Proposal Guidelines

As you prepare your proposal, be sure to include all the necessary components as outlined in the Call for Papers and to highlight the compelling central questions that drive your scholarship and that of your fellow panelists. What makes your panel important, and why should SHEARites see it? The SHEAR 2025 program will reflect the wide-ranging interests of our members, engaging with the full complexity of the early United States and its world. You might consider some of the following questions as you develop your proposal.

WHAT IS A STATEMENT OF DIVERSITY, AND WHY IS IT NEEDED?

The SHEAR 2025 Program Committee is eager to build a conference that reflects and fosters the diversity of the field and that upholds SHEAR’s Statement of Values. Your proposal should engage with this goal by including a brief diversity statement that explains how your panel will, in its composition and/or content, reinforce SHEAR’s commitment to diversity and inclusion.

Panels should strive for representation across gendered, racial, institutional, interpretative, and career categories. This policy will not be interpreted to exclude panels comprised entirely of graduate students, women, and/or scholars of color, as the Program Committee is committed to featuring early career scholars as well as members of groups who have been historically underrepresented at SHEAR. Graduate students may find it useful to enlist more senior scholars as commenters, and are welcome to contact the Program Committee for suggestions and assistance.

CAN I PROPOSE AN INDIVIDUAL PAPER?

Yes, but your chances of acceptance are higher when you propose as part of a full panel. We encourage you to use social media or to reach out to members of the Program Committee to identify other presenters and commenters who might join you on a panel. You can also try this shared Google doc.

CAN I PARTICIPATE ON MULTIPLE PANELS?

We would like to ensure the broadest possible participation in the SHEAR annual meeting, and so we ask that you do not agree to serve on more than one proposed panel.