[Discussion] CALL FOR PAPERS- CESS Annual Conference, Oct. 14-17, 2004, Indiana Univ.

[Gonul Pultar]

From: CESS Conference Committee <cess2004@indiana.edu>
Re:   CALL FOR PAPERS- 5th Annual Conference of the Central Eurasian Studies
       Society, Oct. 14-17, 2003, Indiana University


CALL FOR PAPERS

Central Eurasian Studies Society
Fifth Annual Conference (2004)

October 14-17, 2004
Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana, U.S.A.

The CENTRAL EURASIAN STUDIES SOCIETY (CESS) invites panel and paper
proposals for the Fifth CESS Annual Conference, October 14-17, 2004, in
Bloomington, Indiana.  The event will be held at Indiana University, hosted
by the Inner Asian and Uralic National Resource Center.

Panel and paper topics relating to all aspects of humanities and social
science scholarship on Central Eurasia are welcome.  The geographic domain
of Central Eurasia extends from the Black Sea and Iranian Plateau to
Mongolia and Siberia, including the Caucasus, Crimea, Middle Volga,
Afghanistan, Tibet, and Central and Inner Asia.

Submissions of pre-organized panels are strongly encouraged and will be
given some preference in the selection process.  Individual papers are also
welcome and will be assigned by the program committee to an appropriate
panel with a chair and a discussant.  We also welcome attendees who do not
wish to participate in a panel (see the Registration/Pre-registration Form
for information: http://cess.fas.harvard.edu/CESS_Conf-Reg.html).

There has been a huge growth in the interest in the CESS conference as our
society has become more established.  Attendance rose from less than 150 in
the first three annual conferences to over 800 at the fourth one (Harvard
2003), including nearly 500 people from nearly 40 countries who participated
in the ca. 80 panels on the program.  We expect the conference this year 
will
be an even stronger event, and we hope that all interested in this region
will try to come.

Please note that due to this high level of interest, and the fact that the
total number of participants in CESS 2004 will be more limited due to space
constraints, we anticipate that the selection of papers will be very
competitive.


SUBMISSION OF PROPOSALS

The Conference Committee accepts ONLY ELECTRONIC SUBMISSIONS -- either by
webform (see forms for Pre-organized Panels and for Individual Papers at:
http://cess.fas.harvard.edu/CESS_Conference.html), or by an e-mailed form in
MS Word format in the case of those who don't have web access.  This is
because website submissions can more easily be processed than other methods,
and we have limited resources to manage the hundreds of submissions that we
anticipate receiving.  Those who don't have access to the website may
contact us and we will e-mail the submission forms in MS Word format.

The following information is required for submissions; we suggest that you
prepare the text before accessing the website so you can simply paste the
information into the form:

FOR PAPER PRESENTERS: 1) Name, 2) Current institutional affiliation, 3)
Title/position, 4) E-mail, 5) Postal address, 6) Telephone, 7) Fax, 8) Title
of Paper, 9) Abstract of Paper (a summary of the paper of 200-300 words;
abstracts longer than 300 words may be rejected), 10) Any audio-visual
equipment requests (specify: overhead projector, slide project, video
player), 11) A one-page CV which contains the information which the panel
chair may require for introductions, and includes the presenter's
educational background (highest degree, year awarded, awarding institution,
and field of study).

FOR PANELS: Proposals may be submitted for regular panels (with presentation
of scholarly papers) and roundtable panels (featuring discussion of a
current topic in the field).

REGULAR PANELS: In addition to the information for paper presenters (as
indicated above), the following are also required: a) a title for the
proposed panel, and b) name, affiliation, and contact information of the
panel chair and discussant.  Panels should have four or five paper
presenters, a chair, and a discussant.  The program committee can accept
panel submissions which lack up to two of these, but no panel proposal
should have fewer than four-five people who have given a firm assurance that
they will participate in the conference unless they are prevented by
circumstances out of their control.  If the panel as proposed does not
include a full complement of panelists (i.e., 4-5 presenters, discussant and
chair), the other panel participants may be filled in as necessary by the
program committee if the panel proposal is accepted.  Pre-organized panels
should be thematically coherent and may be organized by a scholarly
organization (though this is not required).

ROUNDTABLE PANELS: A roundtable has four to six presenters and a
chair/moderator.  For roundtable proposals, the organizer must provide a
paragraph describing the panel objectives and providing justification for
use of the roundtable format.  The same information is required of each
participant as for regular panels with the exception that abstracts are not
required.

BEST PAPER AWARD: There will be an award in the amount of $500 given to the
best graduate student conference paper submitted to the Awards Committee for
consideration.  See the CESS awards webpage for details
(http://cess.fas.harvard.edu/CESS_Awards.html), or contact the Awards
Committee Co-chair, Dr. Uli Schamiloglu <uschamil@wisc.edu>.

MONGOLIA SOCIETY ANNUAL MEETING: From this year, the Mongolia Society will
be holding its annual meeting concurrently with the CESS Conference (and we
expect other related associations will do the same).  For more information
about the Mongolia Society meetings when it is available, see:
http://www.indiana.edu/~mongsoc/


IMPORTANT NOTES:

  * SUBMISSION FORMAT: Do not send your proposal in any format other 
than the
    webform or the MS Word form, as the committee will not consider it 
in that
    case.

  * ENSURING QUALITY PROPOSALS: Since the selection process is expected 
to be
    quite competitive, we strongly advise you to follow the Guidelines for
    Writing Abstracts available on the conference website (see below). 
Those
    who do not do this will have significantly lower chances of their 
proposal
    being accepted.  If you do not have web access, we can send you the
    guidelines by e-mail upon request.

  * COMMITMENT TO PARTICIPATE: By submitting a proposal, you are indicating
    your serious intention to participate in the conference -- including to
    take the necessary steps to obtain any required visa or funding -- 
unless
    prevented by circumstances out of your control.  You will be asked to
    confirm your commitment in June after your proposal is accepted.

  * E-MAIL CONTACT: Since all communication with prospective participants is
    via e-mail, and we will require your confirmation of participation 
in June
    after proposals are accepted and again in September when all of your 
visa
    and travel arrangements should be in place, it is vitally important that
    you make sure we always have an e-mail address that will reach you.

  * ABSTRACTS OF PUBLISHABLE QUALITY: If you are accepted and participate in
    the conference, your abstract will be published, so please write it
    carefully to avoid errors and ensure that it conforms with the 
criteria for
    a good abstract (see Guidelines for Writing Abstracts available on the
    conference website; see below).

  * PROGRAM LIMITATIONS: No participant may present more than one paper at
    the conference.  Without special justification, the program 
committee will
    not schedule any individual to appear on more than two panels as a
    presenter or discussant.


SCHEDULE OF KEY DATES

Deadline for submission of panel/paper proposals:  APRIL 2, 2004.

  * Note: Submissions after this date may be accepted only in the case of
    special justifying circumstances and at the discretion of the program
    committee.

Notification of acceptance:  by June 1.

  * The Conference Committee will provide, upon request, mailed or faxed
    invitation letters to support an application for a visa or travel funds;
    these will be sent in the second half of June.  Note: Obtaining a 
U.S. visa
    can be take a long time, and we urge participants to begin the process
    immediately upon notification of their proposal's acceptance.

Pre-registration deadline:  SEPTEMBER 10.

  * Note: Pre-registration is not required, but entitles you to reduced
    registration fees.

Deadline for notification of audio-visual requests:  August 15.

Papers should be submitted to chairs/discussants:  by SEPTEMBER 23.

  * Paper presenters will be informed via e-mail in mid-September of the
    e-mail addresses of their panel's chair and discussant, to whom they 
should
    send their papers by the deadline.

Conference:  OCTOBER 14-17.

  * Arrival to Bloomington is on the afternoon/evening of Thursday, Oct. 14.
    Panels begin from Friday morning and continue through mid-day on Sunday,
    Oct. 17.


REGISTRATION

Membership in CESS is not required for participation in the Annual
Conference, though we strongly encourage it, and CESS membership entitles
you to reduced conference registration fees.  See the CESS Membership Form
for details (http://cess.fas.harvard.edu/CESS_Membership.html).

Payment of registration fees IS REQUIRED for all attending the conference,
as follows:

Regular fee members*:    $55 (pre-registration) or $65 (at conference)
Reduced fee members**:   $35 (pre-registration) or $45 (at conference)
Non-members:             $80 (pre-registration) or $90 (at conference)
Indiana Univ. students:  $30 (pre-registration) or $35 (at conference)
IU student CESS members: $20 (pre-registration) or $25 (at conference)

* "Regular fee members" are those who have paid their annual dues at $30.
** "Reduced fee members" are those who have current membership at reduced
fees ($0-$15).

For methods of payment, see the Registration Form at:
http://cess.fas.harvard.edu/CESS_Conf-Reg.html.

NOTE:  CESS DOES NOT have funds to support the costs of conference
participation.  Participants must obtain their own funding -- from personal
resources, their own institutions, or grant-giving organizations which
provide conference travel grants.  Some further information about possible
sources is available on the Supplementary Conference Information page at:
http://www.iub.edu/~cess2004


TRAVEL AND ACCOMMODATIONS

Indiana University in Bloomington is one of the strongest and
longest-standing centers for the study of Central Eurasia.  Bloomington is
located 50 miles south of Indianapolis, where the nearest major airport is
located.  From the Indianapolis airport, a shuttle service is available to
Bloomington, and bus lines connect Bloomington to other major nearby cities.
More details are available on the Supplementary Conference Information page
at: http://www.iub.edu/~cess2004 (available after Dec. 15).

The primary accommodations for conference attendees, as well as the
conference sessions, will be in the Indiana Memorial Union Hotel and
Conference Center (IMU) at 900 E. 7th Street, Bloomington, IN 47405.  Those
attending CESS 2004 may obtain a reservation for one of the rooms set aside
for our conference in the IMU by contacting reservations as follows: phone:
+1 (812) 856-6381, toll free: 800-209-8145, fax: +1 (812)  855-3426, e-mail:
<imuhotel@indiana.edu>, web: http://imu.indiana.edu/hotel_conference_center/

Other options for accommodations in Bloomington, as well as more practical
information for conference attendees may be found on the Supplementary
Conference Information page at: http://www.iub.edu/~cess2004 (available
after Dec. 15)

FURTHER INFORMATION

The Co-chairs of the Conference Committee are:

Dr. Laura Adams (Georgetown University; lladams2@earthlink.net)
Dr. Edward J. Lazzerini (Indiana University; elazzeri@indiana.edu)

Full information about CESS 2004 in Bloomington may be found on the
conference webpages:

  * Main conference website: 
http://cess.fas.harvard.edu/CESS_Conference.html
  * Registration: http://cess.fas.harvard.edu/CESS_Conf-Reg.html
  * Program (available in June 2004):
    http://cess.fas.harvard.edu/CESS_Program.html
  * Full information about hosting and location at Indiana University:
    http://www.iub.edu/~cess2004 (Note: This page will become available 
after
    Dec. 15)

Virtually all informational questions about the conference can be answered
by consulting the above-mentioned webpages.  If you don't have web access,
or if you don't find the answer to your questions there, you can contact the
conference organizers by e-mail at <cess2004@indiana.edu> (Note: this
address will be functional after Dec. 15).

The hosts of future CESS conferences are as follows:
2005 - Boston University
2006 - University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
2007 - University of Washington-Seattle
2008 - University of Wisconsin-Madison

CONFERENCE-RELATED CORRESPONDENCE SHOULD BE ADDRESSED TO:

CESS 2004 Annual Conference
Inner Asian and Uralic National Resource Center (IAUNRC)
Indiana University
Goodbody Hall 324
Bloomington, IN 47405   U.S.A.
fax: +1 (812) 855-8667
tel.: +1 (812) 856-5263
e-mail: cess2004@indiana.edu