The Twenty-Eighth Annual Conference in Washington, D.C.
October 6-10, 2004

Guidelines for Submitting Proposals

1. Deadline . The deadline for submission of proposals is February 15, 2004! In addition, scholars are advised that no requests for audiovisual materials may be submitted after February 15. Everything is due on February 15!

2. Proposal Form . The web site and the Winter GSA Newsletter contains a proposal form which may be used for individual paper proposals or session proposals. It may be duplicated.

3. Multiple Proposals . Individuals may not present more than one paper, or appear normally on more than two separate panels. Each panelist may have one function only on any given panel. Those presenting a paper on one panel may serve as moderator, commentator, or roundtable speaker on one other panel. Multiple proposals may only be submitted when each Session Coordinator who receives a proposal is informed and receives a copy of the other proposal.

4. Interdisciplinary Proposals . Should be submitted to one of the session coordinators for that time period.

5. Submission Guidelines. When submitting an entire session, it is necessary to get the permission of the other presenters, and to include all relevant information about them, including address and e-mail address. Titles of all presentations must be given in the language (English or German) in which they will be presented if accepted.

a. All proposals must be submitted to the appropriate Session Coordinator, not to the Program Director.
b. Each proposal must be submitted to one Session Coordinator only, not to two or more simultaneously. The program committee will move proposals to other Session Coordinators if necessary.
c. Proposals may be submitted to the appropriate Session Coordinator electronically, by snail mail, or by Fax.
d. Complete Panel Proposals should be assembled and submitted by one organizer, and must include the following materials:
- cover sheet listing panel (panel title, all panelists with affiliations, and titles of papers) as it would appear in the conference program.
- sheet with abstract of the panel
- sheets with title and abstract of each paper
- sheet listing all panelists with addresses, telephone numbers, fax numbers and e-mail addresses
- brief (1-2 pages) vitas of all panelists
e. Individual paper Proposals must include the following materials:
- title and abstract of paper
- brief (1-2 pages) vita

6. Graduate Students. Each session may have no more than one graduate student. Graduate students may not be commentators or moderators. German or other non-North American graduate students, defined as those persons without the terminal degree, the doctorate, may not be included in a session.

7. Modification of proposals by the Association. The Conference is the Conference of the Association. Accordingly, GSA reserves the right to add a paper or papers to a proposed session and/or to delete a paper or papers from a proposed session, or to replace a moderator or commentator. Proposers may be assured that GSA does this only in the interests of the Association.

8. Affiliated Organizations . GSA has recognized certain affiliated organizations or societies, which are granted one session each at the Conference. These are also subject to modification. Certain societies may place a second session, provided that this second session is vetted through the normal process. Therefor, such organizations must prioritize their proposed sessions. Accepted sessions are listed as "Sponsored by" in the program.

9. Round Table Sessions . GSA discourages round table discussions without papers. If you plan to submit a proposal for one, it must be thoroughly justified.Submission of round tables should include as far as possible the materials required for complete panel proposals, as outlined above. No more than a maximum of six persons can be on a round table. There are no commentators on round tables.

10. Send Papers to Commentators or There May be a Problem . If the commentator does not receive the paper from a presenter before three weeks in advance of the conference, the Commentator will not have sufficient time to review the presentation. This is a constant problem with all organizations. If you do not send in your paper before three weeks in advance, GSA reserves the right to deny you an opportunity to present at the next Conference.

11. Audiovisual Equipment. It is necessary to indicate on the proposal form what audiovisual equipment proposers may want to use in the session. Funds are very limited, and the time allocated for presentations is not ordinarily long enough for length audiovisual enhancement. Requests for such equipment must be justified. Those who would normally use slide and overhead projectors are urged to bring hand-outs should projectors not be available. Tape recorders will not be provided. Multiple version VCRs (PAL, Secam, and NTSC) will not be provided. Slide projectors are as small as laptops these days, and can be brought by presenters. Their high rental cost makes their local availability problematic. There is now a charge of $35 per session (not per presentation) for AV equipment. This charge is due as soon as the session with the presentation has been accepted, and is not refundable. The Proposal Form MUST include the a credit card for the charge, so it must include a signature of the person on the credit card, the type of card - Visa or Mastercard - the card number, and the expiration date. If the card information is not included with the proposal form, the AV request will not be processed. Including the credit card information does NOT guarantee that AV equipment can be provided, since our budget is limited and there are more requests than can be authorized, and equipment costs are generally five to ten times the $35 to be charged. Only those whose requests are approved will have their cards charged. If your request is not approved you may negotiate personally with the hotel for equipment. Approvals will be sent by the Program Committee. If you have not received an approval, your request has not been approved and you must not assume that the request has been approved if you have not specifically received an approval. No audiovisual requests will be considered if received after February 15, 2004.

Additional GSA Conference Policies

1. Affiliation. As indicated above, it is necessary to list the names, addresses, e-mail addresses, and affiliations of all participants in each session. This is important so that each participant can be contacted by the Association and can receive a printed copy of the Conference Program. Students must indicate that they have student status. Student participants are eligible for registration at a reduced rate. The Association does not have separate student sessions, but integrates accepted student participants into regular sessions.

No more than two presenters in any session may be affiliated with the same institution, university, or institute.

2. Withdrawal from the Conference. Persons who apply to present at the GSA Conference are expected to present at the Conference if their proposals are accepted. Withdrawal is accepted through April 1 without penalty. Withdrawal after April 1 must be justified in a letter to the Executive Director of the Association. In accordance with a decision of the Executive Committee of the Association, persons whose withdrawal is not accepted by the Executive Director may be barred from presentation for three years.

Should an individual withdraw from the Conference after paying registration and/or meal fees, refunds will be made as follows: withdrawal prior to ten days before the beginning of the Conference will allow a refund of the fees paid minus $25 service fee; withdrawal within ten days of the beginning of the Conference will not permit a refund of any registration or meal fees paid. Meal tickets cannot be transferred by the Association. Should a member pick up her/his meal ticket at the Conference and give it to someone else, that is acceptable. The Association will not reassign tickets.

3. Hotel Reservation by the Association. The Association undertakes to attempt to make hotel reservations for Conference participants. Only Conference participants may take advantage of this service. Therefore, Conference Registration is a pre-requisite for hotel reservation by the Association. The only way to obtain hotel rooms at the reduced Conference rate is through the Association. This prevents non-Conference participants from using our reserved hotel block, When our block has been sold, or when the deadline for making reservations has passed, the Association will make a reasonable effort to secure more rooms, but cannot guarantee this. The Association does not confirm hotel rooms. This is the responsibility of the Hotel.

Should a Conference Participant wish to cancel or change the dates of the hotel reservation, this is the responsibility of the Participant and not of the Association, and it must be done directly with the Hotel. The Association takes no responsibility for changes or cancellations of room reservations.

The Program Committee and Conference Session Selection

The Annual GSA Conference has become as large as it presently can be maintained in our conference hotels. We are unable to obtain additional meeting rooms. Why? One reason is the low overnight hotel room booking of conference participants. We have about 700 participants in the conference each year, but sell less then 500 sleeping rooms. People share rooms, find a less expensive hotel, or stay with friends.

Given the tight allotment of meeting rooms, we have had to make some adjustments. Cancellations, which allow a meeting room to go unused, when some other session could have been accepted, prevent others from participating. They must be discouraged.

The Decision Process : The GSA Conference has no unified theme, requiring all proposals to address a particular topic, nor can the Association permit a disproportionate number of sessions to address a single theme, to the exclusion of others. The selection process involves not only an examination of the quality of proposals, but also a determination of balance among many factors. These include discipline, theme, and even century. For example, we cannot completely exclude sessions that focus on the period prior to 1900 or 1800 or some such date. This does not mean that lesser quality sessions will be accepted, because we have more good quality proposals than we accept. Rather, it means that we try to secure a balance. It does mean that not all good quality proposals will be accepted, but it does mean that only good quality proposals will be accepted. The competition for acceptance is very stiff, because the number off meeting rooms is very limited. Each year, many proposals cannot be accepted. The Executive Committee has determined that priority will be given to good quality proposals from individuals who have not presented as often over those who have presented more often in prior years.

Rejection: The program Committee makes its determination accordance with Association Policy and has the advice of the Executive Council through the president and the Executive Director on this matter. Accordingly, there is no appeal from a decision. The Committee works very hard in a very short time. Proposers should make their proposals as clear and as strong as possible, so that the Committee will have the proper information from which to make a decision.

European Participation : Because of the necessity of obtaining funds for transatlantic travel, European participation is dependent upon outside factors. The Association knows that the transatlantic nature of our Conference is a unique feature, and the GSA is a transatlantic dialogue. That German is a co-equal language at the Conference aids in this. GSA is the least expensive form of transatlantic conference in German Studies reaching the largest number of excellent scholars that is held anywhere! We try to maximize the number of foreign scholars, but are very dependent upon outside funding. Cancellations occur here,too, and we are also unable to accept every excellent transatlantic session. Our funding sources should understand that those transatlantic participants who ARE accepted are very special, and are genuinely deserving of funding. We understand the shortage of funds everywhere. We do our best.

DFG Funding. The DFG may require an application to the DFG dated January 1, 2003. Participants are warned that the DFG occasionally enforces this rule. In other words, the DFG may require an application six weeks prior to the GSA deadline for submitting proposals. GSA is attempting to clarify this ruling.

Funding: The German Studies Association has limited funds available from donations and contributions, and can use these funds to aid a very small number of non- North American scholars in participation in the Conference. Scholars who seek GSA travel support ordinarily must have applied elsewhere as well, because our funds are so limited. Scholars wishing to avail themselves of GSA funds for travel must apply to the Executive Director of the Association for such support. This can be done by e-mail to thegsa@yahoo.com and should be done as soon as possible and with full information. Those persons who are granted funding and who subsequently cancel their participation are liable for all costs of ticket, hotel, registration, meal tickets, and may also be subject to a service charge of US$100 for such cancellation.