Roundtable Submissions

Eligible members may propose roundtables on suggested topics or on topics of general interest to both the discipline and the Society. Roundtables are designed to promote discussion and exploration of a selected topic, with an emphasis on active engagement of the audience. Successful proposals will indicate not only the role of the roundtable participants but also how they will engage the audience in active dialogue.

New This Year

  • a roundtable that has been presented in the previous convention year may not be resubmitted this year. For more information, review the rules about what individuals can submit; and
  • the longer abstract must include the titles and authors of at least three scholarly, peer-reviewed sources that will form the basis of the roundtable theme and discussion.

Roundtable Submission Guidelines

Roundtables should last 75 minutes in length, including questions and answers (Q & A) with audience members. Roundtables are not a vehicle for the reading of papers. Faculty may be moderators or participants in a roundtable, though the proposed roundtable would ideally include at least one student participant.

Competition for the limited number of roundtable slots will be lively. Only those submissions that actively engage the audience in dialogue will be considered. While judges will read and consider multiple proposals from the same school, individual chapters are limited to two acceptances unless the proposal includes members from more than one school. Priority will be given to those roundtables that include members from more than one chapter and/or that cover the convention theme, Transformative Landscapes, or the Regional Student Representative or Associate Student Representative, who can help you use Society resources to connect with other members.

Not sure what subjects might spark an engaging roundtable? Consider designing a roundtable built around the works of convention speakers. Other topics might include:

Of course, roundtable proposals will also be considered on other subjects that might be well suited to interactive discussions involving an audience.

Required Information—Submitted in One Document

Create a Word document using your title as the file name and save the file as a .doc or .docx. Your document must contain the following information:

  1. Moderator: Give the name, school, and email address for the roundtable moderator. (The moderator must be a faculty member or Alumni Epsilon member; if you leave this blank, we will select a moderator for the panel.)
  2. Participants: List the name, school, and email address for each participant (maximum of 5 participants and minimum of 3 participants). Sometimes roundtable organizers are unable to provide a complete list of participants when submitting the proposal. Accepted roundtables will be required to submit the names of all participants (and any changes to the list of participants) through the submission account by Monday, December 2, 2019.
  3. Abstracts: Include 2 abstracts
    • a longer description (up to 250 words) that explains how the roundtable is organized, how the participants will involve the audience in active and scholarly discussion, what makes this approach more appropriate for a roundtable discussion rather than for presentation in separate papers, the titles and authors of at least three scholarly, peer-reviewed sources that will form the basis of the roundtable theme and discussion; and
    • a short abstract (50 words) to be included in the convention program.
  4. Title: Due to space constraints, any title of more than 50 characters will be abbreviated in the program. You are strongly encouraged to limit your own title accordingly. Remember to count spaces as well as letters.

Audio Visual Request: Only a limited number of rooms will be set-up with an LCD projector and screen. Therefore, only a limited number of requests for A/V will be granted. If you are requesting A/V, please include an additional paragraph stating why A/V will be a necessary component of your roundtable. Include a description of what you will be projecting, such as an online demonstration, video, audio presentation, or slide deck.

Submission Deadlines and Notifications

Submitters will receive confirmation, acceptance, and registration information via the email addresses associated with their accounts. Therefore, it is vital that members use email addresses that they check regularly and that will be active through April 2020.

  • Submissions will open on Monday, September 30.
  • Submissions are due Monday, October 28, 5:00 p.m. Central Daylight Savings Time (CDT).
  • Acceptance and denial notifications will be emailed November 21, 2019.
  • Your confirmation to secure a session slot is due December 9, 2019.

Submissions Link

The submissions link will be posted on September 30 through the October 28, 2019, 5:00 p.m. Central Daylight Time (CDT) submission deadline. For questions, please contact [email protected].
Please submit using a desktop computer or laptop. Mobile devices are not configured for submissions.

Questions

Questions regarding the online submission process should be addressed to the 2020 convention staff at [email protected].

Instructions for Roundtable Submissions Online

Use only a desktop or laptop computer. Do not use a phone or tablet to make a submission.
 

Step 1: Sign In

The Roundtable Submission deadline has passed.

  • Go to Account Set-Up for details on setting up your account, resetting your password, or changing your account profile information.
  • The submission deadline is October 28, 5:00 p.m. Central Daylight Time (CDT)

Step 2: Authors

  • After you have successfully logged on, choose: Submitter Account | Add As Author/Co-Author. Note: Sigma Tau Delta only allows one author.
  • Choose: Continue button.

Step 3: Add Submission

  • Topic: select your roundtable topic from the pull-down menu (note roundtable topics are listed below paper topics).
    • Career Development for English Majors
    • Common Reader Red: Passion and Patience in the Desert
    • Composition/Rhetoric
    • Convention Theme “Transformative Landscapes”
    • Diversity
    • English Education/Young Adult Literature
    • English and Technology
    • Literary Themes
    • Member Recruitment/Chapter Development
    • Popular Culture/Film/Social Media
    • Service/Literacy
    • Writing and Publishing
  • Title: Type in the title of your document. Due to space constraints, any title of more than 50 characters may be abbreviated in the program. You are strongly encouraged to limit your own title accordingly.
  • Attach Document: Select your word document. FOLLOW THESE DIRECTIONS CAREFULLY!
    1. Label your Word document by the full title or an abbreviated title of no more than 50 characters.
    2. Save your Word document file as a doc or docx on your computer’s hard drive. Errors can occur if your file is uploaded from a server or external drive. Do not upload your submission from a cell phone.
    3. Click the Browse button to select your document.
    4. Click the Attach button.
    5. If your document is correctly attached, you will see your document file name listed below the document box.
  • Presentation Type: choose “Roundtable“ from the drop-down list.

Step 4: Other Information (required)

  • Keywords: Describe your submission with one keyword from each of the following four groups:
    1.  a theme keyword (any work that responds to the convention theme must select “convention theme” to be considered for a “convention theme” award);
    2. a genre keyword;
    3. an author keyword; and
    4. a critical methodology keyword.
  • Membership Type
  • Chapter State
  • Chapter School
  • Academic Level
  • (Your) Induction Semester
  • (Your) Induction Year
  • Chapter Advisor Name 
    (If you are an Advisor or an Alumni Epsilon member, type “N/A” in the field.)
  • Chapter Advisor Email Address
    (If you are an Advisor or an Alumni Epsilon member, type “N/A” in the field.)
  • Verify the following statements:
    1. “This is an original work authored by me.”
    2. “As instructed, the title of this submission is no more than 50 characters.”
  • Answer the following:
    1. “Would you like to be invited to serve as a session chair at the convention?” (If you reply Yes, you will receive an invitation email in late January.)
    2. “Please indicate all dates on which you are unable to present for religious reasons.” (Reply by selecting the date and then from pull-down menu Unable to Present.)

Step 4: Review and Save

  • Click Continue and review the information for your submission. You may make edits at this time (choose the Edit button). To save edits, click the Accept button at the bottom of the page.
  • Click Save Changes to submit.

Step 5: Submission Confirmation

Please check your confirmation and retain it. The confirmation is a do not reply email from [email protected]. It will include a five digit number that may be used as a reference in future communications with [email protected].

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