CROSSROADS IN CULTURAL STUDIES
Fourth International Conference
June 29 - July 2, 2002, Tampere, Finland

SESSION ORGANISER'S MANUAL

THANK YOU AND WELCOME!

Dear Colleague,

On behalf of the organizing committee, I want to thank you very much for agreeing to act as a session organiser for the Crossroads in Cultural Studies Fourth International Conference.

Your role is most crucial in making this conference an interesting and pleasant experience for all participants.

The Session Organiser's Manual will, I hope, help us all in preparing and organizing next summer's event. At the risk of being over-prescriptive, the manual contains clear guidelines for planning and organising sessions as well as a number of deadlines. Please study it carefully and stick to the procedures. These guidelines have been drawn up in the light of experience of previous three Crossroads conferences.

Once again, I thank you and I look forward to welcoming you to Tampere.

Yours sincerely,

Pertti Alasuutari Chair of the Organizing Committee

THE CROSSROADS CONFERENCE POLICIES

1. Session organisers and programme participants (i.e. individuals presenting a paper or acting as a discussant/chair at the sessions) must preregister for the conference. A session is not accepted in the final programme, if all participants have not paid their preregistration fees. In such a case, the conference organisers will fill in the session by other presenters than those announced by the session organiser, or arrange another place and session for those participants who have paid their fees in time.
2. In cases of multiple-authored papers, co-authors who will not be attending the conference are not required to pre-register. However, the presenting co-author(s) must pre-register or the entire paper will be dropped from the program.
3. Although it would be nice to have more time for discussion in the sessions, optimal use of time and space is necessary for a conference of this size: it enables more individuals to give a talk during the four-day conference, which is often necessary for them to get funding from their institution. In this conference it is required that in a 105-minute (1 hour 45 minutes) session there are 5 presentations, which theoretically means that each participant is allotted 20 minutes. However, it is up to the session organiser to decide on the session format. There are many innovative ways to organize a session, as will be discussed in the next section.
4. Session organisers have the right to choose the papers they want to include in their sessions. However, we urge that the organisers give careful consideration to all papers submitted under their topic. This is important if we are to make the conference a genuine 'crossroads' in international cultural studies. If session organisers are sent more interesting papers than can be accommodated within a 105-minute (1 hour 45 minutes) session, they should contact the conference office (crossroads.2002@uta.fi) to request more time, i.e. additional session slots. Every effort will be made to accommodate such requests as long as time and space permit. Another possibility is to suggest that individuals contact other session organisers or send abstracts of their proposed papers directly to the conference office to be considered for inclusion in sessions set up by the organizing committee. The list of sessions and organisers' contact information will be posted on the conference web pages (http://www.crossroads2002.com).
5. If you decide to organize additional session slots, please organize the papers into thematic wholes and give sessions informative names rather than using the same title plus I, II, etc. You may suggest and appoint another person or one of the presenters to act as session chair.
6. In selecting papers for their sessions, organisers are requested to give priority to papers which reflect original empirical or theoretical research and have not been presented previously at professional meetings. Some of the papers will be invited for consideration by European Journal of Cultural Studies, and there are also plans for publishing edited books.
7. Papers may be accepted in the sessions on the basis of abstracts (100-150 words) only, but if applicable organisers are recommended to ask for a full copy for consideration before accepting a paper.
8. Any individual may only give one presentation at the conference. The role of the discussant of a session is counted as such an appearance. However, the role of session organiser does not count as a program appearance. Organisers may for instance appear as discussants or give a paper at another session.
9. If, for any reason, an organiser is unable to follow through on the commitment to organize a session, that organiser should contact the conference office (crossroads.2002@uta.fi) immediately. Organisers are also required to keep the conference office informed of any change of address announced in the Invitation Programme and the conference home pages (http://www.crossroads2002.com).

SESSION FORMAT

In a 105-minute (1 hour 45 minutes) session there should normally be 5 presenters (plus the session chair), but they do not all have to be standard paper presentations. The traditional session format is to have four presented papers followed by a discussant, who has read all the papers and presents a commentary on them. It is also possible to have five paper presentations, followed by a short general discussion. It is up to the organiser and session chair to decide how much time is allocated for the presentations and how much to the general discussion following it, but we suggest that session participants agree on the time-table and format beforehand.

Since the time available for presenting and discussing the papers is quite limited, it is recommended that the organisers arrange a precirculation of the papers. In addition, the organisers are encouraged to hold a 'virtual conference' via email prior to meeting with the participants in flesh and blood. If people have been able to read each others' papers beforehand, it is then possible that they can cut down on time for paper presentations leaving longer for a general discussion on the papers.

Whatever format is chosen, we have found that the following are helpful guidelines for session organisers:

• Ask authors to summarize their papers, focusing on central issues and findings (rather than attempting to read their papers in their entirety). Urge them to make effective use of visual aids, such as transparencies, slides or VCR.
• Make sure that there is time left for questions from the audience and general discussion. It is especially important to allow time for genuine exchange of views and to encourage debate.
• Encourage the discussant to note points of similarity and, especially, difference, in the papers or approaches to the topic. The authors are then given time to debate/discuss the differences, and speak to their own positions.
• Encourage the discussant to ask questions directly to the presenters, stimulating exchange between authors and the discussant.
• Request presenters to circulate their papers to one another, asking each author to consider key issues or questions they would like to bring up during a discussion among authors (perhaps eliminating need for a discussant) following brief summaries of papers.
• Be specific and concrete in your directions to presenters. For example, indicate exactly how much time is allowed and try to ensure that the timing is adhered to.
• Whatever format is chosen, organisers should attempt to build cohesion into their sessions. This can be accomplished by judicious selection of papers and, after papers have been accepted, by guiding authors to emphasize common themes or to highlight particular controversial issues. If papers appear to be too abstract to be well understood by a short presentation, urge authors to try to make them more concrete. We recommend that you organise a brief rehearsal prior to the actual session.
• The discussions need not stop at the end of your session! There will be meeting places for interested groups to continue talking.

ALTERNATIVE SESSION FORMATS

The organisers and session participants might also ant to consider alternative formats for their session(s). Here are some examples.

One possibility is that the session organiser or another participant adopts the role of a chair, who has in advance of the conference prepared questions given to the panelists, perhaps based on the papers they have written. The chair acts as interviewer; panelists come prepared to discuss some pre-set questions, as well as respond to new questions from the audience and Presider.

The session may also be started by the discussant summarizing and evaluating the papers in a 10-15 minute presentation. The authors then respond to the discussant's presentation.

In a "debate" model the chair acts as moderator of two 2- person teams who present alternative sides of an issue. Different perspectives on an issue or different interpretations of research material are presented.

In a "partner" model presenters, in pairs, summarize their partners' papers and discuss their strengths and weaknesses. After each "partner" is given a chance to respond, members of the audience join in.

The standard session format can also be fine-tuned in many ways to make it more lively. At least, session organisers should emphasize that presenters must not read their written texts but rather "talk through" them. Secondly, less time spent on those monologues leaves more time for the authors to respond directly to questions posed by the discussant or by the audience. If, for instance, authors agree to present the gist of their papers in only 10 minutes, the audience can be encouraged to ask questions as they arise, rather than wait until the end.

IMPORTANT DEADLINES: WHAT TO DO AT DIFFERENT STAGES?

As a session organiser, individuals may have already contacted you and offered their papers to your session. Some session organisers will send us a full programme of a 105-minute session in their first application. Such a procedure is most welcome and promising for the conference, but we urge you all to keep the door open to additional submissions, because a great deal of individuals will contact the organisers only after the Invitation Programme with session listings has come out. Even if you have the session programme all set up, you can always request additional session slots.

The deadline for individuals to submit their paper abstracts to session organisers is January 31, 2002. Session organisers are requested to take papers for consideration until that date.

At all times, if you decide to accept a paper in your session(s), please help the presenters in getting funding for their conference trip by sending them a simple formal letter of acceptance if they request you to do that. Just write, preferably on a letterhead paper of your own institution, the following:

"As the session organiser I am pleased to inform you that your paper "[individual's paper title]" is provisionally accepted in the session "[your session title]" of Crossroads in Cultural Studies, Fourth International Conference, held in Tampere, Finland from June 29 to July 2nd, 2002. The exact date and time of your presentation will be announced later. To confirm your participation, you have to pay the registration fee as soon as possible. The "early bird" registration rate ends on 15 March, and 15 May, is the last date for programme participants to register for the meeting or be dropped from the programme.

Yours sincerely,

[session organiser's name, with signature above]

All requests for additional sessions must be made by January 31, 2002. The conference office (crossroads.2002@uta.fi) will respond to the requests as soon as possible. In your requests, please tell the office

(a) number of submissions received (b) number of papers you wish to accept (c) titles of each session (d) session descriptions of up to 150 words of each session.

As soon as you have completed the organization of your session, send the programme(s) of your session(s) to the conference office in electronic form. The deadline for receipt of session listings (session programmes, descriptions, paper abstracts and full addresses of each participant) is March 1, 2002.

All session listings must include the following. The session programme includes

(a) Session Title: Give the formal session title as it should appear in the program. If you organized more than one session, give each session a specific subtitle. If at all possible, do not designate them "I" and "II."

(b) Organiser: List your name, institutional affiliation and country, e.g. "Ann Gray (University of Birmingham, UK)."

(c) Chair: Provide name and institutional affiliation. If organiser and chair are the same person, you may write "Organiser/Chair."

(d) Presentations: Presentations should be listed in the order they will be given during the session. Give the names, institutional affiliations and countries of all authors, followed by the complete title of each presentation. Organisers choosing to use an interactive format with formal paper presentations may add a sentence or two to describe the format for potential attendees.

(e) Discussion: Provide name and institutional affiliation of each discussant.

Accompanied by the programme, the session listing must also include

(f) Session description: Provide an up to 150 words description of the scope of the session. If you have provided it previously, and the description can be kept unaltered, indicate that you have already provided it.

(g) Paper abstracts: Provide abstracts of all papers presented in the session. The abstracts should be submitted in the following format:
Last name, First name (Institution, Country) ABSTRACT TITLE
Abstract text
We encourage you to send in the session listings by 'session listing form'. If for some reason this is impossible, please mail your the abstracts to crossroads.2002@uta.fi by 31 March 2002. Note also that the abstracts do not necessarily have to be submitted by the session organiser: you may simply indicate that participants have submitted their abstracts directly to the conference office. The deadline for paper abstracts to be printed in the Conference Abstracts book is April 30.

(h) Addresses: Provide complete mailing and e-mail addresses for all individuals (including yourself) listed on the session. The formal name and complete mailing address of each person, including inactive co-authors, is required to process the session listing.

Send a copy of the session programme also to every participant. In your letter of acceptance accompanying the programme, please notify the participants of the following four points:

(a) Any alteration of the session programme must be communicated to you, the session organiser. Organisers should accumulate all changes and forward a summary list of those changes to the conference office by April 30. A revised session listing may be submitted provided that changes from the original session listing submitted in February are highlighted.

(b) As soon as the conference office receives a session listing, it will be checked that all participants have preregistered, which is a requirement for a final confirmation of the session programme. Therefore remind the participants to preregister as soon as possible. The deadline for registration at the "early bird" rate is March 15. Notify the participants that those presenting a paper must in any case fill in and send the Paper Submission Form and paper abstract along with the Registration Form to the Conference Office. This is needed to countercheck that all authors are included in the programme and in the Abstracts book.

(d) Ask the presenters whether they plan to use other visual aids than transparencies. The conference organiser must be informed about the use of a slide projector or VCR by May 31 at the latest, and the possibility of using other equipment must be negotiated with the organiser.

Send Session Listing

COMMUNICATIONS BY SESSION ORGANISERS

Session organisers are the main line of communication between session participants and the conference office. As organiser, you have several important responsibilities in communicating with your participants.

Acceptance/Confirmation Letter and Session Listing. All session organisers are required to send a confirmation letter and a copy of the session listing to each session participant as soon as possible and never later than March 15. Your letter should include information about the session format you intend to use for the session and the presentation responsibilities of the presenters. (See guidelines below for suggestions.) Remind every participant that any alteration to the session listing must be communicated to you. Also remind the participants that they have to preregister as soon as possible.

Materials for Participants. Session organisers are also sent extra copies of the Invitation Programme, including the Registration Form and Paper Submission Form and other important information about the conference, to be distributed to those interested in the conference or to participants who haven't received it directly from the conference.

TIMETABLE

To recapitulate what was discussed in more detail above, here is the timetable which all session organisers must adhere to:

January 31, 2002 - Deadline for submission of papers to session organisers. You have no obligation to evaluate or find space on your session for papers postmarked after January 31.

February 18, 2002 - Deadline for requests from conference office for additional sessions

March 1, 2002 - All session listings are due in the conference office. - Deadline for individually submitted papers reviewed by the conference organizing committee.

31 January to March 15, 2002 - "Early bird" registration rate.

April 30, 2002 - Last date for session listing changes from organisers. (Changes received after April 30 will not appear in the final Programme.) - Abstracts due in the conference office. - Last date for programme participants to register for the meeting or be dropped from the program.

May 31, 2002 - Information about the use of other visual aids than transparencies due in the conference office.

Please anticipate the above deadlines. It is impossible to schedule the expected 700 presentations without complete information.