AMS New Orleans
1-4 November 2012
Call for Papers
Deadline: 5 p.m. EST, 17 January 2012
The 2012 Annual Meeting of the AMS will be held jointly with the Society for Ethnomusicology (SEM) and Society for Music Theory (SMT) in New Orleans, Louisiana, from Thursday, 1 November, to Sunday, 4 November. The Program Committee welcomes proposals for individual papers, formal sessions, evening panel discussions, sessions using alternative formats in all areas of scholarship on music, and joint sessions with SEM and SMT. Please read the guidelines carefully: proposals that do not conform will not be considered.
Proposals will be accepted according to the following five categories:
Individual proposals. Proposals should represent the talk as fully as possible. A successful proposal typically articulates the main aspects of the argument or research findings clearly, positions the author’s contribution with respect to earlier work, and suggests the paper’s significance for the AMS community. Authors will be invited to revise their proposals for the Program and Abstracts, distributed at the meeting; the version read by the Program Committee may remain confidential. All proposals will be evaluated anonymously and should contain no direct or indirect signal of authorship. Maximum length: 350 words.
Formal sessions. An organizer representing several individuals may propose a Formal Session, either a full session of four papers, or a half session of two papers. For this proposal, organizers should prepare a rationale, explaining the importance of the topic and the proposed constituent papers. As with the individual proposals (see above), all submissions should be anonymous and should contain no direct or indirect signal of authorship. The organizer should also include a proposal for each paper, which conforms to the guidelines for individual proposals (see above). Formal Session proposals will be considered as a unit, and accepted or rejected as a whole. Paper abstracts included in a formal session proposal are components of the session proposal as a whole, and will not be considered for individual presentation. Maximum length: 350 words for the rationale, and 350 words for each constituent proposal.
Evening panel discussions. Evening panel discussions are intended to accommodate proposals that are amenable to a more informal exchange of ideas in a public forum than in paper sessions. These can cover a wide range of topics: they may examine a central body of scholarly work, a methodology or critical approach, or lay the groundwork for a new research direction. Such panels should comprise participants’ brief position statements, followed by general discussion among panelists and audience. Panel discussions will be scheduled for the same duration of time as full or half sessions of papers. For this proposal, organizers should outline the rationale and issues behind the proposal, describe the activities envisioned, and explain why each panelist has been chosen. Evening panel discussions will be considered only as a whole. Maximum length: 500 words.
Daytime sessions using alternative formats. Members are encouraged to submit proposals for sessions utilizing alternative formats. Both three-hour and ninety-minute sessions may be proposed. Examples of alternative formats include, but are not limited to, sessions combining performance and scholarship, sessions discussing an important publication, sessions featuring debate on a controversial issue, and sessions devoted to discussion of papers posted online before the meeting. Sessions may be proposed by an individual or group of individuals, by a Study Group, by a smaller society that has traditionally met during the Annual Meeting, or by an AMS committee wishing to explore scholarly issues. Submissions that reflect the joint nature of the 2012 meeting are also warmly encouraged, and may be submitted under the rubric outlined for Joint Sessions (see below). Proposals for alternative format sessions should outline the intellectual content of the session, the individuals who will take part, and the structure of the session. Maximum length: 500 words.
Length of presentations: With the exception of papers in the joint sessions, forty-five minutes are allotted for each individual proposal and constituent formal session proposal. The length of presentations is limited to thirty minutes in order to allow ample time for discussion. Formal sessions must observe the forty-five-minute slots for paper presentation and discussion. Position papers delivered as part of evening panel discussions should be no more than ten minutes long.
Joint sessions. For this special meeting the Program Committees of the three societies enthusiastically invite proposals for joint sessions, bringing together participants from across the societies. These may take the form of a joint session paper panel or a joint session of alternative format. Guidelines for both are set out below. A joint session paper panel is a session that includes a balance of participants from two or three societies and in which multiple approaches, methodologies, or framing discourses are presented. Joint session proposals will be considered as a unit by the relevant program committees for AMS, SEM and SMT, and will be programmed only if accepted by those committees. Proposals must include (1) a session rationale, (2) abstracts for each paper on the session, and (3) a list of equipment needed for the papers. The session rationale must identify the home society of each participant. Paper abstracts included in a joint session proposal are components of the session proposal as a whole, and will not be considered for individual presentation. All proposals will be evaluated anonymously and should contain no direct or indirect signal of authorship.
Maximum length: 350 words for the rationale, and 350 words for each constituent paper.
Papers will be allocated thirty minutes each, twenty minutes for the paper and ten minutes for discussion. Proposals may be for sessions of ninety minutes or two hours. Proposals may also be for a session of three hours, which in addition to a maximum of four paper proposals may include one or two respondents.
Joint sessions of alternative format, that is, other than paper panels, are also encouraged. In AMS terms these are “alternative formats” including, but not limited to, sessions combining performance and scholarship, sessions discussing an important publication, sessions featuring debate on a controversial issue, and sessions devoted to discussion of papers posted online before the meeting; in SEM terms, these are roundtables, workshops, and film/videos; and in SMT terms, these are special sessions and events of unusual format. Proposals for alternative format joint sessions should outline the intellectual content of the session, the individuals who will take part and their home society, and the structure of the session. As with the joint session paper panels, joint sessions of alternative format should include a balance of participants from two or three societies. Proposals will be considered as a unit by the relevant program committees for AMS, SEM and SMT, and will be programmed only if accepted by those committees. Proposals may be for sessions of ninety minutes, two, or three hours. Maximum length: 500 words.
Proposals for joint session paper panels and joint sessions of alternative format will be submitted via this shared web site.
AMS presenters please note: the “two-year rule” (see below) will be waived for joint sessions, and therefore anyone may submit a paper proposal for a joint session in 2012, including those who presented at the AMS Annual Meeting in 2011.
Program Committee procedures. The Program Committee will evaluate and discuss individual paper proposals and papers for formal sessions and joint sessions observing the paper format anonymously (i.e., with no knowledge of authorship). After an initial selection of approximately four fifths of the final program, including those in the formal sessions, the authors of all proposals will be revealed, and additional papers will be selected from the remaining proposals. No paper accepted during the first round of discussion will be eliminated in the second round. Alternative format sessions and evening panel discussions are reviewed separately from individual proposals and formal sessions. Joint session proposals will be evaluated anonymously by members of the AMS, SEM and SMT program committees.
Application restrictions. No one may appear on the New Orleans program more than twice. An individual may deliver a paper and appear one other time on the program, whether participating in an evening panel discussion or alternative format session, functioning as a chair-organizer of a formal session or joint session, or serving as a respondent, but may not deliver a lecture-recital or concert. Participation in extra-programmatic offerings such as interest-group meetings or standing committee presentations (e.g., the Committee on Career-Related Issues) does not count as an appearance for this purpose. Only one submission per author will be accepted. With the exception of authors of contributions to joint sessions, authors who presented papers at the 2011 AMS meeting may not submit proposals for the AMS portion of the 2012 meeting. Organizers of evening panel discussions or alternative format sessions may not also present a formal paper in the same year or in the preceding one, but participants may do so. Authors may not submit the same proposal to more than one of the three program committees. If an author submits different proposals to the AMS, SEM, or SMT, and more than one is accepted, only one of the papers may be presented.
Submission procedure. Proposals must be received by 5 p.m., EST, Tuesday, 17 January 2012. No proposals will be accepted after this deadline. Electronic proposal submission is encouraged. Follow this link to submit your proposal. Please note that electronic proposal submission ceases precisely at the deadline. In order to avoid technical problems with submission of a proposal, it is strongly suggested that proposals be submitted at least twenty-four hours before the deadline. Due to the volume of proposals received, proposals received after the deadline cannot be considered. A FAQ on the proposal submission process is available here; those planning to submit proposals are encouraged to review the information provided.
Proposals may also be mailed to the AMS New Orleans Program Committee, attn: Robert Judd, American Musicological Society, Bowdoin College, 6010 College Station, Brunswick ME 04011-8451, to be received by Tuesday, 17 January 2012. If mailed, proposals must be printed in 10- or 12-point single-spaced typeface on one 8.5 x 11-inch or A4 page. Proposals sent by regular mail must include (on a separate page): the author’s name, institutional affiliation or city of residence, audiovisual requirements, and full return address, including e-mail address whenever possible. Receipts will be sent to all who submit proposals. Those who submit proposals via mail should provide either an e-mail address or self-addressed stamped postcard for this purpose. Receipts will be sent by the beginning of February 2012.
Organized, ongoing affiliated societies. Such groups should contact Robert Judd at the AMS office about scheduling a room for their meetings rather than applying through program committee procedures.
—Emma Dillon
Program Committee Chair
