The Program Committee encourages proposals for interactive and innovative session formats.

Examples of session formats that have worked in the past are listed below. This list is intended to be suggestive rather than comprehensive; the committee welcomes creative ideas.

  • Lightning rounds in which participants deliver two- to five-minute presentations on a project, an idea, a tool or application, or a problem they are trying to resolve. The rest of the session is devoted to a discussion of the ideas presented in the talks.
  • Paired teaching and research sessions. A panel on the state of the field in a particular topic, followed by a roundtable discussion of the teaching implications of that research. (Paired sessions should be submitted as multi-session workshops.)
  • Guided discussions. Facilitators invite attendees interested in a particular issue to join them for small group conversation.
  • New research sessions—roundtables with five or six participants, each speaking for no more than 10 minutes. Speakers would be graduate students or early-career professionals recruited by a senior scholar who would chair and comment on the session. This format allows emerging scholars to present their work without relying on highly specialized formal research sessions. “New Research” sessions should also be of interest to members hoping to learn about recent trends in a particular field. Topics should be broad, analogous to a review essay in a journal.
  • Seminar sessions: Seminar sessions are submitted to the Program Committee by two or three facilitators, who propose to organize a three-day, intensive discussion on a particular topic. Once seminars are accepted by the Program Committee, they will be listed on the AHA website. 15 to 20 participants will be selected to participate in the seminar for a focused, intensive discussion with their peers over the course of the annual meeting. Seminar participants will pre-circulate documents that will form the basis of the discussion.
  • Variations on the pre-circulated paper format. Presenters post discussion documents online in advance; audience members are encouraged to read them in advance so that the bulk of time at the session is devoted to discussion.
  • PechaKucha. This format relies on sharing work through short visual presentations. Speakers show 20 slides timed to display for 20 seconds each, speaking for a total of six minutes, 40 seconds.
  • 8–10 minute visual presentations. The short, highly visual presentation are modeled on the TED conference, where presenters give brief illustrated talks designed to be as engaging as possible. A session might comprise four presentations and then 30 minutes for questions.
  • Digital sessions. Are there new ideas that draw on the capacities of digital communication? For example sessions that begin in a video conversation that begins before the conference and continues beyond?

 

Submitting Proposals for Creative Formats

Select “experimental” or “practicum” as the format when beginning a proposal. The submission form for experimental and practicum sessions includes options for roles such as facilitator, moderator, workshop leader, and discussion leader. Proposal abstracts should clearly explain the format and goals of the session and how the participants will work together to achieve those goals. Contact annualmeeting@historians.org if you have questions about the best way to describe the format you have in mind.

 

Seminar Sessions

Seminar sessions are submitted to the Program Committee by two or three facilitators, who develop a broad topic for a three-day, intensive discussion during the meeting. Seminars meet three times during the conference, allowing participants to sustain a conversation and build relationships. Once seminars are accepted by the Program Committee, 15 to 20 participants will be selected to participate in each seminar. Participants do not give papers but pre-circulate discussion documents according to guidelines circulated by the organizers.

Proposing a Seminar

Individuals proposing a seminar should choose the “experimental session” option in the proposal system. Abstracts should specify in that the proposal is for a seminar. Abstracts should also describe the topic, goals, and format of the seminar and describe the documents to be circulated. Facilitators should be identified as “discussion leaders” in the proposal system.

Participating in a Seminar

Seminars approved by the Program Committee will be posted on the AHA website. Attendees can apply participate through the registration form by December 1. Seminar facilitators will be in touch to confirm participation by mid-December. Facilitators may also contact persons in the field who might like to participate in the seminar. Graduate students are encouraged to apply.

Participants must commit to attending all three sections of the seminar. In accordance with the annual meeting guidelines, seminar participants may appear in one other role on the program, as long as it does not conflict with the seminar schedule.

The facilitators select a group of 15 to 20 participants for each seminar, keeping in mind the diversity policy in the guidelines.

Seminar facilitators may allow additional auditors to attend, but auditors must contact the facilitators in advance.