Why Participate in Conferences?
--getting feedback on your work
--turning it into a publication
--learning about terrific ideas and the “culture” of your field(s)
--networking, building visibility in your field(s)
--telling others about Tech (recruiting other grad
students)
Good Sources of Information about Conferences/Calls
for Papers
--colleagues:grad students, professors (don’t wait for someone to come and talk to you)
--journals
--H-Net Humanities & Social Sciences Online http://www2.h-net.msu.edu/
--H-Net Humanities & Social Sciences Online “Announcements” Site
http://www2.h-net.msu.edu/announce/
--listservs
CRTNET (National Communication Association)
H-Amstdy (American Studies)
H-Rhetor (Rhetoric)
Culstud-L (Cultural Studies)
H-Film (Film Studies)
H-Urban (Urban History)
wmst-l(Women’s Studies)
Spoon Collectivespoons@lists.village.virginia.edu
So You’re Thinking About Going to a Certain Conference:Questions
to Ponder
--does this fit my schedule?(both the application deadline and the actual conference)
--am I really interested enough in this topic to write a conference paper on it?
--can I fit this conference paper into a larger research agenda?
--how much will this cost?
--COST
--registration (for example, $145 fee for membership + conf fees at NCA)
--lodging (conf hotels often $100 + per night; consider sharing a room or staying offsite...don’t stay too far away from the conference!)
--shuttle/taxi/mass transit
--GSC Travel Grants (there are set deadlines; max 1 per year $300)
--Some Departmental money is available for reimbursement w/ receipts
--consider conferences within some kind of manageable driving distance
--overheads/handouts
Some Examples of Conferences Attended by MTU HU
Folks
Computers and Writing There is also an online conference that parallels the onsite
conf.People who can't make the face-to-face conference or prefer the online venue can
apply there as well.(May meeting)
CCCCConference on College Composition and Communication (March meeting)
For related meetings, see:http://www.ncte.org/nctetoyou/meet.shtml#other
Central States Communication Assoc. (April meeting)
Feminsm(s) and Rhetoric(s)(every two years in the fall)
MLA Modern Language Association(meeting around Dec. 27-29)
NCANational Communication Association(Feb. deadline; Nov. meeting)
OSCLG Organization for the Study of Communication, Language, and Gender
The Penn State Conference on Rhetoric and Composition (July meeting)
RSA Rhetoric Society of America
SPEPSociety for Phenomenology and Existential Philosophy(Oct. meeting)
WPA
The Thomas R. Watson Conference on Rhetoric and Composition, U of Louisville, KY
www.louisville.edu/~watson (Feb. 1 deadline; meeting every two years in the fall, “just
after peak color season” according to Dickie)
Other Tips and Thoughts
--when you write a course/seminar paper, ask prof if this may be good for a conference presentation; if so, which one(s)?
--different conferences require different things for application:abstract, complete paper
--some accept only paper proposals, others accept panel proposals
--some RTC students attend conferences/ participate in panels with profs
--Be Organized!Look Ahead! Take the Initiative!
--solicit peer feedback as you write proposal/paper
--The Ideal World:have at least a good draft of the paper/article done before you submit the conference abstract
--before going to the conference, set up a trial run in front of colleagues
--during the conference presentation, be truly original by respecting the time limit!your audience will love you!20 minutes = about 10-11 double spaced pages
Many thanks to Dennis Lynch, Michael Martin, Daniel Makagon and Dickie Selfe for contributing information for this page.