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Student members are invited to submit a topic and two questions for brief, engaging conversations about literary, theoretical, pedagogical, or writing topics. If a student submission is accepted for Research in the Round (RITR), the student will host a table at the event. Participants will circulate from table to table in a timed, speed-style format, where (after a brief introduction from the Table Hosts) they discuss the topic, answering the two questions or formulating one of their own about the same subjects.

Topics and corresponding questions should be broad enough to allow discussion as these examples indicate. Avoid focusing on a single piece of literature but instead use your understanding of that work as an entry point into one of the major themes or issues you find there.

Each round will be limited to ten minutes of discussion. Table Hosts will engage in five or six rounds of conversation with several participants per round. Hosts should not talk the whole (or even most of the) time! Instead, your role is to encourage discussion among the participants, including yourself.

Upon acceptance, RITR Table Hosts go through a brief follow-up process, working with Student Leadership to curate a single-page PDF (typically created in Canva or a similar application) containing visual elements and/or additional resources for their topic. These will be available to participants at your table via a QR code, so you do not need to print them.

Attendees—not Table Hosts—will indicate their interest in RITR during convention registration, or they may register to participate at the convention as space permits.

RITR Table Host submissions will include the following components:

1. Your name, chapter name, email address (choose an email address you monitor regularly and will still use through April 2024), and mobile number;
2. Your proposed Research in the Round topic (no more than 10 words);
3. Two proposed questions that would spark discussion on the topic (no more than 50 words total); and
4. A longer explanation (no more than 250 words) that gives information on your topic and questions, persuading evaluators that this topic and these questions will spark discussion and reach a broad audience.

Submission Link and Dates

Submission Link

The submission link will be posted here through October 23, 2023, 5:00 p.m. Central Daylight Time (CDT).

Please submit using a desktop computer or laptop. 
Be sure to set up your account with an email address you will retain through April 30, 2024. All Research in the Round Table Host Proposals will be evaluated by multiple judges. View evaluation criteria.

Notifications will be emailed to the submitter on November 15, 2023.

Questions

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