The schedule for the new quarter is now live! You can view it here.
We will also be opening up a call for abstracts for our annual AMS/SMT abstract workshop on January 4, 2017. The abstract deadlines for the AMS and SMT are fast approaching (Tuesday, January 17 for both societies), so our meeting can be a great opportunity to get diverse feedback from both professors and students before they’re due. Because it is imperative that everyone has time to read and critique all submitted abstracts, the deadline for submission will be on January 1, 2017 by midnight.
Below are the guidelines for the abstracts (as printed on the AMS and SMT websites). Note that I’ve also included the respective program committees for each society. As the UChicago LRS constantly reminds its students, the most successful writing leverages the expectations and desires of their intended audience; “you will always need to judge your readers and judge what response you want.”
AMS
Individual proposals. Proposals should represent the presentation as fully as possible. A successful proposal typically articulates the main aspects of the argument or research findings clearly, positions the author’s contribution with respect to previous scholarship, and suggests the paper’s significance for the musicological community, in language that is accessible to scholars with a variety of specializations. Maximum length: 350 words.
Proposals for poster presentations should follow the guidelines for submission of individual proposals, and include an explanation of the content and goals of the graphic presentation. Technical guidelines for posters will be distributed with acceptance information. Proposals will be evaluated anonymously and should contain no direct or indirect signal of authorship.
Formal Sessions. An organizer representing several individuals may propose a Formal Session, either a full session of four papers, or a half session of two papers. For this proposal, organizers should prepare a rationale explaining the importance of the topic and the proposed constituent papers, including names of a respondent (if applicable) and a suggested chairperson. The organizer should also include a proposal for each paper that conforms to the guidelines for individual proposals above. Formal Session proposals will be considered only as a whole: the proposed session’s consistency and coherence is an important part of the evaluation process. Maximum length: 350 words for the rationale, and 350 words for each constituent proposal.
Program Committee procedures: The Program Committee will evaluate and discuss Individual, Formal Session, and Poster proposals anonymously (i.e., with no knowledge of authorship). All proposals are evaluated on a scale from zero to five by the entire committee. The scores are collated, averaged, and ranked accordingly, after which the committee meets to discuss final selections. During this meeting, the committee selects the most promising proposals and forms sessions for presentation. When all but five presentation openings have been filled, the committee reveals authors of proposals and completes its work. Knowledge of authorship facilitates the work of the committee in forming topically balanced sessions and improving the balance between senior and junior scholars on the program.
Authors for all submissions that are chosen will be invited to revise their proposals for the Program and Abstracts, distributed at the meeting; the version read by the Program Committee may remain confidential.
Application restrictions. No one may appear on the Rochester program more than twice. An individual may deliver a paper or be a member of a Seminar Session, and appear one other time on the program, whether participating in an evening panel discussion or alternative-format session, functioning as a chair-organizer of a formal session, or serving as a respondent, but may not deliver a lecture recital or concert. Participation in extra-programmatic offerings such as study group meetings or standing committee presentations (e.g., the Committee on Career-Related Issues) does not count as an appearance for this purpose. Only one submission per author will be accepted. Authors who presented papers or organizers of evening panel discussions or alternative-format sessions at the 2016 AMS meeting may not submit proposals for the 2017 meeting.
There is no membership requirement to submit a proposal for consideration, but those selected to present research at the meeting must be current members of the Society.
Submission procedure. Proposals must be received by 5 p.m. EST, 17 January 2017. Proposals are to be submitted electronically. Please note that proposal submission ceases precisely at the deadline. In order to avoid technical problems with submission of a proposal, it is strongly suggested that proposals be submitted at least twenty-four hours before the deadline. Due to the volume of proposals received, proposals received after the deadline cannot be considered. A FAQ on the proposal submission process is available, and those planning to submit proposals are encouraged to review the information posted there. Those unable to submit a proposal electronically should contact the AMS office by 10 January 2017 regarding accommodation procedures.
Receipts will be sent to all who submit proposals by the beginning of February 2017.
Program Committee:
Thomas S. Christensen
Jonathan Glixon, Chair
Carol A. Hess
Elizabeth L. Keathley
James P. Parakilas
Annie J. Randall
Anna Zayaruznaya
SMT
All proposals will be evaluated anonymously and should exclude the author’s name and any other direct or indirect signal of authorship. References to the author’s own work must occur in the third person. “Author” tags must be removed from electronic files. (In Adobe Acrobat, go to the “File” menu, select “Properties” and delete the name from the Author box.)
Proposals will not be considered if they exceed word limits or if an individual violates the rules on multiple submissions described below.
Single-Author and Joint-Author Papers
A submission for a single-author or joint-author paper must include the title and description for a presentation of thirty minutes’ duration. The description (including notes) should be no more than 500 words. Each mathematical equation may be counted as one word.
The Program Committee strongly encourages members to append supplementary materials (such as musical examples, diagrams, and selected bibliography) as necessary to substantiate an argument or demonstrate results. The supplementary materials will not be counted within the 500- word limit, but should not exceed four pages. Any supplementary text (e.g., example captions) should not appreciably add to the content of the proposal.
The proposal and supplementary materials should preserve the anonymity of the author(s) as described above.
SMT Program Committee
Alan Gosman, University of Arkansas (Chair); Clifton Callender, Florida State University; Maureen Carr, Penn State University ; Roman Ivanovitch, Indiana University; Panayotis Mavromatis, New York University; René Rusch, University of Michigan; Benjamin Steege, Columbia University