Call for Papers, Panels, and Abstracts

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2009 Conference

Theme: Disturbing Argument

  • as in argument that disturbs, contains disturbing words or images, or is about disturbing topics;
  • as in argument that disturbs relationships of power;
  • as in theories and approaches that disturb traditional approaches to argument.
  • So, "disturbing" is quite polysemous and polyvalent (if not wholeheartedly equivocal).

All submissions about some aspect of argumentation are welcome and encouraged, but preference will be given to those addressing the conference theme.

Submissions Process: Please submit electronic versions of completed papers, panel proposals, or extended abstracts to the Conference Program Planner, Catherine H. Palczewski at the Alta submission website. To access the submission site, check back to this site later.

Deadline for Submissions: Friday, March 1, 2013

Submission Format: The Alta Conference invites completed papers, panel proposals, and paper abstracts written from any of the methodological approaches to argumentation. A submission's approach to argumentation may be applied, critical, cross-disciplinary, empirical, interpretive, pedagogical, philosophical, and/or theoretical. We also welcome studies of arguments in particular domains (e.g., legal, political, interpersonal, scientific, etc.) and forms (e.g., verbal, visual, etc.). For examples of the wide range of approaches welcome at the conference, feel free to explore past proceedings' content . All submissions should be in APA form, and submitted as a MS Word document, WordPerfect (wpd), or Rich Text (rtf) format, with MS Word preferred.

Completed papers. Papers cannot be longer than 3,200 words, including notes and references.

Panel proposals. Panel proposals should provide a title, names and addresses (including email) of participants, an abstract for each paper, and a brief explanation of the importance of the panel (500 words or less). Given the tradition of Alta is for the audience to actively engage presenters, if respondents are included, their role should be explained. We discourage panel proposals in which all participants are from the same institution.

Paper abstracts. Extended abstracts of paper proposals (at least 500 words) should be substantial enough to indicate the scope, direction, and merit of proposed papers. Assessment will be based on the evaluators' understandings of the projected paper discussed in the abstract.

Multiple submissions from the same author are strongly discouraged.

Please indicate any AV needs you think you will have should your submission be accepted.

Presentation Guidelines: The Alta Conference encourages discussion and audience participation. Thus, each oral presentation (paper or response) should not exceed 15 minutes and the total presentation time for a panel (papers and respondents) should not exceed one hour.

Conference Proceedings: Papers delivered at the conference will be reviewed for possible publication in a volume of Selected Papers. Only completed papers (including those proposed for panels and in abstracts) submitted to the Conference Program Planner by July 1, 2013, will be considered for inclusion. Papers may not exceed 3,200 words, including notes and references. Endnotes should be in the same font as the rest of the paper (12-point, Times New Roman). Papers must follow APA style. Further guidelines for paper format will be provided to those whose submissions are accepted for conference presentation. Authors who wish to have their papers considered for publication will also need to bring a copyright agreement (doc, pdf) signed by all authors, and must also obtain written approval to publish any copyrighted material. Evidence of permissions must be presented at the Conference.

Graduate Student Scholarships: Limited scholarships are available for graduate students whose institutions are unable to provide financial support. Please indicate if you are a graduate student who wishes to apply for a scholarship and have your advisor send the conference director a brief letter of support.

Conference Director: Catherine H. Palczewski, Department of Communication Studies, University of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls, IA 50614-0139.

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Webmaster: James F. Klumpp, University of Maryland Last Updated:November 6, 2012