The 2020 AAR Annual Meeting Call for Proposals is open.
Proposals are submitted through PAPERS, the AAR's Program Administration Proposal, Evaluation, Review, and Submission System.
The PAPERS System is open for submissions.
The deadline for submissions is Monday, March 2, 2020, at 5:00 pm Eastern Standard Time.
For help using PAPERS, view these instructions. If you have questions, please contact the Annual Meeting team.
AAR Call for Proposals Text (Deadline: March 2)
Guidelines for Submitting Proposals
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Step 1: Find a topic in the Call that interests you.
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Step 2: Determine which type of proposal you wish to submit.
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Paper proposal — A paper written by you (and possibly a coauthor) that you will present in response to a theme within a Program Unit’s Call.
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Papers session proposal — A proposal of a complete session of different papers on a theme, complete with a presider, paper presentations, and (optionally) a respondent. Presenters in a papers session must submit their proposals to the papers session organizer, who in turn is responsible for inputting them into the Program Administration Proposal, Evaluation, Review, and Submission System (PAPERS).
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Roundtable session proposal — A proposal of a complete session, including a presider, list of panelists, and (optionally) a respondent; all of whom will speak (ex tempore) on a common theme.
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Step 3: Write your proposal and 1200-character abstract (including spaces). You have 7500 characters (including spaces) to make the case for your proposal. Paper sessions require a separate 7500-character proposal for each paper in the session. The abstract will be listed in the online Program Book.
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Step 4: Submit your proposal via the method requested by the Program Unit no later than Monday, March 2. A Participant Form is required for any proposal submitted outside of the online PAPERS system. Carefully note any audiovisual equipment you require before you submit your proposal.
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PAPERS: Submit your 7500-character (including spaces) proposal and 1200-character (including spaces) abstract via the Program Administration Proposal, Evaluation, Review, and Submission System (PAPERS) system. NB: Do not place your name or other identifying remarks in the body of the proposal field or abstract field in PAPERS; this may endanger the anonymous review process of the Unit and acceptance of your proposal may be jeopardized. Your name and contact information is sent automatically with the proposal so you do not have to submit a separate participant form.
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E-mail: Submit your 7500-character (including spaces) proposal and 1200-character (including spaces) abstract within the BODY of ONE single e-mail to the contacts listed in the unit's call (usually the Chairs). Click here to open the Participant Form for E-mail Submission. Please be sure you use the exact same title on the Participant Form for E-mail Submission as you do on the e-mailed proposal. Proposals received without the participant forms will be disqualified. Participant forms received without proposals or abstracts will also be disqualified. If you are requested by the Program Unit to submit a copy to both co-Chairs or Steering Committee members, follow the instructions listed. If no one person is specified, send your complete proposal to either one of the co-Chairs.
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E-mail with Attachments: Submit your 7500-character (including spaces) proposal and 1200-character (including spaces) abstract, and Participant Form as attachments in one single e-mail. Please click here to open the Participant Form for E-mail Attachment Submission for your participant form. Be sure you use the exact same title on the Participant Form for E-mail Submission as you do on the attached proposal you e-mail. Proposals received without the participant forms will be disqualified. Participant forms received without proposals or abstracts will also be disqualified.
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Step 5: Notification of your proposal's acceptance status for the Annual Meeting program will be sent by April 1, 2020.
PAPERS User Manual 
Participation Requirements at the Annual Meeting:
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Membership is not required to submit a proposal in response to the Call for Proposals. However, all participants accepted to the program must be current (2020) AAR members and registered for the Annual Meeting by June 30, 2020. Membership waivers are available to participants working outside the field of the study or religion or participants from developing nations. Contact the program unit chair for more details on how to arrange a waiver.
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Participants may appear no more than two times in any capacity (e.g. paper presenter, panelist, presider, or respondent). The only exception is business meeting presiders.
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A person can have only one role in a session. You cannot preside and present a paper in the same session. The only exception is business meeting presiders
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People can submit no more than two proposals in response to the Call for Proposals. This includes submitting the same proposal to two separate units or two different proposals to two different units.
Wildcard Sessions
Wildcard sessions are intended to be experimental, creative, or exploratory sessions that address an area of interest that does not naturally fall within the purview of an existent program unit. These sessions offer members direct access to the Annual Meeting program outside of the normal program unit structure.
Guidelines for Wildcards:
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Wildcard sessions are accepted through PAPERS only.
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Wildcard sessions must use one of the prearranged session proposal formats (papers session or roundtable session).
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Make sure the wildcard session does not cover an area already covered by an existing program unit. If a proposal fits within an established program unit’s mission, the proposal will be forwarded to that unit.
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The Program Committee evaluates all wildcard proposals. Notification of program acceptance will be announced by April 1, 2020.
Exploratory Sessions
All proposals for new Program Units must begin as exploratory sessions. An exploratory session is a complete prearranged session that provides a platform for a group of members to announce a line of inquiry new to the AAR program and to seek out others interested in pursuing it further. The proposal can be for a papers session, roundtable session, or other creative type of session format. Exploratory sessions are submitted through the Program Administration Proposal, Evaluation, and Review System (PAPERS), and must be submitted before March 2, 2020. Notification of program acceptance will be announced by April 1, 2020. Exploratory sessions that are accepted onto the program are then invited to submit an application for new unit status by December 11, 2020.
AAR encourages creative and innovative proposals for the shorter sessions. Some possibilities include; restricting a panel to two 30-minute papers followed by discussion; posting papers in advance to focus on discussion rather than presentation; topical panel discussions; discussion of a book or film; panel on teaching in the field; or workshop-style sessions. The 90-minute format is perfect for hosting specialized conversations on an aspect of the field or “teaching” a topic to the audience.
Audiovisual Requests
The AAR recognizes the importance of using digital equipment during presentations. A limited number of meeting rooms are supplied with LCD projectors for connecting to a personal laptop or tablet. Additionally, some rooms will have the capacity to amplify audio from a presenter’s device. AAR encourages participants to bring or share a personal or departmental laptop or tablet to run any PowerPoint, CD, or DVD presentation. Free wifi access will be available in some properties, but for bandwidth-intensive applications, please request "Internet Access" in the Other: box in the PAPERS system. In order to ensure quality, video presentations should be downloaded to a native device and not streamed over the internet when possible. All AV requests must be received at the time of the proposal. Late requests cannot be accommodated.
Contact the AAR's Annual Meeting Team if you have additional questions.
Presentation Tips for Presenting at the Annual Meeting
Program
Frequently Asked Questions
Contact annualmeeting@aarweb.org if you have additional questions.