Seminar Guidelines

Seminars are a forum to share and have detailed conversations on work in progress related to a topic proposed by up to two seminar leaders. Before the conference, the seminar leader(s) will arrange for essays of c. 3000 words/eight pages by those enrolled on the seminar to be circulated between them. To enrol on a seminar, participants should read through descriptions that will be published in advance of the conference and, via the form provided, list up to three seminars they would like to participate in, ranked in order of preference. Spaces are filled on a first-come, first served basis and we cannot guarantee participants will be placed in their first choice, or that only listing one choice will guarantee a place in the seminar. Due to the intensive nature of seminar participation, it is only possible to enrol on one seminar and the number of people who may participate in a seminar is capped at twelve. In the event of a seminar being very popular, two sessions will run, in consultation with the seminar leader(s).

The deadline for registering interest in participating in seminars is 16 January and notifications are issued by email in late January. In registering interest to participate in a seminar, participants also give their consent for their email address to be shared with the seminar leader: once participants have confirmed their place, their email address will be passed to the seminar leader(s) who will contact them with specific details for the seminar.

The work of each seminar is set by its leader(s), but might be organised around the following:

  • Participants submit an initial working title and 250 word abstract to the seminar leader(s).
  • Participants submit the full paper to the seminar leader(s), along with any revisions to the abstract and title.
  • The seminar leader(s) will read the papers and group participants into clusters of three whose work seems to offer the most useful discussion points. The seminar leader(s) will also share the abstracts with the SRS, who will make them available to auditors. Auditors will not have access to the full papers.
  • Participants read the two other papers in their cluster, offering up to one page of detailed feedback on the draft, perhaps with a view to ways it might be developed into an extended, publishable piece.
  • Participants share their feedback and a discussion question they have formulated based on the papers they have read.
  • Before the conference, participants read all papers submitted to the seminar, to facilitate detailed discussions.

By mid-February, seminar participants will have received from their seminar leader(s) guidelines, directions, and deadlines for work to be completed in advance of the conference. By mid-May or the deadline assigned by the seminar leaders, participants should send their work to other members of their group and receive theirs in return. In the event of a double-session seminar, participants are only expected to prepare for the session they are actively participating in, but they are welcome to audit the companion session.

Seminar leader(s) will confirm to the SRS the names of those who have completed the set seminar tasks by 30 May and their names will be added to the conference programme. Participants agree to produce original work that engages directly with the objectives set by the leader(s) and to attend the session at the conference.

All conference delegates are expected to conduct themselves in the spirit of equitable, fair and respectful behaviour both in communication before and during the conference: failure to do so may lead to the withdrawal of the invitation to participate.

Additional notes on participation and academic integrity

 

Seminar leader(s) may invite up to four participants who are guaranteed a place in their seminar. Remaining places are filled through enrolment. Participants should follow procedures established by the seminar leader(s). A participant who withdraws should notify their seminar leader(s) immediately: accepting a place on a seminar represents a commitment to attend the conference and to engage fully with the seminar.

Seminar leader(s) set the work to be completed in preparation for the sessions and take responsibility for the direction and content of the discussion. This may involve reading assigned papers, texts, critiques, sharing bibliographies, or other exercises. Written materials used in the session will be circulated to all seminar participants and are to be read in advance of the conference. The session should be devoted to discussing issues raised by the preparatory work: papers will not be read out as participants will know each other’s work.

Participants should follow established citation and copyright guidelines when handling the intellectual property of others. No paper should be recirculated in any form whatsoever without the author’s consent. Permission must be obtained before citing unpublished work heard or read at the conference. This includes distributing materials on social media and the SRS’s guidelines on tweeting at conferences should also be observed.

Auditors are welcome to attend seminars. At the seminar leader(s) discretion, auditors will be invited to join in the discussion.