants and chairs, as well as listeners, will need to register and pay to attend. Please see the likely registration fees here.

Network Panels

If you wish to propose a panel related to an EASA network, please make sure you get in touch with the network and show them your proposal before submitting it with the network’s name attached to your panel title (e.g. Latest research in soul kitchens [Anthropology of Food Network]). Most networks will expect panels to come from their registered members.

Networks please note: Each network will be guaranteed one accepted panel, as has been the case in previous biennials. Collaborative panels between two or more EASA networks will also be given precedence in the selection process.

The process

All proposals must be made via the online form.
Proposals should consist of a panel title, a short description of <300 characters, and an abstract of 250 words.
The proposal may also include the names of any chairs or discussants, although these can be added subsequently using the login environment, Cocoa.
On submission of the proposal, the convenors will receive an automated email confirming receipt. If you do not receive this email, please first check the login environment (click login above) to see if your proposal is there. If it is, it simply means your confirmation email got spammed/lost; and if it is not, it means you need to re-submit.

Proposals will be marked as pending until Scientific Committee decisions are published. On that date proposals will be marked as accepted/rejected and the conference administrators will inform you of the decision.

Panel selection criteria

We can host a maximum of 1500 delegates in person, which from experience suggests approximately 150 panels. This is likely to be below 50% of the number of proposals received. The Scientific Committee will decide which proposals to accept based on:

compliance with 'the rules' (see above)
on clarity, cohesion, reliability and academic rigour (quality)

The Scientific Committee will pay attention to different anthropological traditions and topics.

4. Instructions to convenors of accepted panels (for later in the process)

Length of panels

Given the competition over resources (panel proposals outweighing available time slots) and the stated desire by many members to be able to attend more panels than just the ones they are active in (convening/speaking), EASA2022 will continue to have panel sessions of 105 minutes and panels will be limited to a maximum of TWO consecutive 105-minute sessions, each of which can hold a maximum of 5 papers. The conference can thus accept more, shorter panels giving more choice to both paper proposers and delegates. Consequently panel convenors may accept a maximum of ten papers in their panel. However, accepting four papers per session is acceptable.

Convenor responsibilities

It is the convenors' responsibility to ensure that all panel participants are well briefed and that the panel continues to meet EASA's requirements. To that end, convenors should not only communicate their decisions over paper proposals as detailed below, but also later in the process, email the panelists to: inform them of the speaking order (albeit this is displayed on the public panel page), inform them as to how much time they have been allocated, remind them to register (each author’s registration status can be seen in the convenor’s login environment), inform them of any late changes or additional chairs/discussants, and give any other information related to the panel. If panelists withdraw convenors should mark these withdrawals in the login environment to inform the organisers.

About the Call for Papers process

Later, when papers have been accepted/rejected, convenors are requested to administer their panels via EASA’s login environment (note the Login link in the menu above). Convenors should login to insert any specific timing requests to do with their panel into the ‘Requested timing’ field, add the names of chairs/discussants and to manage paper proposals. Co-convenors cannot be added/removed nor can panels be withdrawn through this environment - please email conference(at)easaonline.org to do this.

When papers are proposed via the website, they will be proposed to specific panels. Convenors will receive a summary email of the proposal. Convenors are welcome to acknowledge proposals by email, and even ask contributors to edit their abstracts by logging in themselves. When the call for papers is over, convenors must indicate their decisions over whether to accept/reject proposals through the login environment. If an author later emails to withdraw their paper, the paper should be marked as 'Withdrawn' in the login environment. The papers can be placed in order via the login environment.

Panel proposers can use the login link in the toolbar above to edit their proposals.

Timing of presentations

How you allocate the time of your sessions is largely your decision. The EASA norm is to allot each presenter a maximum of 25 minutes (for presentation and questions/discussion). The key is to respect the fact that many presenters have travelled a long way in order to be able to contribute and clearly need time to set out their argument. The division of a panel into sessions will be indicated in the programme, and the papers ordered within these sessions. While convenors may wish to amalgamate discussion time, where possible they should try to stick to the published distribution.

Pre-circulation of papers

EASA has no rule about this; however many convenors are keen to pre-circulate either completed papers or pre-recorded presentations. To facilitate this authors can upload PDFs of their papers within Cocoa, which will then show as a downloadable file beneath their abstract on the public panel page on this site; alternatively they can insert a link to their pre-recording (on their own YouTube/Vimeo channel) and this can be made visible just to delegates. It is your choice whether you instruct your presenters to make use of this.

Communication between authors/convenors

Convenor/author email addresses are not shown on the panel pages for anti-spam reasons. However there is an in-built secure email messaging system.

easa

European Association of Social Anthropologists
Association Européenne des Anthropologues Sociaux

Call for Panels

Table of contents

1. Do panels have to be on the conference theme?

2. Conference format