Call for Organized Sessions

The Society for the Study of the Indigenous Languages of the Americas (SSILA) is planning to hold its next annual winter meeting online from January 24 to 26, 2025. SSILA meetings encourage scholars to present on a wide range of topics centered on any aspect of Indigenous languages in the Americas. 

Call for Organized Session Proposals

SSILA welcomes proposals for organized sessions. This is an opportunity for scholars to present and/or discuss contributions that revolve around a single theme, including (but not restricted to) shared typological, methodological, historical, genetic or areal perspectives. These sessions may be in the form of a symposium (several presentations focused on a specific topic), a workshop (presentations with invited discussants), a tutorial (intensive instruction on a specific topic), a datablitz (a session composed of many very short presentations), and other types of sessions with a clear, specific, and coherent rationale. The presentations must be based on original research focusing on the linguistic study of the Indigenous languages of the Americas. 

Organized sessions involve more than one scholar and are expected to make a distinctive and creative contribution to the meeting. Proposals for organized sessions are reviewed by the members of the SSILA Program Committee and they are not reviewed anonymously.

Submission Instructions  

The deadline for receipt of organized session proposals is 1 June 2024 at 11:59 pm (Hawaii-Aleutian time).
 
While SSILA will not co-convene with the LSA this year, SSILA will nevertheless maintain a reduced presence at LSA in Philadelphia with co-sponsored organized sessions. Authors of successful organized SSILA session proposals who also plan to attend LSA in-person may submit their proposals to the LSA for co-sponsorship. The SSILA committee will make a decision about these proposals before the LSA submission deadline, which is expected to be in mid-June.

All organized session proposals should be submitted by e-mail to SSILA Program Committee Administrator John W. W. Powell (conferences@ssila.org). Any queries prior to the submission deadline can also be sent to this e-mail address. Proposals are usually expected to be submitted in English or Spanish, but if you would like to submit a proposal in another language, please get in touch with John W. W. Powell by 15 May for us to make the necessary reviewing arrangements.
 
The proposal must include the following information: 

  1. A session title;

  2. A statement clarifying whether the session is intended as a SSILA session only or as a joint SSILA/LSA session;

  3. The type of session (e.g. a symposium with a series of invited talks, a collaborative workshop, a discussion panel, a tutorial aimed at skill training, a datablitz session with many short presentations, etc.);

  4. The name, affiliation, and e-mail addresses of the organizers;

  5. The session length: either 1.5 hours or 3 hours (the SSILA PC is also open to accepting sessions that are longer than 3 hours but if this is your intent, please consult in advance with the SSILA Program Committee Administrator John W. W. Powell (conferences@ssila.org));

  6. A session abstract of up to 1000 words outlining the purpose and motivation for the session, as well as the social impacts/outcomes/implications, whether positive or negative (https://www.ssila.org/social-impact-and-outcomes);

  7. The names and affiliations of all participants, their role (paper presenter, introducer, moderator, discussant, etc.), and the titles of their contributions;

  8. A complete timetable (note that organized sessions do not have to follow the 20-minute paper + 10-minute discussion format, but the presentation format should be clearly described);

  9. Abstracts of 200 to 500 words for each paper or poster presentation.
    All organizers and presenters must be members of SSILA (https://www.ssila.org/en/membership-information) in order for their proposal to be accepted. The membership requirement may be waived for Indigenous community scholars and language practitioners. It may also be waived for co-authors or for participants in organized sessions who are from disciplines other than those ordinarily represented by SSILA (linguistics and linguistic anthropology), or for undergraduate research assistants. Waivers can be requested by contacting the SSILA Secretary, Amy Fountain (secretary@ssila.org).