The Association for Studies of Culture and Representation (ASCR) will hold its 18th Annual Convention at Kwansei Gakuin University (Nishinomiya Uegahara Campus) on July 6-7, 2024. We invite members to submit proposals for panel sessions/individual papers/workshops that will take place on Sunday, July 7 (or in some cases, Saturday, July 6). If you plan to submit a proposal, please follow the guideline below and send your proposal to the Program Committee.

As decided at the 17th annual meeting, the annual convention will be held in-person in the summer, including symposium and performance events, and the research forum will be held online in the winter. For both the convention and the forum, we will invite three types of presentations: panel sessions, individual papers, and workshops.

GUIDELINE

1. Proposal Types

1) Panel Sessions
Each panel session will be allotted 120 minutes and should include three speakers and a commentator, plus the chairperson, who may or may not be one of the speakers/commentator. Each speaker will be given 25 minutes, with the remainder of the time for comments, questions, and answers. The main organizer of the panel can be a speaker, the commentator, or the chairperson.

Please use the proposal form 【repre2024_Form_Pe.doc】and fill in the following information:
- Organizer’s name, affiliation, position, and e-mail address
- Panel title
- Preferred date, when the panel includes a member or members who need childcare (up to sixth-graders in elementary school); members can apply for childcare grants on both dates (please see section 11)
- Panel abstract (200 words or less)
- Each speaker’s name, affiliation, and position
- Each paper’s title with abstract of 200 words or less
- Information on the AV equipment to be used (please see section 7)
- Commentator’s name, affiliation, and position
- Chairperson’s name, affiliation, and position

* If you have three speakers but do not have a commentator or a chairperson, please leave the section(s) blank. The Program Committee will introduce participants for the open seat(s) after the panel is accepted.

2) Individual Papers
Each speaker will be given 25 minutes.

Please use the proposal form 【repre2024_Form_e.docx】and fill in the following information:
- Speaker’s name, affiliation, position, and e-mail address
- Paper title
- Paper abstract (200 words or less)
- Speaker’s previous papers and presentations on this topic
- Preferred date, when the speaker needs childcare

3) Workshops
Proposals that do not fall into the category of “individual papers” are welcome as “workshop.” Each workshop session will be allotted 120 minutes.

Please use the proposal form 【repre2024_Form_WSe.docx】and fill in the following information:
- Organizer’s name, affiliation, position, and e-mail address
- Workshop title
- Workshop abstract (200 words or less)
* Please specify the reason(s) why the organizer would like to propose this as a workshop. Applicants are recommended to review what workshops the past ASCR conventions and meetings hosted.
- Speakers’ name, affiliation, position, and e-mail address
* Non-member(s) of ASCR can be a speaker, but the organizer must specify the reason(s) to invite non-member(s) to the workshop.
- Preferred date, when the organizer and/or the speaker(s) need childcare
* New projects are preferred.
* Individual papers that are presented in a workshop are not considered “referred.”

2. Proposal Deadline
Panel Sessions: May 4, 2024
Individual Papers: May 4, 2024
Workshops: April 24, 2024

Proposal documents should be sent in attachment form via e-mail to kikaku@repre.org.
Please title the e-mail “Proposal for the 18th Convention” and rename the file as “your surname.doc” (e.g. suzuki.doc).
For “panel session” and “workshop” proposals, only the organizer needs to submit the proposal document.

3. Qualifications
The panel/workshop organizer and the individual speaker must be an ASCR member. Non-member speakers and chairpersons are required to join the Association before the Convention begins. The panel organizer is responsible for confirming their agreement. Commentators do not have to be ASCR members.

4. Restrictions
Papers already presented or published elsewhere are not accepted. The panel proposal is limited to one session per person. Participants are allowed to join only one panel session of the same convention as speaker, commentator, or chairperson. As a general rule, participants are required to be available throughout the two days, although this rule does not apply to those members who need childcare.

If your presentation contains privately recorded audiovisual content, please treat it with due caution, so that your talk would not cause any harm to the people involved, including but not limited to its owner(s) and main subject(s) in it.

5. Selection
The Program Committee will review proposals. Sessions with diversity in subject matter, methodology, or participants’ background will be merited. Results will be sent by e-mail to every proposer by the middle of May.

6. Language
Both Japanese and English are acceptable for the proposal form and panel sessions. If you present a paper in Japanese Sign Language, please contact the Program Committee in advance.

7. Equipment
A projector and screen are available. Please bring your own computer for the presentation (Mac users need to bring the proper connector).

8. Contact
kikaku@repre.org

9. Membership Fees
The Association enrollment fee is 1,000 yen. The annual membership fee is 10,000 yen for members and 5,000 yen for student members or category B members (members over 75 years old, part-time lecturers, and unemployed researchers). For details, please visit http://www.repre.org/association/admission/

10. Travel Grants
Travel grants will be available for student members and category B members. Please contact the Program Committee at kikaku@repre.org

11. Childcare Grants
Childcare grants will be available for members who need childcare services during the conference, whether they are speakers or attendees. For more details, please contact the Program Committee kikaku@repre.org. You can apply for one when you submit a proposal.
Also, we set up a special space for those who attend the conference with their child(ren), and no reservation is required to use it.

12. Accessibility
If you present a paper in Japanese Sign Language and need a sign language interpreter, please contact the Program Committee at kikaku@repre.org.