The 67th Annual Meeting of the Society for Ethnomusicology will be held jointly with the American Musicological Society and the Society for Music Theory on 10-13 November 2022 in New Orleans, Louisiana, at the Hilton New Orleans Riverside Hotel. For information on meeting arrangements, including a copy of this call for proposals, please visit the 2022 Joint Annual Meeting area of the SEM website (www.ethnomusicology.org).

The SEM 2022 Program Committee asks participants to submit their best work on any topic related to ethnomusicology and to be creative with presentation formats. In addition, we suggest that SEM sections, special interest groups, and other constituent units consider sponsoring organized sessions. Though we will not give any preference to sponsored sessions during abstract review, pre-submission consultation among group members typically improves the quality of abstracts and increases the likelihood of their acceptance.

We also encourage organized panels that comprise a mix of junior and senior scholars from multiple institutions, and include a separate panel chair (i.e., a chair who does not present a paper on the panel). In addition, we encourage panels with presenters from more than one country.

Finally, we encourage special joint sessions that bring together participants from two or three of the societies (SEM, AMS, SMT). See instructions for joint sessions below.

All abstract submitters and members of groups that are reviewing/sponsoring proposals are advised to read carefully all of the below submission requirements, such as the abstract word limit, the prohibition against naming session participants in an abstract, and the limit on the number of presentations by an individual.

The deadline for online submission of all proposals is 15 February 2022, 11:59 PM CST.

Please note that all presenters must hold a 2022 calendar-year SEM membership and must pre-register for the conference. (Presenters for Joint Sessions may hold an SEM, AMS, and/or SMT membership.) Presenters who do not meet these two requirements by 22 July 2022 will be dropped from the program.

Proposals for the 2022 Joint Annual Meeting are invited in the following categories:

     A. Individual Presentation. Single paper, performance or lecture-demonstration, film/video, or workshop (participatory).

     B. Organized Session. Organized panel, roundtable, multiple film/video program, or group-led workshop (participatory).

     C. Joint Session. Panel, roundtable, or workshop including a balance of participants from two or three of the societies.

 

(A) PROPOSALS FOR INDIVIDUAL PRESENTATIONS

1. Single Paper: An individual paper presentation is 20 minutes long and is followed by 10 minutes of discussion.

2. Film/Video: One recently completed or in-progress film. The session should include the screening of a film excerpt (approximately 20 minutes) and an introduction/discussion (approximately 10 minutes). Include information about the film (title, year produced, total length, language/sub-titles, and brief description) and information about the excerpt and the introduction/discussion.

3. Performance or Lecture-Demonstration: Presentation that is 60 minutes long.

4. Workshop (participatory): Informal, interactive hands-on session on one topic for 60, 90, or 120 minutes (please specify).

 

(B) PROPOSALS FOR ORGANIZED SESSIONS

5. Organized Panel: An organized panel is 90 or 120 minutes long. A 90-minute panel consists of three papers. A 120-minute panel consists of either four papers or three papers plus a discussant. Each presentation (a paper or a discussant’s formal response) is 20 minutes long, followed by 10 minutes of questions and general discussion. (Those interested in a more flexible format with additional participants may want to consider proposing a roundtable.) A proposal for an organized panel should be submitted by the panel organizer. Include the panel abstract (describing the rationale for the panel as a whole) and abstracts for the individual papers. The panel abstract is particularly critical to the Program Committee’s evaluation. Do not include the names of participants in the abstract.

6. Roundtable: A roundtable provides an opportunity for participants to discuss a subject with each other and with members of the audience. A roundtable may be 90 or 120 minutes long (please specify) and may include up to six presenters. We encourage formats that stimulate discussion and audience participation (at least 50% of the roundtable time must be devoted to discussion). The organizer may solicit position statements of up to 10 minutes long from each presenter and will facilitate questions and discussion for the remaining time. The organizer should submit an abstract that outlines the purpose/agenda and organization of the roundtable, as well as the contributions of each participant (unnamed in the abstract).

7. Multiple Film/Video Program: A session of multiple completed or in-progress film excerpts for a total of 90 or 120 minutes (please specify). Each presentation should include the screening of a film excerpt (approximately 20 minutes) and an introduction/discussion (approximately 10 minutes). The session organizer should submit an abstract that states the overall subject of the session and that includes information about each film (title, year produced, total length, language/sub-titles, and brief description), as well as information about the excerpts, introductions, and discussion. Do not include the names of participants in the abstract.

8. Group-Led Workshop (participatory): Informal, interactive hands-on session on one topic for 60, 90, or 120 minutes (please specify). The organizer should submit an abstract that describes the subject of the session and the contributions of between two and five session leaders (unnamed in the abstract).

 

(C) PROPOSALS FOR JOINT SESSIONS

9. Joint Sessions: For this special meeting, the Program Committees of AMS, SEM, and SMT enthusiastically invite proposals for joint sessions, bringing together participants from across the societies. Joint session proposals may be either 90 or 180 minutes long (please specify) and should present a balance of participants from two or three societies. Joint session proposals will be considered as a unit by the Program Committees of the AMS, SEM, and/or SMT and will be programmed as a joint session only if accepted by all relevant Program Committees. (However, a proposal for a joint session may be programmed as a solo AMS, SEM, or SMT session if one of the Program Committees so chooses.) Joint session proposals may be for multi-paper sessions (panels), roundtables, or workshops as defined above. Proposals must identify the number of participants from each society.

• Joint Multi-Paper Sessions. Multi-paper session proposals should include a summary and individual abstracts. These proposals will be evaluated anonymously and should contain no direct or indirect signal of authorship. Joint session proposals may be comprised of either three papers (90 minutes) or six papers (180 minutes).

• Joint Roundtables. Proposals should identify participants and outline the session format. (Note that this instruction differs from the above instructions for SEM Individual Presentations and Organized Sessions.)

• Joint Workshops. Proposals should identify participants and outline the session format. (Note that this instruction differs from the above instructions for SEM Individual Presentations and Organized Sessions.)

All proposal abstracts must be 350 words or less.

 

SUBMISSIONS, REQUIREMENTS, AND DEADLINES

Submission: To access the abstract submission system, visit the 2022 Joint Annual Meeting area of the SEM website (www.ethnomusicology.org) and select “Abstract Submission.”

About Abstracts: Abstracts should demonstrate a clear focus or statement of the problem, a coherent argument, knowledge of previous research, and a statement of the implications for ethnomusicology (or music studies for Joint Session proposals). Carefully observe these and other instructions stated on the proposal submission web pages.

Note: Abstract for SEM Individual Presentations and Organized Sessions may include (at the end) one URL for a multimedia supplement directly related to the presentation. The URL may link to a film/video or to other multimedia material. Though the Program Committee is not expected to review this material, an accepted abstract will be published with the URL.

All abstracts must comply with the following requirements:

• Abstracts over 350 words will be automatically disqualified. (Note that this word limit for 2022 differs from SEM’s usual 250-word limit.)
• Abstracts identifying presenters, fellow researchers, or other participants will be automatically disqualified. (This rule does not apply to Joint Session Roundtables or Workshops.)
• Abstracts must be submitted online by 15 February 2022, 11:59 pm CST. In order to avoid website technical problems, it is strongly suggested that proposals be submitted at least 24 hours before the deadline.

Limit on Number of Presentations: SEM policy specifies that, during the regular sessions of the Annual Meeting, an individual may participate in ONLY ONE of the following ways:

• Deliver a paper (individually or as part of an organized panel)
• Participate in a roundtable, workshop, performance, or lecture-demonstration
• Present a film/video

For the 2022 meeting, participation as a Discussant on a panel will not count as a presentation.

In addition, an individual may chair ONE panel, roundtable, film/video program, or workshop.

Only one proposal per person per society (AMS, SEM, and/or SMT) is allowed for the 2022 meeting. No one may appear on the program more than twice (special sessions are excluded from this rule). An individual may participate in any of the presentation formats listed above and appear one other time on the program as a chair of a session or as a discussant.

Proposals of the same or similar content cannot be submitted by the same person to more than one of the three societies. An individual may submit different proposals to AMS, SEM, and/or SMT but must indicate the multiple submissions on the online submission page and select (in the case of multiple acceptances) which proposal would take priority. Authors who present on an AMS or SMT session may not also present on an SEM session or a joint session. In the case of multiple acceptances, the Program Committees will give preference to any paper that is part of an organized session.

SEM membership and registration fees: Following SEM policy, all participants whose proposals have been accepted for the program must hold a 2022 calendar-year SEM membership and must register for the meeting by 22 July. (Presenters for Joint Sessions may hold an SEM, AMS, and/or SMT membership.) Individuals who have agreed to be waitlisted must join SEM and register immediately upon notification of an acceptance. Any presenter who has not purchased an SEM membership and registered for the meeting by 22 July will be deleted from the program.

Cancellations and no-shows: No-shows inconvenience the session chair, discussant, other panelists, and audience members. Participants who discover that they are unable to attend the meeting should notify the SEM Program Committee Chair immediately. SEM policy does not permit anyone other than the author to read a paper and does not permit virtual/teleconferenced presentations. (The SEM Program Committee Chair may make exceptions to this policy in exceptional circumstances.)

Special requests: Please indicate potential scheduling conflicts to the Program Committee Chair. If notified in advance, the Program Committee will attempt to accommodate requests, but cannot guarantee a particular time slot.

Charles Seeger Prize: Students interested in submitting a paper for the Charles Seeger Prize should consult the guidelines on the SEM website (www.ethnomusicology.org) under “Prizes.” Note that papers must be submitted by 14 November 2022 (the day after the Annual Meeting).

 

Contact Information

For online submissions of proposals: Visit the 2022 Joint Annual Meeting area of the SEM website (www.ethnomusicology.org) and select “Abstract Submission.” Submission deadline: 15 February 2022, 11:59 PM CST.

For general conference questions: sem@indiana.edu or (812) 855-6672.

For questions to the SEM Program Committee Chair (not for submission of proposals) and for cancellations: Eduardo Herrera, sempc2022@gmail.com.

 

Deadlines

Early December – Proposal submission opens.

15 February – Online submission of all proposals (11:59 PM CST).

Early June – Notifications of proposal acceptance with registration information.

22 July – Receipt of conference registration and SEM membership fees from individuals whose proposals were accepted.

Early August – Posting of preliminary conference program.