[ecrea] CFP: 2015 Cultural Studies Association (CSA) Conference Call for Proposals

CFP: 2015 Cultural Studies Association (CSA) Conference Call for Proposals
Thirteenth Annual Meeting of the Cultural Studies Association (US)
Another University Is Possible: Praxis, Activism, and the Promise of 
Critical Pedagogy
Riverside Convention Center, Riverside, Greater Los Angeles Area, California
21-24 May, 2015

SUBMIT A PROPOSAL TODAY!
Important Dates:

*       September 15, 2014: Submission System Opens  NOW OPEN
*       December 15, 2014: Submissions Due
*       February 15, 2015: Notifications Sent Out
*       February 15, 2015: Early Registration Opens
*       April 15, 2015: Early Registration Ends and Late Registration Begins

The Cultural Studies Association (CSA) invites proposals from its 
current and future members for participation in its thirteenth annual 
meeting in the Riverside Convention Center, Riverside, Greater Los 
Angeles Area, California.

Proposals from all areas and on all topics of relevance to cultural 
studies are welcome, and are not limited to proposals that critically 
and creatively engage this year's highlighted problematic.

This year’s theme, “Another University is Possible: Praxis, Activism, 
and the Promise of Critical Pedagogy,” plays on the World Social Forum’s 
motto, “Another World is Possible.” It expresses a commitment to the 
intellectual and political project of a radically different university. 
Moving beyond policy and pundit-driven discussions of the state and the 
future of higher education, we seek proposals that highlight 
socially-engaged scholarship and activism, and projects that explore the 
transformative possibilities embedded in the present. What forms and 
formations of research, pedagogy, praxis, and activism have emerged from 
the struggles being waged in, around, through, and in spite of 
institutions of higher education? What roles can culture, theory, 
imagination, and technology play in these struggles? Taking up cultural 
studies' historical commitment to the interrogation of the relations 
among knowledge, power, and social transformation, the 2015 Cultural 
Studies Association conference seeks to provide an insurgent 
intellectual space for imagining, enacting, and mapping new forms of 
knowledge production and scholarly communication and community.

We are particularly interested in work that links the global neo-liberal 
conjuncture of higher education to local acts of collective resistance 
and action, and back again. We want to know more about how students, 
staff, faculty, administrators, and community partners are responding to 
the current social, legal, economic, financial, political, cultural, 
institutional, and intellectual challenges and possibilities: student 
debt as a means of financing higher education institutions; court cases 
that attack the history and practice of affirmative action; the rise in 
union activity on campuses; the re-entrenchment of the "humanities" as a 
division under "crisis"; the emergent emphasis on MOOCs and other online 
forms of education that extend the already dominant casualization of 
academic labor; the emergence of public and digital pedagogy and 
scholarship; the ambivalent politics of academic freedom; the reduction 
of education to vocational training and degrees to commodified 
credentials; the role of universities in reproducing or amplifying 
(rather than reducing) the social inequalities of contemporary 
capitalism; and the university as a site of capital accumulation and 
dispossession, among many other trends and tendencies.

As at previous CSA conferences, this year's conference aims to provide 
multiple spaces for the cross-pollination of art, activism, pedagogy, 
design, and research by bringing together participants from a variety of 
positions inside and outside the university. While we welcome 
traditional academic papers and panels, we strongly encourage 
contributions that experiment with alternative formats and challenge the 
traditional disciplinary formations and exclusionary conceptions and 
practices of the academic.  We are particularly interested in proposals 
for sessions designed to document and advance existing forms of 
collective action or catalyze new collaborations.  We also encourage 
submissions from individuals working beyond the boundaries of the 
university: artists, activists, independent scholars, professionals, 
community organizers, and community college educators.

Proposals from all areas and on all topics of relevance to cultural 
studies are welcome, and are not limited to proposals that critically 
and creatively engage this year's highlighted problematic. We welcome 
proposals from a range of disciplinary and topical positions, including 
literature, history, sociology, geography, politics, anthropology, 
communication(s), popular culture, cultural theory, queer studies, 
critical race studies, feminist studies, post-colonial studies, legal 
studies, science studies, media and film studies, material cultural 
studies, platform studies, visual art and performance studies.
About the Riverside Convention Center, Greater Los Angeles Area, California

The 2015 conference will be held at the beautiful, brand-new Riverside 
Convention Center, in downtown Riverside, Greater Los Angeles Area, 
California. The closest airport to Riverside, California, for those of 
you flying in, is the Ontario, CA International Airport (ONT--sometimes 
referred to as the LA/Ontario International Airport).  More information 
about the venue, the city of Riverside, and the greater Los Angeles Area 
is available here:

http://www.riversidecvb.com/riverside-convention-center

Riverside is a hidden gem of Southern California, less than a half hour 
drive from the Ontario, CA International Airport, less than an hour's 
drive from LA and about 90 minutes from San Diego. With its progressive 
landmarks, lively downtown, many fine restaurants, galleries and 
museums, and its proximity to so much of Southern California's beautiful 
natural scenery and cultural sites, Riverside is a truly inviting and 
wonderful site for our conference.

Riverside is also home to several institutions of higher learning, with 
nearly fifty thousand college students populating the city, Riverside 
breeds an overall vibe of ambitious, critical energy. Riverside's 
colleges and universities include: University of California, Riverside - 
One of the fastest growing colleges in the nation, UC Riverside is a 
national leader in cutting-edge research, community collaboration, and 
student diversity, La Sierra University, named "the most diverse 
university in the western U.S." for the past four years by U.S. News & 
World Report, California Baptist University, and Riverside City College.
Submission Process and Timeline

All proposals should be submitted through the CSA online system, 
available at www.culturalstudiesassociation.org. Submission of proposals 
is limited to current CSA members. See the benefits of membership and 
become a member at www.culturalstudiesassociation.org.

The submission system will be open by September 15, 2014. Please prepare 
all the materials required to propose your session according to the 
given directions before you begin electronic submission. Notifications 
of acceptance/rejection will be sent no later than February 15, 2015.

In order to be listed in the program, conference registration must be 
completed online before May 1, 2015. All program information – names, 
presentation titles, and institutional affiliations – will be based on 
initial conference submissions.  Please avoid lengthy presentation and 
session titles, use normal capitalization, and include your name and 
affiliations as you would like them to appear on the conference program 
schedule.
Important Note about Technology Requests

All sessions run for 90 minutes and will have access to basic internet 
connection.  However, please note that unlike previous years, only about 
50% of the rooms will have access to audiovisual equipment (projector, 
screen, speakers, etc.). Sessions that require audio-visual space or 
technical equipment must request these at the time of submission.  The 
Program Committee will do its best to provide reasonable accommodations, 
but accommodations are contingent upon the availability of resources and 
equipment. Any technology requests should be included as a note in the 
body of the initial submission, with a follow up email to Michelle 
Fehsenfeld at (contact /at/ csalateral.org).   Please only request projectors, 
screens, and speakers only if you plan to use them.  The CSA will be 
charged for every piece of equipment we rent/request.  A limited number 
of laptop computers will be available upon request but participants are 
expected to bring their own computers.

Please note that all session organizers/submitters must be CSA members 
for the 2015 calendar year at the time of submission
Conference Formats

Note: While we accept individual paper 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 to Michelle Fehsenfeld at: 
(contact /at/ csalateral.org).

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.

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). 
Pre-constituted panels are recommended over individual paper 
submissions, though we welcome both.

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).

PRAXIS SESSIONS: Praxis sessions allow a facilitator or facilitating 
team to set an agenda, pose opening questions, and/or organize hands-on 
participant activities, collaborations, or skill-shares. Successful 
praxis sessions will be organized around a specific objective, 
productively engage a cultural studies audience, and orient itself 
towards participants with minimal knowledge of the subject matter. 
Sessions organized around the development of ongoing creative, artistic, 
and activist projects are highly encouraged. The facilitator or team is 
responsible for framing the session, gathering responses and results 
from participants, helping everyone digest them, and (where applicable) 
suggesting possible fora for extending the discussion. Proposals for 
praxis sessions should include: the title of the session; the name, 
title, affiliation, and contact information of the (lead) facilitator 
and of any co-facilitators; a brief statement explaining the session’s 
connection to the conference theme and describing the activities to be 
undertaken (<500 words). Please direct any questions about praxis 
sessions to Michelle Fehsenfeld at (contact /at/ csalteral.org).

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, particularly through the formation of working 
groups. Once a limited number of seminar topics and leaders are chosen, 
the seminars will be announced through the CSA's various public email 
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 all conference attendees. A limited number 
of seminars will be selected by the program committee, with a call for 
participants in the chosen seminars announced on the CSA webpage and 
listserv no later than 15 February 2015. Interested parties will apply 
directly to the seminar leader(s) for admission to the session by 1 
April 2015. Seminar leader(s) will be responsible for providing the 
program committee with a confirmed list of participants (names, 
affiliations, and email addresses required) for inclusion in the 
conference program no later than 15 April 2015. Proposals for seminars 
should include: the title of the seminar; the name, title, affiliation, 
and contact information of the seminar leader(s); and a description of 
the issues and questions that will be raised in discussion and an 
overview of the work to be completed by participants in advance of the 
seminar (<500 words). Individuals interested in participating in (rather 
than leading) a seminar should consult the list of seminars and the 
instructions for signing up for them, to be available at the conference 
website by 15 February 2015. Please direct questions about seminars to 
(seminars /at/ csalateral.org). Please note that for them to run at the 
conference, seminars accepted for inclusion by the program committee 
must garner a minimum of 8 participants, including the seminar leader(s).

WORKING GROUP SESSIONS: All working groups have two sessions at their 
command. Working groups may elect to post calls on the CSA site for 
papers and internal submission procedures or handle the creation of 
their two working group sessions by other means. Working groups will 
facilitate the creation of two sessions drawing from, but not limited 
to, working group members. Working groups should create their proposals 
according to the specifications listed under their session format. When 
submitting to the conference website, working groups should select 
“Working Group” as their session format and include a note in the body 
of their submission designating the session as an official submission of 
the working group. Only Working Group organizers should submit Working 
Group session proposals through the conference submission system.  A 
listing of all CSA Working Groups is available here: 
http://www.culturalstudiesassociation.org/workinggroups

PANEL CHAIRS: We are always in need of people to serve as panel chairs. 
To volunteer 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.
Registration Fees

Like our membership fees, the registration fees will be on a sliding scale:

Income Level/Status


Members


Non-Members

Student/ Retired/ Underemployed


$40


$280

Up to $40K


$90


$280

Up to $60K


$110


$280

Up to $80K


$130


$280

$80K and over


$150


$280

NOTE: There will be a late fee of $50 charged to all registrants after 
April 15, 2015.



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