Prepared by David J. Birnbaum (djbpitt@pitt.edu), Nancy Condee
(condee@pitt.edu), and Gerald McCausland
(gmmst11@mccausland.us).
Location:
http://www.pitt.edu/slavic/grad/conferences.html.
Last
revised 2007-12-09 by David J. Birnbaum.
Copyright © 2007 by the authors. All
rights reserved.
The Guide to Professional Slavic Associations and Conferences has been prepared for graduate students in the Department of Slavic Languages at the University of Pittsburgh. It describes resources available at the University of Pittsburgh for supporting the cost of participation in conferences, and the conferences mentioned are those most likely to be of interest to members of our Department.
Travel grants of $300 are available to graduate students participating in conferences. Students who have completed 18 credits are eligible. PhD candidates may receive a second grant after completing their comprehensive exams. Application forms (PDF) can be downloaded or can be obtained from departmental graduate secretaries or from 5141 Sennott Square.
Limited to two grants per graduate student. Non-competitive. Anyone going to qualifying conferences is entitled to one grant before and one grant after admission to doctoral candidacy.
Web site: http://www.as.pitt.edu/graduate/assistance/travelgrants.php.
The A&S-GSO sponsors grants for travel to an academic conference to present a paper or a poster, or to participate in an interactive workshop. To be eligible you must be enrolled as an Arts and Sciences graduate student at the time of your travel. Details are available on the A&S-GSO Web site.
Competitive, but less so than GPSA. Currently, you can only get this grant once in any four-year period, but that rule is adjusted frequently according to budgetary ups and downs.
Web site: http://www.pitt.edu/~asgso/travel.htm.
GPSA Travel Grants were established in 1993 to provide financial assistance to graduate and professional students at the University of Pittsburgh who are participating in academic or professional conferences. Applicants must currently be enrolled as a student in a graduate or professional program at the University of Pittsburgh. Details are available on the GPSA Web site.
You can theoretically get one of these every year, but they are very competitive. Because awards are approved on a rolling basis and they sometimes run out of money before the end of the year, it is important to apply as early as possible (but currently you cannot apply before you actually travel).
Web site: http://pittgpsa.org/travelgrants.jsp.
Arts & Sciences Departments at the University of Pittsburgh receive conference travel funds every year in the amount of $500 per tenure-stream faculty member (total of $3000 for us). The Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures divides this pot of money equally among all faculty and graduate students who are participating in professional conferences. The amount of the award each year depends on the number of applications, but recent years have yielded $175-$200 per person. Apply by responding to an inquiry that Chris sends out each fall.
REES normally provides $200 every year to anyone participating in the AAASS or AATSEEL conference (total of $200, even if you participate in both conferences). Apply by responding to email distributed by REES shortly before or after the conferences.
The Midwest Slavic Conference, which has free membership and conference registration, provides a limited number of subsidies to graduate students to help cover hotel costs while attending the conference. See the conference description below.
The Chicago Forum often provides “free crash space. ” See the conference description below.
Overview. The American Association for the Advancement of Slavic Studies is the largest professional association of Slavists in the United States. The largest academic community in AAASS is the social sciences, but literary and cultural studies are very well represented at their annual meetings (usually in November) and in their Journal, Slavic Review (language teaching and linguistics are represented at the annual meeting, but except for reviews, not in the journal). The conference typically attracts approximately 1500 participants, although the numbers vary depending on location. Web site: http://www.aaass.org.
Why attend. The AAASS is the best national conference for interacting with social science colleagues. They also have a very large book exhibit with discount prices.
Why not attend. Deadlines are very early (typically in January for a meeting in November), and membership, conference registration, and hotels are relatively expensive. Meeting time conflicts with academic calendar, and may cause instructors and students to miss classes.
Overview. The American Association of Teachers of Slavic and East European Languages is the principal North American association of Slavic humanities scholars. Their journal, Slavic and East European Journal, and conferences (historically always December 27-30, but see below about a pending change in scheduling) welcome submissions on language teaching, linguistics, literature, and all manifestations of culture. The conference typically attracts between 300 and 400 participants, although the numbers vary depending on location. Web site: http://www.aatseel.org.
Why attend. Deadlines are relatively late (currently August 1), and membership, conference registration, and (usually) hotels are less expensive than AAASS. Meets at the same time and in the same place as the MLA, making it possible to attend both, and the two associations have worked out a discount cross-registration that reduces the expense. Job interviews for positions in Slavic departments or departments of modern languages are almost always held at either AATSEEL or the MLA. Proposals to the AATSEEL conferences require a brief abstract that undergoes double-blind peer review, and there is an option to submit in April, receive comments, and then revise for the final August 1 deadline. The acceptance rate is quite high, but peer review provides a level of quality control that is not present in most other North American Slavic conferences. The AATSEEL conference is considerably smaller than AAASS (usually no more than ten simultaneous panels, compared to forty at AAASS), which reduces the likelihood of wanting to attend two panels at the same time.
Why not attend. Membership and conference participation is almost exclusively members of Slavic departments, which means that there is little opportunity to interact with social science colleagues, which may be important for some Slavists. Meeting time, sandwiched between Christmas and the New Year, conflicts with the academic winter holiday.
Pending schedule change. Beginning in January 2011, both the annual MLA conference and the annual AATSEEL conference will meet in early January, instead of late December. There will be no conference in 2010; the 2009 conference will be in December, and the next conference will be in January 2011. This means that the conferences will no longer conflict with family holidays. It also means, alas, that the conferences will frequently conflict with the beginning of the spring semester at the University of Pittsburgh.
Overview. The Modern Language Association is the largest association of teachers of English and of foreign languages and literatures in North America. Their journal, Publications of the Modern Languages Association, reaches a wide non-Slavist audience, and conferences (traditionally always December 27-30, but see above for information about a pending change in scheduling) attract some 10,000 (!) people and welcome submissions in all areas of language, literary, and cultural studies. Web site: http://www.mla.org.
Why attend. An excellent way to learn about new developments outside Slavic studies. Meets at the same time and in the same place as AATSEEL, making it possible to attend both, and the two associations have worked out a discount cross-registration that reduces the expense. Job interviews for positions in Slavic departments or departments of modern languages are almost always held at either AATSEEL or the MLA. Very large book exhibit (little of Slavistic interest, but very strong on literary and cultural studies). Submission deadline is usually around April 1.
Why not attend. Membership and registration costs are relatively high. Slavic panels at the MLA, including those with highly accomplished senior scholars, tend to attract fairly small audiences, which reduces the opportunity to present one’s research to non-Slavists. Proposals must be for full panels (AAASS and AATSEEL accept proposals for either full panels or individual papers.)
Overview. One of seven regional affiliates of AAASS. Annual conference (usually for one day) at different universities in New York city in late March or early April, which welcomes submissions on all aspects of Slavic studies. Attendance at the conference is about 100. David and Jane have both participated in Mid-Atlantic Slavic Conference meetings in the past. Web site: http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~aaass/organizations/masc.html.
Why attend. The conference is small enough to encourage communication with people outside our immediate areas of specialization. The registration fee is very modest (usually $5-10).
Why not attend. The conference may be too small to provide enough panels to attend, especially because many panels deal with social science topics that may not be of particular interest to members of Slavic departments.
Overview. One of seven regional affiliates of AAASS. Annual conference usually meets in mid- to late March for three days at the Ohio State University. David and Helena have both participated in Midwest Slavic Conference meetings in the past, as have several graduate students. Web site: http://slaviccenter.osu.edu/midwestslavicassociation.html.
Why attend. The conference is small enough to encourage communication with people outside our immediate areas of specialization. There is no membership or registration fee, and the organizers make some funding available to subsidize hotel stays for graduate students. The conference hotel (the Blackwell, owned and operated by OSU) has middling prices, but it is within walking distance of discount chain motels. The drive to Columbus takes about 3-1/2 hours, making travel relatively easy and relatively inexpensive. This is probably the least expensive Slavic conference available.
Why not attend. The conference may be too small to provide enough panels to attend, especially because many panels deal with social science topics that may not be of particular interest to members of Slavic departments.
Overview. The oldest and largest of the seven regional affiliates of AAASS. Annual conference usually meets in mid-March for three days at different venues in the south. David and Nancy have both participated in Southern Conference meetings in the past. Web site: http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~aaass/organizations/scss.html.
Why attend. The conference is small enough to encourage communication with people outside our immediate areas of specialization. Membership costs are modest (currently $5 for students) and hotel rates tend to be low.
Why not attend. The conference may be too small to provide enough panels to attend, especially because many panels deal with social science topics that may not be of particular interest to members of Slavic departments. While some venues are reasonably close to Pittsburgh, others can be quite far.
Overview. Four-day regional MLA conference held in various places in the northeast. Two-stage system for panel and paper proposals, described on the association web site. Web site: http://www.nemla.org/.
Why attend. Opportunity to interact with non-Slavists.
Why not attend. Membership and registration costs are higher than for the regional AAASS conferences (Mid-Atlantic, Midwest, Southern). Submission deadlines are early.
Overview. Annual (late February) meeting at the University of Pittsburgh. Predominantly social science, but with significant culture and literature. University of Pittsburgh faculty serve as chairs and discussants. Proposals (with abstracts) usually due on December 1. Web site: http://www.pitt.edu/~sorc/goseca/. Our own Drew Chapman is the 2007–08 Organization president.
Why attend. Free registration. No travel or hotel. Lots of participation from our Department.
Why not attend. There is no reason not to attend the GOSECA conference.
Overview. Annual (April) graduate-student conference organized by the graduate students at the Univerity of Chicago Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures. Presentations include literature, culture, and linguistics. Application to participate requires submitting a brief abstract by early February for the meeting the following April. Web site: http://humanities.uchicago.edu/orgs/slavicforum/.
Why attend. High-quality graduate-student conference with University of Chicago faculty as discussants and keynote speakers. “Free crash space” is often available.
Why not attend. Graduate-student conferences are a good choice for first papers (and even beyond) and the Chicago Forum is of very high quality, but as you move forward in your career, you should probably aim to begin participating in general (not primarily graduate-student) professional conferences, which will provide better expose to faculty scholarship at other institutions.