Instructions for Submitting a Thematic Conversation

Thematic Conversations offer an alternative place to pose new questions for research, explore new trends and approaches to old questions, meet like-minded scholars, and engage in open academic exchange in an unstructured space. They are meant to encourage discussion across disciplines and regions at the annual meeting. The "conversation" should be a dialogue already in progress, perhaps on an electronic discussion list, and there should be an intent to have it be a multi-meeting "conversation," spanning a minimum of two consecutive MESA annual meetings, although not necessarily directed or attended by the same individual(s).

Thematic conversations are submitted through the myMESA electronic submission system: http://mymesa.arizona.edu

A complete submission includes:

1. a "position statement" from the organizer: this describes the impetus for and the purpose of the conversation.
2. responses from the participants: how do they hope to address the topic at hand?
3. current MESA membership for the session leader, current MESA membership for participants who previously have been MESA members, and pre-registration for ALL participants (all done through myMESA)

All of the above must be electronically submitted to MESA by 12:00 midnight MST on Monday,, May 1, 2011. Late submissions will not be considered.

Questons? Contact Mark Lowder at mlowder@u.arizona.edu or 520-626-6290.

Guidelines for submissions

1. There will be no more than one "conversation" for each panel time slot of the meeting, and this may be further limited by the number of available meeting rooms.
2. The room arrangement will be conference style, with seating restricted to 25-30 maximum; attendance will be on a first-come, first-served basis.
3. Each conversation should have an organizer, or a referee, and no more than 5 specifically designated discussants who would presumably set the agenda for discussion. Not all discussants need be MESA members, but organizers or referees must be, and anyone who has been a MESA member in the past must renew their membership. All participants must pay the appropriate category of annual meeting pre-registration in accordance with MESA regulations.
4. There should be some evidence of a debate or dialogue already in progress (i.e., circulating position paper, discussion list, previous panels, perhaps a mini-conference elsewhere, etc.). A thematic conversation is not the place to start a dialogue, it is the place to continue it. The organizer can email supporting documents to Mark Lowder at mlowder@u.arizona.edu.
5. The MESA Newsletter could also be considered as a place to call for participation, or to announce a thematic conversation.
6. There should also be an intention to carry on the conversation for two MESA meetings, three at a maximum.
7. Date of arrival before the deadline will constitute priority for placement on the program should there be an excess number. Organizer should ensure that all participants have completed their submissions. Unlike other categories of participation, thematic conversations are not subject to the "blind review" process by MESA's Program Committee.
8. The Program Chair in consultation with Program Committee and/or Board members in relevant fields will review submissions only for duplication of effort and clarity.
9. Thematic conversations will be distributed across the meeting, with an eye to preventing conflicts with related panels where possible, and will be listed with roundtables and regular panels, as well as on a separate page in the program.
10. Per MESA’s regulations, no individual may participate in more than two sessions, including panels, roundtables, and thematic conversations. Each member may propose only one abstract for a formal paper presentation.
11. Due to the unstructured nature of thematic conversations, submissions in this category are not eligible for sponsorship by an organization.