Annual Conference2023 Cultural Studies Association (CSA) Annual Conference: Conclusions
Twenty-First Annual Meeting of the Cultural Studies Association (USA) June 1-4, 2023 Online and in-person, hosted by The Cultural Studies Program and Affiliates at George Mason University, Fairfax. VA Deadline for Submissions: Friday, January 7th, 2023 11:59pm The Cultural Studies Association (CSA) invites proposals for participation in its twenty-first annual hybrid meeting. Proposals on all topics relevant to cultural studies will be considered, with priority given to those that engage this year's theme of “Conclusions.” |
Proposals are submitted through EasyChair. For best results, sign into EasyChair before clicking submit above. |
THIS YEAR’S THEME:
From the fall of nations to global health crises, those in power have long claimed the right to define or declare conclusions: the end of history, of race, of truth, of colonialism, of slavery, of stagnation, of democracy, of an epoch, of the world. Critical scholars and marginalized communities from around the globe, in turn, have prudently treated the purpose of declared conclusions with warranted suspicion – are they meant to warn, to assuage, to control, to prevent other “ends” or endings?
What even are conclusions? Do events or processes ever really have a definite stopping point or is the conclusion just a means of compartmentalizing everything that is still left to be studied, debated, and decided? Is the conclusion a way of marking a definable moment of progress or death? Is the conclusion the best, most effectual way to allow something to be forgotten or ignored? Why do we feel that conclusions are necessary? Can we conceive of a perspective of history or of society without conclusions to mark the way? Do we want to?
This year’s theme is concerned with the (im)possibilities of articulating a “conclusion,” informed by the work of scholars of Latina/o/x studies, Black Atlantic thought, Indigenous and Native Studies, and decolonial theory who have long reflected on the political, economic, social, and cultural politics of temporality as a site of power and resistance. The Cultural Studies Association invites work that considers “concluding” as a process whose manifestation is preceded by the assembling of the infrastructure necessary for its occurrence, and trailed by specters like renewal, rebirth, repetition, or “the sequel.” To what extent do the endings that conclusions mark out operate unevenly, so that what is understood and experienced as an isolated event for some is often the continuation of the same for others? Do such continuations and endings constitute disaster or hope, and for whom? Above all, we view conclusions—in all their ambiguities, contradictions, and intensities—as a space to investigate several pressing and provocative questions, and position cultural studies as an transdisciplinary practice uniquely situated to address them.
ENGAGING WITH THE THEME
As with past conferences, we welcome proposals from all disciplines and topics relevant to cultural studies. We also encourage proposers to think within, beyond, and perhaps against the following topics as they consider the shape and content of their prospective participation:
The CSA aims to provide multiple and diverse 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. Therefore, while we welcome traditional academic papers and panels, we also encourage contributions that experiment with alternative formats and intervene in the traditional disciplinary formations and exclusionary conceptions and practices of the academic (see session format options listed below). We are particularly interested in proposals for sessions designed to document and advance existing forms of collective action or catalyze new collaborations. We encourage submissions from individuals working beyond the boundaries of the university: artists, activists, independent scholars, professionals, community organizers, and community college educators.
HOUSING + SCHEDULE
In response to feedback from in-person participants last year, the Program Committee has worked with the Site Committee to adjust the schedule in order to prioritize access to low-cost, on-campus housing that will be available for the duration of the conference. The GMU dorm suites we will be able to use do not open until June 1, so this year we will shift the schedule slightly, beginning the conference on Thursday evening, June 1, with an opening plenary and reception, followed by two other evening plenaries on Friday and Saturday. The three days of conference sessions will take place on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. We will be following up with further information about how to reserve and pay for this housing if you would like to, but in the meantime, please be aware of this slight change to the Thursday-Saturday schedule the CSA has long maintained.
CONFERENCE FORMAT
Our goal this year is to again hold all sessions in a fully hybrid format, as we did in our very successful 2021 Conference. This is not only a matter of convenience or choice, but is due to the Governing Board’s commitment to make the conference more accessible for those who cannot join us due to health, mobility, or visa/travel. Hybrid means that most sessions will be composed of both in-person and virtual participants. All in-person participants are therefore effectively “hybrid” participants as well, ideally able to interact with both the other in-person participants in the room as well as the virtual participants in the synchronous Zoom session. We will update the website with any changes to format as we get closer to the event.
SUBMISSION AND REGISTRATION
Please note: If you do not register by this date and are not a current member, your name will be dropped from the program.
REGISTRATION: In order to participate in the conference and be listed in the program, all those accepted to participate must register before Friday, May 5, 2023. Remember: registration for the conference and membership in the CSA are combined transactions.
All proposals should be submitted through Easy Chair using the following link: https://easychair.org/my/conference?conf=csa2023
Please prepare all the materials required to propose your session according to the given directions before you begin electronic submission. 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 standard fonts, and include your name and affiliations as you would like them to appear on the conference program schedule.
INSTITUTIONAL MEMBERSHIPS include individual memberships for up to seven affiliate faculty, staff and students at member institutions. Graduate students who wish to submit proposals are strongly encouraged to speak with their Department Chair or Program Director about institutional membership and where possible, make use of the complimentary individual memberships and therefore reduced registration rates. Full benefits of institutional membership are described here: http://www.culturalstudiesassociation.org/institutions.
SUBMISSION FORMATS: We especially encourage submissions of pre-constituted sessions, though individual paper proposals will be considered/accepted. Proposals with participants from multiple institutions will be given preference.
All sessions are 90 minutes long. All conference formats 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. Further information regarding various session formats available for submission can be found at the CSA website here.
If you have any questions, please address them to Michelle Fehsenfeld at: admin@culturalstudiesassociation.org
LATERAL WORKSHOP: Lateral, the journal of the Cultural Studies Association, invites submissions of emerging work for constructive feedback with the Lateral editors and cultural studies scholars at the Cultural Studies Association 2023 Conference. If you are interested in being considered for the workshop merely check “yes” when prompted to do so in Easychair and, if accepted to the conference, you will also automatically be considered for the workshop. We especially invite participation from junior scholars, graduate students, and those working beyond the bounds of the university, as well as those who intend to eventually submit their work to Lateral (workshop papers that are later submitted to the journal will undergo regular editorial and peer review). Those interested in participating will be notified of their acceptance into the workshop by mid-January, and complete drafts of articles (approximately 4,000–9,000 words in length) will be due mid-May and circulated to workshop participants at least two weeks before the conference. Strong submissions will situate their considerations of cultural practices, critical theories, and/or pedagogies within established and emerging conversations in cultural studies. Prospective workshop participants should submit abstracts (no more than 500 words) or draft articles (approximately 4,000–9,000 words in length) through the submission system by the deadline for submissions. The journal can be accessed at csalateral.org
To facilitate this hybrid participation, please make note of the information and guidelines for in-person and virtual attendees below:
IN-PERSON ATTENDEE INFORMATION
We encourage all conference attendees to be fully vaccinated and boosted per CDC guidance before the conference. At the current time, there is not a vaccine mandate at George Mason University. We will update this guidance as we get closer to the event.
We will also be providing masks and encouraging masking throughout all conference spaces. At the current time, there is not a masking mandate at George Mason University. We will update this guidance as we get closer to the event.
In-person conference participants should display their Conference Badges when entering George Mason University buildings, making a special effort to show them at the security desk.
HYBRID FORMAT INFORMATION
From the fall of nations to global health crises, those in power have long claimed the right to define or declare conclusions: the end of history, of race, of truth, of colonialism, of slavery, of stagnation, of democracy, of an epoch, of the world. Critical scholars and marginalized communities from around the globe, in turn, have prudently treated the purpose of declared conclusions with warranted suspicion – are they meant to warn, to assuage, to control, to prevent other “ends” or endings?
What even are conclusions? Do events or processes ever really have a definite stopping point or is the conclusion just a means of compartmentalizing everything that is still left to be studied, debated, and decided? Is the conclusion a way of marking a definable moment of progress or death? Is the conclusion the best, most effectual way to allow something to be forgotten or ignored? Why do we feel that conclusions are necessary? Can we conceive of a perspective of history or of society without conclusions to mark the way? Do we want to?
This year’s theme is concerned with the (im)possibilities of articulating a “conclusion,” informed by the work of scholars of Latina/o/x studies, Black Atlantic thought, Indigenous and Native Studies, and decolonial theory who have long reflected on the political, economic, social, and cultural politics of temporality as a site of power and resistance. The Cultural Studies Association invites work that considers “concluding” as a process whose manifestation is preceded by the assembling of the infrastructure necessary for its occurrence, and trailed by specters like renewal, rebirth, repetition, or “the sequel.” To what extent do the endings that conclusions mark out operate unevenly, so that what is understood and experienced as an isolated event for some is often the continuation of the same for others? Do such continuations and endings constitute disaster or hope, and for whom? Above all, we view conclusions—in all their ambiguities, contradictions, and intensities—as a space to investigate several pressing and provocative questions, and position cultural studies as an transdisciplinary practice uniquely situated to address them.
ENGAGING WITH THE THEME
As with past conferences, we welcome proposals from all disciplines and topics relevant to cultural studies. We also encourage proposers to think within, beyond, and perhaps against the following topics as they consider the shape and content of their prospective participation:
- How cultural studies has, can, or could grapple with the epistemology of conclusions;
- How marginalized political, cultural, ethnic, economic, and geographic centers theorize or challenge understandings of conclusions, endings, or temporal finality;
- The ways differently drawn “conclusions” contradict, overlap, comingle, or conspire;
- How conclusions are (mis)represented and what work these (mis)representations do;
- How conclusions are lived out, lived with, or inspire forms of living in spite of;
- How conclusionary claims and practices intersect with state and corporate discourses of security, austerity, identity, nature, history, justice, regression, progress, past, and future;
- How drawn conclusions produce, sustain, or challenge common sense;
- How economic, social, or health crises operate as contested sites for defining (un)acceptable conclusions and the actions conclusions compel
- The politics and ethics of conclusionary claims
- Conclusions drawn from recent cultural events and eras, such as COVID-19, Trumpism, January 6, Brexit, Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the War in Ukraine, Me Too, Black Lives Matter, global carbon emissions/climate change
The CSA aims to provide multiple and diverse 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. Therefore, while we welcome traditional academic papers and panels, we also encourage contributions that experiment with alternative formats and intervene in the traditional disciplinary formations and exclusionary conceptions and practices of the academic (see session format options listed below). We are particularly interested in proposals for sessions designed to document and advance existing forms of collective action or catalyze new collaborations. We encourage submissions from individuals working beyond the boundaries of the university: artists, activists, independent scholars, professionals, community organizers, and community college educators.
HOUSING + SCHEDULE
In response to feedback from in-person participants last year, the Program Committee has worked with the Site Committee to adjust the schedule in order to prioritize access to low-cost, on-campus housing that will be available for the duration of the conference. The GMU dorm suites we will be able to use do not open until June 1, so this year we will shift the schedule slightly, beginning the conference on Thursday evening, June 1, with an opening plenary and reception, followed by two other evening plenaries on Friday and Saturday. The three days of conference sessions will take place on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. We will be following up with further information about how to reserve and pay for this housing if you would like to, but in the meantime, please be aware of this slight change to the Thursday-Saturday schedule the CSA has long maintained.
CONFERENCE FORMAT
Our goal this year is to again hold all sessions in a fully hybrid format, as we did in our very successful 2021 Conference. This is not only a matter of convenience or choice, but is due to the Governing Board’s commitment to make the conference more accessible for those who cannot join us due to health, mobility, or visa/travel. Hybrid means that most sessions will be composed of both in-person and virtual participants. All in-person participants are therefore effectively “hybrid” participants as well, ideally able to interact with both the other in-person participants in the room as well as the virtual participants in the synchronous Zoom session. We will update the website with any changes to format as we get closer to the event.
SUBMISSION AND REGISTRATION
- Monday, October 31, 2023: Submission System Open
- Friday, January 7, 2023: Final Deadline for Submissions
- Monday, October 31, 2022 until Friday, March 17, 2023: Early Bird Registration
- Tuesday, January 24, 2023: Notifications sent out
- Friday, March 17, 2023: Early Registration Ends, Regular Registration Rate Begins
- Friday, May, 5, 2023: Last day to register to participate in the conference.
Please note: If you do not register by this date and are not a current member, your name will be dropped from the program.
REGISTRATION: In order to participate in the conference and be listed in the program, all those accepted to participate must register before Friday, May 5, 2023. Remember: registration for the conference and membership in the CSA are combined transactions.
All proposals should be submitted through Easy Chair using the following link: https://easychair.org/my/conference?conf=csa2023
Please prepare all the materials required to propose your session according to the given directions before you begin electronic submission. 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 standard fonts, and include your name and affiliations as you would like them to appear on the conference program schedule.
INSTITUTIONAL MEMBERSHIPS include individual memberships for up to seven affiliate faculty, staff and students at member institutions. Graduate students who wish to submit proposals are strongly encouraged to speak with their Department Chair or Program Director about institutional membership and where possible, make use of the complimentary individual memberships and therefore reduced registration rates. Full benefits of institutional membership are described here: http://www.culturalstudiesassociation.org/institutions.
SUBMISSION FORMATS: We especially encourage submissions of pre-constituted sessions, though individual paper proposals will be considered/accepted. Proposals with participants from multiple institutions will be given preference.
All sessions are 90 minutes long. All conference formats 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. Further information regarding various session formats available for submission can be found at the CSA website here.
If you have any questions, please address them to Michelle Fehsenfeld at: admin@culturalstudiesassociation.org
- PRE-CONSTITUTED PAPER PANELS: Pre-constituted panels allow 3-4 individuals to each offer 15-20 minute presentations, leaving 30-45 minutes of the session for questions and discussion. Panels should have a chair/moderator and may have a discussant. Proposals for pre-constituted panels must 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).
- INDIVIDUAL PAPERS: Individuals may submit a proposal to present a 15-20 minute paper. Selected papers will be combined into panels at the discretion of the Program Committee. Individual paper proposals must include: the title of the paper; the name, title, affiliation, and email address of the author; and an abstract of the paper (<500 words).
- 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. Proposals for roundtables must 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 must include: the title of the session; the name, title, affiliation, and contact information the facilitators; a brief statement explaining the session’s connection to the conference theme and describing the activities to be undertaken (<500 words) and a short description of the session (<150 words) to appear in the conference program.
- 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. We also invite seminars designed to generate future collaborations among conference attendees, particularly through the formation of working groups. A limited number of seminars will be selected. Once the seminars are chosen, a call for participants in those seminars will be announced on the CSA webpage and listserv. Those who wish to participate in a particular seminar must apply to the seminar leader(s) directly by March 1, 2023. 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 on the conference website by April 12, 2023. 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 May 7, 2023. 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). 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).
- MEET THE AUTHOR: Meet the Author Sessions are designed to bring authors of recent books deemed to be important contributions to the field of cultural studies together with discussants selected to provide different viewpoints. Books published one to three years before the conference are eligible for nomination. Only CSA members may submit nominations. Self-nominations are not accepted.
- WORKING GROUP SESSIONS: CSA has a number of ongoing working groups. Working Group submissions can either be an individual paper or pre-constituted panel and must be made through CSA’s online EasyChair submission portal. Choose either the Working Group Panel or Working Group Paper tracks, complete the submission information, and choose the appropriate working group from the drop-down menu at the bottom of the page. Working Groups page of the CSA website for the most updated calls: https://www.culturalstudiesassociation.org/working-groups.html
- MAKE(R) SPACE: The Make(r) Space is a space for the collaborative and praxis driven portions of Cultural Studies – making space for art, making space for political activism, making space for new modes of knowledge exchange. It is our goal that this space will be created for those that have been historically and systemically left out of these conversations: artists, activists, poets, and other cultural critics and makers. We want to create a space that helps the CSA fulfill some of the implicit praxis portion of its goals to “create and promote an effective community of cultural studies practitioners and scholars.” Building on the poets, dancers, painters, and activists already interested in the space, we welcome proposals for exhibits, performances, workshops, skill shares, story telling, and other ways of meaning-making and art-making in the world that consider the theme of “Interventions.” We especially encourage Make(r) Space submissions from individuals working beyond the boundaries of the university: artists, activists, independent scholars, professionals, community organizers, contingent faculty, and community college educators. Please email Make(r)Space submissions by March 12, 2023 to: admin@culturalstudiesassociation.org
LATERAL WORKSHOP: Lateral, the journal of the Cultural Studies Association, invites submissions of emerging work for constructive feedback with the Lateral editors and cultural studies scholars at the Cultural Studies Association 2023 Conference. If you are interested in being considered for the workshop merely check “yes” when prompted to do so in Easychair and, if accepted to the conference, you will also automatically be considered for the workshop. We especially invite participation from junior scholars, graduate students, and those working beyond the bounds of the university, as well as those who intend to eventually submit their work to Lateral (workshop papers that are later submitted to the journal will undergo regular editorial and peer review). Those interested in participating will be notified of their acceptance into the workshop by mid-January, and complete drafts of articles (approximately 4,000–9,000 words in length) will be due mid-May and circulated to workshop participants at least two weeks before the conference. Strong submissions will situate their considerations of cultural practices, critical theories, and/or pedagogies within established and emerging conversations in cultural studies. Prospective workshop participants should submit abstracts (no more than 500 words) or draft articles (approximately 4,000–9,000 words in length) through the submission system by the deadline for submissions. The journal can be accessed at csalateral.org
To facilitate this hybrid participation, please make note of the information and guidelines for in-person and virtual attendees below:
IN-PERSON ATTENDEE INFORMATION
We encourage all conference attendees to be fully vaccinated and boosted per CDC guidance before the conference. At the current time, there is not a vaccine mandate at George Mason University. We will update this guidance as we get closer to the event.
We will also be providing masks and encouraging masking throughout all conference spaces. At the current time, there is not a masking mandate at George Mason University. We will update this guidance as we get closer to the event.
In-person conference participants should display their Conference Badges when entering George Mason University buildings, making a special effort to show them at the security desk.
HYBRID FORMAT INFORMATION
- All participants can find one another during and after the conference on the CSA Discord channel: https://discord.gg/qFcemTG. Accordingly, it is recommended that in-person presenters bring a laptop or other device capable of connecting to Zoom.
- Conference rooms will be equipped with a computer and A/V projection capabilities along with a webcam and microphones to capture in-room audio. Virtual participants should be able to see and hear presenters, any presentations being shared, and a general view of the room and participants. It is recommended that in-person presenters sit at the table in the rear of the room facing the screen.
- For any onsite technical assistance, NEED UPDATED DETAILS FOR GMU. Go to the #helpdesk-text-channel for virtual tech concerns.
- In-person attendees connecting to the session should click the x at the top of the window that asks whether to connect to audio when joining panels via Zoom that permit attendees to do so. Do not connect to audio. This will minimize disruptions caused by feedback in the room. On site conference rooms will have speakers casting audio and microphone arrays to capture audio. Please consider joining via video for reasons associated with accessibility.
- Ideally, all speakers, virtual and in-person, will use their own device to share any slides or media to the Zoom session, which will be cast on the in-room screen. While there will be a computer, projector, webcam, and microphone arrays in each room, the sharing process will be streamlined if you can use your own device, connected to Zoom, to share any media. The session will be projected in the room so the screen and desktop audio sharing should make the slides visible and audible to in-person participants on a large screen as well as on our individual devices. If you have audio or video clip to share, please only share it as a tab or object in Zoom - do not attempt to send audio from your speakers. Please contact the session host if you need assistance with this or provide a link to your clip for the session host to share.
- All sessions will be streamed via Zoom, but will not be recorded. We will endeavor to set aside camera-free zones for in-person participants who do not wish to be captured via video. This may be limited by the room layouts.
