Annual Meeting of the Law and Society Association
Chicago, Illinois USA
May 27 - 30, 2010


Program Committee

Instructions for Submission of Paper and Session Proposals

Submit a Proposal for a Paper, Session, or to Volunteer as chair or discussant

Proposal Keyword List

Participation Limits

Volunteering as Chair and/or Discussant

Collaborative Research Networks

Attendance Planning

Exhibitor Information

Workshops Applications:

Graduate Student Workshop

Early Career Workshop

 

 

 

 

 

 

Call for Participation
Due Date: December 8, 2009
(New Proposals Now Accepted only on Space-Available Basis)

The 2010 Annual Meeting of Law and Society Association Thursday, May 27 through Sunday, May 30, at the Renaissance Chicago Hotel.

Theme: AFTER CRITIQUE: What is Left of the Law and Society Paradigm?

Born out of disillusionment with the failures of liberal legalism to deliver social justice or equality, law and society scholarship at the time aimed to expose those failures and challenge liberal legalism’s legitimating premises. Twenty years after the founding of LSA, during the decade of the 1980s, the critical impulse of law and society scholarship was itself put under the microscope by some who turned critique inward, calling out law and society scholars for embracing empty empiricism or for their complicity with legal and political elites. In this period, meta-debates raged over theoretical, methodological, and political questions.

More recently events in the academy and the world seem to have squelched our appetite for critique either of the legal order itself or of the premises and purposes of our own scholarship. In an era when the rule of law has come under sustained attack, can we go beyond celebrating it and allying ourselves with its projects? At a time when there are no dominant theoretical or methodological perspectives in the academy should we turn away from epistemological questions and just get on with our work?

The theme of the 2010 LSA Meeting–After Critique–invites us to consider the law and society enterprise today and to think about its future direction. We want to reflect on the various ways that law and society scholarship has been and should be engaged with the threat of terrorism and governmental responses to it, national and global attacks on the rule of law, questions of sovereignty and sovereign prerogative, the contemporary situation of identity politics, and the collapse of the global economy and the crisis of neo-liberalism.

We also want to think about whether there is anything meaningful and coherent in the phrase "law and society scholarship" as well as how we should position ourselves in relationship to other interdisciplinary enterprises, e.g. critical race theory, empirical legal studies, law, culture, and the humanities, etc. Is it time to revive our critical heritage as well as our traditions of theoretical and methodological self-scrutiny? What would this entail?

LSA invites you to take stock of the critical impulse in law and society scholarship as well as where and how that impulse informs our scholarship.

Proposals for individual papers or fully formed panels will be considered.  As with every Annual Meeting, panels need not be centered on the conference theme.  Submissions on any law and society topic are welcome.

SUBMISSION OF PAPER PROPOSALS: There are three ways to submit paper proposals for the conference.

Assigned Paper

 The first option is to collaborate with others before you submit your paper proposal to create a proposed session in which your paper is part. If you are successful in organizing a session then follow the submission instructions below for Session Proposals. If you are successful in becoming part of a panel organized by someone else, follow the instructions below for Individual “Assigned” Paper Proposals. 

Unassigned Paper

The second option is to submit a proposal without having determined your fellow panelists.  You will be assigned to a panel after you submit your proposal—for this option, see the instructions on Individual “Unassigned” Paper Proposals. Keyword selection is important for all submissions but particularly so for unassigned paper proposals.

The third option is to submit a Work-in-Progress paper proposal.

The Importance of Keyword Selection:

For each submission, you will be asked to select two keywords.  Please note that your submission will be sent to a committee member based on the first keyword that you select.  The second keyword is used to suggest alternative placements if the fit with other papers appears better.

For example, if you are submitting a paper proposal on Islamic law and punishment in the “War on Terror,” you will have several relevant keywords to choose from.  If you want to be part of a panel with other scholars studying Islamic law, choose the keyword “religion.”  If instead you want to share your research with people studying punishment, choose the keyword “punishment.”  If you would prefer to talk with people doing research on terrorism, choose the keyword “security and terror.”  A clear abstract and careful selection of keywords will help the Program Committee to create more effective panels. 

Option One  Individual “Assigned” Paper Proposals:

If you are to be a presenter in a paper session organized by another, you still must submit your own paper.  The session organizer will supply the necessary session tracking number for completing the submission process.  Choose “assigned” on the paper submission form and enter the session tracking number, which will attach your paper to the session. The session organizer cannot enter your paper for you.

For the “assigned” paper submission form, you will need:

  • the session tracking number
  • a paper title
  • an abstract of 400-500 words
  • keyword selection(s) (in order of relevance)
  • co-author(s)’ contact information (if you have co-authors)
  • AV requirement, if any

For the detailed steps in submitting an "assigned" paper proposal, click here.
Option Two  Individual “Unassigned” Paper Proposals:

If you are unable to find other panelists, and decide to submit an individual “unassigned” proposal, your abstract will be sent to the Program Committee.  They will attempt to match your proposal with other topically-related individual submissions.

Keyword selection is particularly important for optimal placement of your paper (see above).

For the “unassigned” paper submission form, you will need:

  • a paper title
  • an abstract of 400-500 words
  • keyword selection(s) (in order of relevance)
  • co-author(s)’ contact information (if you have co-authors)
  • AV requirement, if any

 

 

For the detailed steps in submitting an "unassigned" paper proposal, click here.
For All Paper Presenters:  Once a paper is assigned to a session either by the Program Committee or Session Organizer the author is expected to:

  • have a written copy of the paper or detailed description of the presentation one month prior to the meeting

  • circulate the paper or relevant text among the other session participants as directed by the session Chair

  • prepare a public presentation of the paper (simply reading from the paper is not acceptable) or parallel text that conforms to the time constraints and the particular format or approach arranged by the session Chair

  • make a large print version of any material to be distributed in the session for attendees who may be visually impaired

  • in the event a paper author cannot attend, it is expected that they will contact the session chair and the LSA Executive Office to formally withdraw well in advance of the meeting and in time to be replaced.  A paper must be presented by its author(s); it may not be presented by another panelist.

  

Option Three   Work-in-Progress (WIP) Paper Proposals:

In addition to the standard panel and plenary sessions, this year’s conference will also include Works in Progress (WIP) sessions, which will be created by the Program Committee. These sessions are designed to allow authors to present and receive feedback on projects that are still in the process of taking shape. The primary purpose of the WIP sessions is to provide authors with the opportunity to share work with and receive extensive feedback from one or two discussants. These sessions will provide a more informal setting where authors bear no presentation responsibilities, the focus of the sessions goes entirely to the project itself, and no general audience is expected.

The format for WIP sessions, therefore, differs slightly from the conference’s other sessions, which typically begin with authors making formal presentations about their work and conclude with an open conversation led by the session’s discussant. Each session will last 90 minutes and will have two authors with one or two discussants. Half of the session will be devoted to the work of one author, and half will be devoted to the work of the other. Given that the focus of the WIP session is on the author’s work itself—rather than the public presentation of the work—WIP sessions will begin with the discussant(s) providing one author with specific comments. The expectation is for discussants to provide pointed feedback, offer suggestions for improvement, answer any questions the author might have, and to otherwise help engage authors about their work. A written feedback memo, while not strictly required of discussants, can only facilitate this process. For their part, authors are expected to share their papers with discussants well in advance of the conference so that discussants have ample time to prepare and provide thoughtful feedback.

This year’s WIP sessions will be limited to approximately 15 authors. Those projects that are not selected for participation in the WIP sessions, will be channeled into the general pool of works submitted for panel presentations.  Although senior scholars are welcome to submit WIPs, preference will be given to junior scholars. Senior scholars are, however, strongly encouraged to volunteer to serve as WIP discussants.

Submission of a WIP paper should be made through the submission site. Select Work in Progress Paper from the listing of submissions.

To be considered ready for Program Committee review, a WIP paper proposal must include:

For the detailed steps in submitting a "WIP" proposal, click here.

SUBMISSION OF SESSION PROPOSALS (for ORGANIZERS):

We encourage the submission of proposals for fully formed sessions. 

The Program Committee recognizes the importance of engaging the audience in a compelling manner, and we envision a conference that is dynamic, innovative, and interactive.  Session Proposals tend to follow three formats:

1) traditional scholarly paper panels organized around a common theme
2) discussion-centered roundtables
3) book sessions, in which discussion is focused on 1 or more recent (published in the last 18 months) scholarly books.

Those types of sessions are welcome, but we also encourage proposals that are not constrained by the usual categories. Participants might organize debates, visual and musical performances, workshops, films, and other innovative formats. (Sessions with alternate formats and no papers should use the Roundtable Session Submissions Form; see information below). We encourage scholars proposing creative formats to consult with program committee members and the LSA Executive Office (rose@lawandsociety.org) in advance.

In order to stimulate intellectual exchange, we also urge that panels be diverse in their composition by including, for example, participants from different countries, disciplines, and intellectual traditions as well as of different ages, career stages, gender, and race/ethnicity.

The Program Committee reserves the right to make changes in any panel in the interests of the general program.

There are three types of session proposals Paper Presentations, Roundtable Discussions, and Book Sessions

Paper Presentation Sessions

Proposals with Paper Presentations must include:

  • a session title
  • a 100-250 word description of the session
  • keyword selection(s)
  • a Chair
  • a Discussant (who may also serve as chair)
  • a minimum of four individual papers that are "assigned" by the Session Organizer, and
  • include CRN sponsorship (in session title) when relevant
For the detailed steps in submitting a Paper Session proposal, click here.

It is suggested that Paper Session Proposals be submitted early in order to allow time for the paper authors to submit their proposals before the deadline.

IMPORTANT: Papers in a session proposal must be submitted by the authors and cannot be submitted by the organizer.  Once the organizer submits a panel, the panel will be assigned a session tracking number.  The session organizer must provide the panelists with this session tracking number for them to register their papers properly.

Session Keywords are used to identify subject matter in program searches and to minimize overlapping scheduling as much as possible. Select the first keyword with care.


Roundtable Discussion Sessions

Proposals for Roundtables must include:

 

For the detailed steps in submitting a Roundtable Session proposal, click here.

 

Book Sessions

Proposals for Book Sessions must include:

  • a session title comprised of the title(s) of the book(s) and author(s)' name(s)
  • a 100-250 word description of the session
  • keyword selection(s)  
  • a Chair
  • the book Author(s)
  • at least four Readers
  • include CRN sponsorship (in session title) when relevant

For the detailed steps in submitting a Book Session proposal, click here.

 

PARTICIPATION LIMITS: The Program Committee limits conference attendees to no more than three appearances in the program which must conform to the rules below. It is expected that you will allow your name to be added to the program only in accordance with these limitations.

1) Participants are limited to ONE appearance in one of the following roles: Paper Presenter, OR a Roundtable Participant, OR a Reader or Author on a book session.

2) Participants are limited to TWO additional appearances as a Chair and/or Discussant on a panel. Participation as a Session Chair and presenting a paper in the same session counts as one participation. Participating as a Chair/Discussant on a panel counts as one participation.

For paper co-authors, it will not count as a participation if they do not present the paper.

 

The only exceptions are for participants who perform roles in plenaries, theme panels, service panels, or other special events solicited or authorized by the Program Committee.  For all other requests, there will be no exception to the rule.

 

VOLUNTEERS FOR CHAIR AND/OR DISCUSSANT ROLES: We strongly encourage people to volunteer as chairs and discussants. When serving as a chair or a discussant, you make an invaluable contribution to the program. Please note that participants are allowed to serve as a Chair and/or Discussant on two panels. Presenting a paper and serving as Chair on the same panel does not count toward the two. A specific form for volunteers is available on the Submission Site. The Program Committee will later contact volunteers directly to serve in these roles in sessions organized by the Committee.

Individuals selected to act as Session Chairs on paper panels are expected to inform paper presenters of the format of the session and their obligations as presenters, including:

SERVICE SESSIONS will be organized by relevant standing committees.


 COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH NETWORKS (CRNs):


Collaborative Research Networks (CRNs) have been formed under the auspices of the Law and Society Association to facilitate ongoing dialogue and research collaboration, often with an international dimension. The Association seeks to support the existing CRNs and encourages the formation of additional CRNs for research areas not currently addressed. CRNs are open to all interested scholars. Information about joining and procedures for establishing new CRNs is available on this website. Session Proposals from existing CRNs or new CRNs are most welcome. CRN Principals are encouraged to organize and submit a series of panels formed from papers written by members of their CRN. The CRN panel organizer should follow the instructions for submitting session proposals. CRN sponsored panels should include reference to the CRN name and number in the Session Title so that it will be noted in the Program.
 


OTHER IMPORTANT INFORMATION:

 

Meeting Registration: All participants are required to register for the conference.  The meeting registration form will be available on this site in mid-February, 2010. Registration will be acknowledged by email receipt.

Registration rates (in U.S. dollars) are:

Registration Rate until
April 9, 2010		 April 10 - May 7 after May 7,
on-site only
Member  LSA $180 $210 $240
Non-Member $220 $250 $280
Student $85 $90 $95

Withdrawal: When the Program Committee accepts proposals, it expects that people will follow through with production of their papers or sessions. Should circumstances require withdrawal prior to the meeting, the Law and Society Association Executive Office must be notified immediately. Registration fees will be refunded on a proportional schedule based on date of withdrawal.  Refund Policy -- By written request only: until April 9th, 100%; April 10th until May 7th, 50%; May 8th until May 21st, 25%. No refunds after May 21st.

 
Letters of Invitation for Funding Purposes: Participants requiring a letter of invitation for the purpose of securing funding from their own institution or granting agency should contact Judy Rose in the LSA Executive Office.

 


Identity and Citizenship Documents for Travel from Outside the U.S.

Scholars attending from outside the United States and who require a visa are encouraged to submit their requests early in order to facilitate attendance at the meeting. The Law and Society Association is committed to having broad representation of scholars from outside the U.S. at the meeting, and will provide the required documentation in order to facilitate this process as soon as possible after requested. Please provide a clear statement of your exact requirements to obtain a Visa. Email this information along with a Fax number and/or mailing address where the letter should be sent to Judy Rose at the Executive Office.

Those in the Visa Waiver Program (countries listed here) should be aware of the new U.S. ESTA requirement:

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announces implementation of the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA). ESTA is a new fully automated, electronic system for screening passengers before they begin travel to the United States under the Visa Waiver Program. ESTA applications may be submitted at any time prior to travel to the United States, and VWP travelers are encouraged to apply for authorization as soon as they begin to plan a trip to the United States. It is anticipated that ESTA will become mandatory for VWP travelers on January 12, 2009.

Information on getting a visa and the ESTA program is available here.

Disability Access: The meeting organizers are committed to ensuring that all events at the meeting are accessible to persons with disabilities.  The organizers will endeavor to provide specific information well in advance of the meeting about the location’s accessibility and practical arrangements. Transportation information will be available on this site in December. Meeting attendees with special needs or disabilities should indicate their requirements in the "special requests" section of the proposal form and are encouraged to get in touch with Mary McClintock at the LSA office with any questions.


Updates, and the Preliminary Program: Updates and meeting information will be posted on this website and sent in group mailings to participants by email, using the email address you enter into the submission software. Please be sure your email address is correct and will be current through the time of the meeting.


Acknowledgments: You will receive an automated email when you log into the submission site the first time, directly from the submission software, and a second email acknowledging receipt of your proposal, each within a day or less. If you do not receive these acknowledgment emails, get in touch with Judy Rose in the LSA office. Copies of your emailed proposal acknowledgments will be available on the submission site in your Message Center.

The Preliminary Program will be available on the web in March, 2010. Participants will be allowed to update information until April 4, 2010. The Preliminary Program will permit easy searching by topic and presenter, viewing paper abstracts, and assembling a "mini-schedule" of events.

 

We look forward to your participation in the 2010 Annual Meeting in Chicago.

 

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