The Middle East Studies Association calls for proposals for preorganized panels, roundtables, thematic conversations, and individual papers for the association's 43rd annual meeting, November 21-24, 2009, in Boston, Massachusetts.

MESA is primarily concerned with the area encompassing Iran, Turkey, Afghanistan, Israel, Pakistan, and the countries of the Arab World from the seventh century to modern times. Other regions, including Spain, Southeastern Europe, China and the former Soviet Union, also are included for the periods in which their territories were parts of the Middle Eastern empires or were under the influence of Middle Eastern civilization. Comparative work is encouraged.

Proposals must be submitted to the Secretariat by Monday, February 16, 2009, at 5:00 p.m. Mountain Standard Time, and must conform to the guidelines listed below. Proposals for thematic conversations only must arrive at the Secretariat by May 1, 2009. LATE PROPOSALS WILL NOT BE CONSIDERED.

I. Requirements for Participation

Membership:

Become a member or renew your membership

Participation in the MESA meeting is restricted to MESA members. You can become a MESA member or renew your membership by logging in to myMESA and completing or updating your profile and paying dues at MESA's secure payment site (http://mesa.wns.ccit.arizona.edu/forms/payments.htm). Membership dues must be paid by March 6 for proposals to be considered by the program committee. Participants who are visiting foreign scholars or non-Middle East specialists may request a one-time exemption from this requirement. Complete the request for membership waiver form found here Waiver requests must be submited at least two business days before submitting for the annual meeting to give staff enough time to process the request. Exemptions are decided on a case-by-case basis and are not automatic. MESA encourages membership of all annual meeting participants. Membership dues are income based:

*must be pursuing a degree at an institution of higher learning
**for retired membership, one must have been a fellow or associate MESA member for 10 consecutive years and be retired.
***for members resident outside the United States, please add $15 to the dues to cover the cost of international mailings.

Registration:

Register for the conference

All participants must pre-register at the time they submit their proposal. There are no exceptions. Non-member registration fees apply to those who have been exempted from the membership requirement. 2009 registration fees are:

Payment: MESA accepts checks or money orders (in US dollars drawn on a US bank), and Visa, Mastercard, and American Express. Those wishing to charge their dues/fees to a credit card may do so on-line using MESA's secure shopping cart or can submit to MESA by post or phone the following information: card number, expiration date, statement of authorization for charge, and signature. For Visa and Mastercard, please also provide 3 digit code found on the back of the card above the signature box.

Refunds: All persons who have a paper or panel rejected are entitled to a refund of registration fees upon request, provided that the request is made by the deadline established by the MESA Secretariat. Program participants who withdraw from the program may request a refund of their registration fees up until August 1. No refunds will be issued after that date. Membership dues are non-refundable.

Restrictions on Participation: Only one abstract per person may be submitted. A person can submit an abstract and also be scheduled on a different panel as a chair or discussant, or participate in a roundtable or thematic conversation, but only one abstract per person may be submitted. No individual may participate in more than two sessions.

II. Categories of Presentation and Instructions

A. PREORGANIZED PANELS on a common theme or problem are strongly encouraged. Preorganized panels should have a maximum of five paper presenters (four is optimum), a chair and discussant. It is preferable that neither the chair nor discussant be paper presenters. Panels with fewer than four papers are discouraged. The program committee reserves the right to add papers to preorganized panels that include fewer than four papers. Sessions will be accepted or rejected in their entirety.

The panel organizer will create and manage the panel using the electronic submission system. He or she will:

1. provide basic information about the panel (title, sponsorship, funding sources, discipline)
2. provide a panel summary, which should exhibit a clear, scholarly focus and a clear description of the overall purpose of the panel. Each paper must relate to the presented theme and be academically strong. The panel summary cannot include the name of any participant or organizer. If it does, it automatically will be disqualified. It must be single spaced and between 300 and 400 words.
3. provide the names of the paper presenters and the panel chair and discussant (if selected). The system will "invite" the participants to login, accept the invitation and, in the case of paper presenters, submit an abstract of the paper they will present. The abstract should be 300-400 words, typewritten and single-spaced. The name of the author cannot appear in the abstract. If it does, the proposal automatically will be disqualified. The program committee will be looking for abstracts that are scholarly, with a strong, focused statement of thesis or significance, clear goals and methodology, well-organized research data, specified sources, and convincing, coherent conclusions.
4. ensure that the complete panel has been submitted by 5:00pm, Mountain Standard Time on Monday, February 16, 2009.

Panels organized in honor of an individual cannot include the individual's name anywhere on the materials to be reviewed if the honored individual is to participate on the panel. If the panel is accepted on its academic merits, the organizer can request permission from the program committee to name the panel in honor of the individual.

B. ROUNDTABLES promote informed discussion and debate concerning the current state of scholarship in particular fields, work currently in progress or the particular problems involved in the employment of new approaches, new models, etc. The roundtable format lends itself to open discussion in an atmosphere where participants provide their points of view and engage the audience in active discussion. Participants do not prepare papers and do not lecture to the audience. Rooms are set in a manner to facilitate discussion and to allow for group interaction. Only a limited number of roundtables are placed on the program in any given year. Seating is restricted to 25-30 maximum.

The roundtable organizer will create and manage the roundtable using the electronic submission system. He or she will:

1. provide basic information about the roundtable (title, sponsorship, funding sources, discipline)
2. provide a roundtable summary, which should be a minimum of 300 words and a maximum of 400 words and should define the subject or problem to be addressed. It should be sufficiently precise to allow the program committee to understand the scope and purpose of what is being proposed. A copy of the summary should be sent to each participant, who in turn will prepare a statement detailing their own approach to the topic under consideration. The roundtable summary may not include the name of any roundtable participant or organizer. If it does, it automatically will be disqualified.
3. provide the names of the roundtable presenters and chair. The system will "invite" the participants to login, accept the invitation and, in the case of presenters, submit a description of what role they will play on the roundtable. The description should be 300-400 words, typewritten and single-spaced. The name of the author cannot appear in the description. If it does, the proposal automatically will be disqualified.
4. ensure that the complete roundtable has been submitted by 5:00pm, Mountain Standard Time on Monday, February 16, 2009.

Roundtables organized in honor of an individual cannot include the individual's name anywhere on the materials to be reviewed if the honored individual is to participate on the roundtable. If the roundtable is accepted on its academic merits, the organizer can request permission from the program committee to name it in honor of the individual.

C. THEMATIC CONVERSATIONS provide a 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. There are two assumptions underlying proposals: that the “conversation” is a dialogue already in progress, perhaps on an electronic discussion list, and that it will be a multi-meeting “conversation,” spanning a minimum of two MESA annual meetings, although not necessarily directed or attended by the same individual(s).

Submission Guidelines:
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. 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.)
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. 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.
8. 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.
9. 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.
10. Due to the unstructured nature of thematic conversations, submissions in this category are not eligible for sponsorship by an organization.

1. organizer submits a one-page typed position paper, with one page of responses or further elaboration by discussants, and supporting materials indicating that the conversation is on-going. Organizer also submits details about the participants. The deadline for thematic conversation submissions is May 1, 2009, so that the proposed conversations can be included in the preliminary program. Date of arrival before the deadline will constitute priority for placement on the program should there be an excess number. We anticipate limited room for new thematic conversations for the Boston meeting. Please keep this in mind as you consider your submission options.

D. INDIVIDUAL PAPERS accepted by the program committee will be grouped into panels and assigned a chair.

The paper presenter will log-in to myMESA and provide information about the paper and an abstract. The abstract should be 300-400 words, typewritten and single-spaced. The name of the author cannot appear in the abstract. If it does, the proposal automatically will be disqualified. The program committee will be looking for abstracts that are scholarly, with a strong, focused statement of thesis or significance, clear goals and methodology, well-organized research data, specified sources, and convincing, coherent conclusions.

E. SPECIAL SESSIONS, including current issues presentations, are meant to supplement the annual meeting program. They should be of interest to people in all disciplines and should be set apart from the rest of the program by their compelling and unique nature. Organizers are strongly cautioned not to submit for special session status proposals that would more appropriately be regular panels, nor should organizers look upon the special session option as a way to circumvent the deadline and policies that apply to proposals for panels. If a session looks and sounds like a regular panel, it should be reviewed as such. MESA members are welcome to propose special sessions in writing, submitting a letter to the Secretariat including information on the proposed topic, presenters, sources of funding, and a statement explaining why the session deserves special status on the MESA program. The letter will be shared with the program chair and a subcommittee of MESA's Board of Directors and others as deemed appropriate. Only a very limited number of sessions will be accorded special status on the program. Special session proposals must reach the MESA Secretariat by April 1 of the year of the meeting in order to be considered. Current issues presentations are not subject to the April 1 deadline since they are developed only as issues arise.

III. FINAL PAPERS, PRESENTATION GUIDELINES, NO-SHOW POLICY

Final Papers: In order to facilitate high quality panels, all presenters must upload a copy of their working paper to the myMESA system by October 15. Papers do not need to be complete with footnotes and bibliography; only a working paper is required. Chairs and discussants cannot do their job adequately if they hear the paper for the first time during the actual presentation; it is vital to the integrity of the panel that the paper be distributed on time. Roundtable and thematic conversation participants do not prepare papers and therefore are not subject to this requirement.

Paper Presentation: Participants should not read their papers, but rather should present them in summary only. Generally, 15-20 minutes will be allowed for each presentation (dependent upon the number of papers on the panel). The chair is responsible for strict adherence to this rule. The remainder of the time should be devoted to discussion among the panelists and audience.

No-Shows: No-shows are conspicuous in their absence. They inconvenience the chair, discussant and fellow panelists as well as those attending the panel. A no-show has been defined as someone who: 1) is not physically present at his/her panel at the conference, 2) has not notified MESA in advance of an inability to be at the conference, and 3) has not submitted a paper to be read by the panel chair or another person at the conference. No-shows will not be considered for the following year’s program. A person who accomplishes at least one of the above (attends his/her panel, notifies MESA in advance, or submits a paper to be read at his/her panel) will not be penalized.

IV. CHAIRS/DISCUSSANTS

Panel organizers are responsible for choosing a chair and discussant for their panel. A chair and discussant may be identified at the time a proposal is submitted or at any time before the meeting. To propose a chair and/or discussant the organizer will add them to their session and "invite" them to participate.

MESA will assign a chair to each non-preorganized panel. Those wishing to volunteer to chair one of these panels should complete a chair request form available on MESA's website. Once the program has been set MESA will send a list of composite panels to those who indicated an interest in serving as chair and will make assignments on a first-come, first-served basis.

V. AUDIO-VISUAL EQUIPMENT

Participants may request audio-visual equipment from the following list:

slide projectors
overhead projectors (for transparencies)
TVs and DVD or VHS players
CD or cassette players

Computer projection may be provided for ART HISTORY, ARCHITECTURE, and LANGUAGE panels, but must be expressly requested. Computer projection will not be available for any other sessions.

PowerPoint presentations require computer projection. Therefore only ART HISTORY, ARCHITECTURE, and LANGUAGE panels can use PowerPoint and only if the equipment has been requested and approved in advance.

The deadline for submission is Monday, February 16, 2009 at 5:00PM Mountain Standard Time. Submissions must be complete. Membership dues and registration fees must be paid by March 6 in order for submissions to be considered by the program committee. Please note that the deadline for thematic conversations only is May 1, 2009.

Please direct questions and AV requests to Mark Lowder at mlowder@u.aizona.edu.