Conferences seem to have taken over much of my February. Last week, I attended the Southeastern Writing Center Association Conference at Eastern Kentucky University. I have been helping coordinate personnel for the upcoming Regional Graduate Liberal Studies Conference that the MALS program will host here at ETSU. And, several MALS students and faculty are submitting proposals or making plans to attend conferences around the nation and abroad.
If I am this busy with conference-related tasks, I can imagine that many of you will soon be writing abstracts, submitting proposals, and possibly even looking for travel funds to present your research at a conference. If you've never thought about attending an academic conference, must less presenting, I encourage you to change your mind. Presenting your research is a wonderful experience. Not only do you get to share your scholarly interests with like-minded students and professionals, but you get a prime opportunity to network with potential research partners, future employers, and new friends.
If you haven't submitted a proposal to present at a conference because you're not sure where to begin, here are a few links to some of my favorite resources about all-things conference. These will give you ideas on how to prepare a proposal, where to find travel funds, and what to expect before, during, and after your presentation. Enjoy!
(And P.S.> Make sure you submit your proposal to present at the Regional Graduate Liberal Studies Conference by midnight on March 15, 2012!)
Academic Conferences: an FAQ This is a great online presentation by Dr. Inger Mewbern from RMIT University in Australia. She walks you through the proposal process, the networking aspect of conferences, and the presentation event itself. Some of her advice (such as that about travel funds) is specific to Australia, but she gives a good overview of the conference experience from start to finish.
Writing the Academic Conference Proposal from the blog GradHacker. This post discusses the first step to presenting at a conference - submitting a proposal. While the author mentions the importance of your proposal fitting into a larger disciplinary picture, much of the advice in this post can apply to liberal studies graduate students as well, as it's just important for us to emphasize how our research contributes to a scholarly, interdisciplinary conversation.
Writing for a Presentation, from the Explorations of Style blog. This post highlights the need to tailor your paper to a "read-aloud" format, as you will need to vary your presentation paper to best connect to a listening audience as opposed to a reading audience. The author provides some more links on the conference presentation at the end of her post.
Travel Funds from ETSU's School of Graduate Studies Did you know that you can be eligible to receive travel stipends from our own university? You must be a member of the Graduate & Professional Student Association (GPSA) for these funds, but any ETSU graduate student can join this organization. You've got nothing to lose by trying!
Good luck, and I hope to hear some of you present your interdisciplinary research soon!
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