http://www.aarweb.org/Meetings/Annual_Meeting/Program_Units/Program_Unit_Report/instructions.asp
Program Unit Report Instructions
- Program Unit Report
Following this year's Annual Meeting, please complete the Program Unit Report for the Program Committee concerning your Program Unit. Your thoughtful and accurate reporting is essential if the Program Committee is to fulfill its charge of reviewing all Program Units. You should submit your Program Unit Report online. Paper copies will not be accepted except in pre-arranged circumstances. Contact the Director of Meetings and Marketing. Similar to the session entry database in the Spring, you will need your AAR membership number and last name to log in, both co-chairs will have access to the information.
While completing your report, please take special note of the following policies and procedures:
- If the chair of your Program Unit is changing, indicate whom that person is replacing if you have co-chairs. Please note the way in which your new chair was selected. Also, please submit a curriculum vitae for each new chair. You may send this by e-mail or surface mail separately. Note that if a student is selected, her or his appointment is subject to approval by the Program Committee. Please send under separate e-mail/cover a rationale for the student's appointment to arrive by November 29, 2007.
- Steering Committee member appointment information can be found in the 2006-2007 Program Unit Chairs Handbook, Section 7, "Making Changes in Leadership." Steering Committee members are appointed by the Program Unit Chair(s). Please be aware that your steering committee appointments should rotate every three years as the chairs do, though renewable once. Your steering committee members must also be current AAR members. They may not serve otherwise.
- We are also eager to receive your proposals for special arts and performance events related to the work of your program unit; or for extra-meeting events that would be of interest to our members.
- Finally, we need to hear about your successes, hassles, and problems. We want to know your ideas for making your job easier–or at the very least, less unpleasant.
- Call for Papers 2008
The Call for Papers is a critical element in the Program Committee's review of the unit. In reviewing the Calls, the Program Committee looks for:
- The explicit relevance of the proposed topic(s) to the academic study of religion.
- A careful articulation of the issues, problems, and arguments that the Program Unit is choosing to focus on in the coming year.
- Receipt of your Call for Papers copy by the Thursday, November 29, 2007 deadline.
You should submit your Call online with your Program Unit Report. Paper copies will not be accepted except in pre-arranged circumstances. Contact Aislinn at ajones@aarweb.org.
Remember, sections have a 200-word limit, groups have a 150-word limit, seminars have a 125-word limit, and consultations have a 125-word limit. It is crucial that you abide by these limitations. Any portion of text exceeding these limits will be deleted. Your contact information will not be included in this count. You must also indicate by what method your unit is accepting proposals, there will be check boxes for hard-copy surface mail; hard-copy fax; email; email w/ attachment; online submissions. You will need to check all that apply. You will be required to choose at least one.
In preparing your Call keep in mind the number of sessions allotted to your program unit. Allotments are noted in the online Program Unit List for each unit.*
Sections, don't forget about your Tuesday morning extra session possibility. Seminars, you should describe the on-going work of your unit rather than call for papers.
Each Program Unit (with the exception of Seminars) may in addition co-sponsor one session. The co-sponsored session counts as each sponsor's additional session. Multiple co-sponsorships should be limited to rare exceptions, please contact Aislinn ahead of time if you plan this.
* For program units under review in 2007, your session allotment is subject to change. Groups will receive between 1 and 3 sessions, sections between 3 and 5. Your program unit will be notified in the December Renewal letter as to the number you have for the 2008 meeting; do not rely on the Web, as it will get updated after the letters go out.
- Preparing Your Portion of the Call for Papers
You should submit your Call online with your Program Unit Report. Paper copies will be not accepted except in pre-arranged circumstances, contact the Director of Meetings and Marketing. Please see the instructions in the 2006-2007 Program Unit Chairs Handbook (Section 6) for how the call should read/look. Also see last year's online Call for Papers.
These two examples should help you (sections in bold, and framed in brackets, do not count toward the word limit):
[Academic Teaching and the Study of Religion Section, Sid Brown, Department of Religion, University of the South, 735 University AVE, Sewanne, TN 37383, USA; W: +1-931-598-1529; sbrown@sewanne.edu. Chris Johnson, Center for Vocational Reflection, Gustavus Adolphus College, 800 West College AVE, St. Peter, MN 56082, USA; W: +1-507-933-7159; cjohnso5@gustavus.edu.]
We seek papers that discuss philosophies and strategies for effective teaching and learning and that model pedagogical creativity, analysis, and ‘best practices.’ We urge presenters to incorporate audience response, conversation, and interaction in their sessions. This year the section particularly seeks proposals on the following themes: teaching as the craft of a public intellectual - how can the teaching and learning of theology and/or religious studies illuminate the intersection of the academy and the ‘common good,’ or foster citizenship and a civil society?; the interplay of cognitive/ intellectual learning and whole-person identity-development in the religious studies classroom; teaching with, through, and about the media as a ‘religious text’ and/or the media as a mediating structure of knowledge about religion; honoring African-American experience in teaching (e.g., teaching and learning at historically Black institutions, teaching about African-American religions, etc.); vocational, pedagogical, and professional insights on teaching and learning as or for ‘transformation’ (of self, students, institution, discipline, and/or society); specific skills, tools, analytical frameworks, contexts, and strategies for teaching and learning (e.g., writing in theology and religious studies curricula and as a dimension of faculty work, challenges and successes with new technologies, and teaching courses outside one's training and specialization). Please direct inquiries to either co-chair.
[Submissions will be accepted via online submissions only.
Diacritical Marks: None][Person, Culture, and Religion Group, Kathleen Bishop, 58 Shadylawn DR, Madison, NJ 07940, USA; W: +1-201-623-5080; KBish87@aol.com. Pamela Cooper-White, Lutheran Theological Seminary, 7301 Germantown AVE, Philadelphia, PA 19119, USA; W: +1-215-248-7375; pcooper@ltsp.edu.]
We invite papers addressing: 1) psyche, soul, and self (teasing out the definitions, implications, and relationships of these categories); 2) practicing theory and theorizing practice (personal accounts of achieving this vital balance in healing, teaching, preaching, etc.); and 3) psyche in film. Papers on all these topics may include theoretical, therapeutic, theological, or other perspectives. We also welcome papers on other themes dealing with person, culture, and religion. To learn more about the group, please visit our website at http://home.att.net/~pcr-aar. [Submissions will be accepted via hard-copy surface mail and hard-copy fax.]