Society for the History of Technology (SHOT)
Annual Meeting – New Orleans (Louisiana)
7-11 October 2020

The deadline for submissions is 29 February 2020.

Proposals for Unconventional Sessions

Unconventional Sessions have formats that diverge in useful ways from the typical 3 or 4 papers with comment. These might include round-table sessions, workshop-style sessions with pre-circulated papers, and poster sessions (poster proposals should include a description of the content and the visual material they will use in the poster. Individuals whose posters are accepted must be available to talk about them in a lunch/evening slot to be decided by the program committee). The Program Committee encourages other creative formats that could facilitate communication, dialogue and audience involvement. A variety of new presentation formats are appearing in the academic arena.

This year we want to explore a new type of session at SHOT: “you write, I present.” For this type of session, authors will submit a paper to the discussant in advance as usual, but it will be the paired discussant who presents for the author and comments on the paper, with authors on-site to respond to comments, take questions from the audience, and join overall discussions. This “flipped” presentation format is intended to facilitate clear paper writing and deep engagement between writer and reader. In this type of panel, one paper is usually paired with one presenter/discussant, or alternatively, the paper-givers can present and comment on one another’s papers in the same panel. Deadline: March 31, 2019.

Proposals for Unconventional Sessions must include:

1. A one-page description of the session’s theme (maximum 500 words). Please note that for joint SHOT/HSS session proposals (see below) the abstract maximum is 250 words.
2. A list of the presenters’ names, current e-mail address and their contributions (maximum 300 words)
3. For each presenter: a one-page abstract (maximum 500 words) and a one-page short CV with current contact information (maximum 300 words each) (If any presenter would like to be considered for the Robinson Prize, please be sure to indicate this on their abstract page AND send the SHOT secretary a separate email indicating this, at [email protected] For Robinson Prize eligibility rules, click here.)
4. A one-page CV for the session organizer with current contact information (maximum 300 words each)
5. A one-page CV for the commentator (if any), and chair, with current contact information (maximum 300 words each)

The session organizer should combine these five elements into one pdf file with numbered pages. Please name this file with your last name and the word “proposal,” e.g., “smith_proposal.pdf “.

Proposals sponsored by one of SHOT’s special interest groups (SIGs) must note the affiliation in the session abstract.

Joint SHOT/HSS sessions: since this meeting will be held in conjunction with HSS, it is possible to submit a proposal that speaks to both SHOT and HSS communities, and which would appear on both programs. When submitting a joint proposal, indicate this fact in the abstract and make sure to submit an identical proposal through the HSS website. Please note that for joint SHOT/HSS sessions the abstract maximum is 250 words. The program committees of both societies will evaluate these joint proposals.

Guidelines and advice for preparing an abstract for SHOT can be found here.

To submit an Unconventional Session Proposal, click here.