CFP URL: https://aaslh.org/annualconference/2025-annual-conference/
Session Proposals Due December 13
Review the information below, which will be required when you submit your session proposal.
Requirements
Each session must have an organizer responsible for finding session presenters and coordinating logistics. All organizers must be affiliated with an institutional member or be an AASLH individual member. Topics for sessions should fit at least one of the categories listed below. Proposals must be submitted through AASLH’s online submission system, which will be available soon. For more information, contact Bethany Hawkins at hawkins@aaslh.org or by phone at 615-320-3203.
Presenter Information: AASLH requires that the Session Chair serve as the session organizer responsible for logistics, requests for materials and equipment, communication with participants and AASLH staff, and leading the session itself. Session chairs must be affiliated with an institutional member or hold an individual membership in AASLH. To involve as many people as possible in the meeting, no one can chair more than one session or participate in more than two. The committee also strongly discourages sessions where all presenters are from the same site. It is also suggested that you include an end-user as part of your session. If you need assistance finding presenters that bring diversity in institution, geography, perspectives, or race, please contact the AASLH staff or the 2025 Program Chair, Aaron Noble, at aaron.noble@nysed.gov. Note: You will need to create a username and password for the Cadmium Education Harvester site, which will be available soon. This is separate from your membership login at aaslh.org.
Session Title: Be creative and memorable.
What will your session DO and how does it connect to the theme “The American Experiment”? Describe in three to five sentences what you want to accomplish in your session (i.e. teach a new skill, inspire different thinking, help people learn from your mistakes, etc.) and how it connects to the conference theme.
Session Description (50 words or less): If your session is accepted, this will be used in the Annual Conference program. Make your description vivid and compelling. Please do not use bullet points.
Abstract (250 words or less): Describe the goals of your session, specifically describing its content and expected outcomes for attendees. Highlight the central issues the proposal addresses, why they are significant to the work of state and local history, and how the content supports the theme. Be as clear and concise as possible.
What are the takeaways for attendees in your session? (150 words or less) List up to three. These should be concrete ideas that can be put in bullet points.
How would you tag your session? (Choose two max. These may be used to create program tracks for the meeting.)
Nuts and Bolts (how to)
250th Anniversary
Collections/Exhibitions (which includes librarians and archivists)
Education/Interpretation (includes public programming)
Emerging Professionals
Operations (finance, fundraising, marketing, administration, HR)
Small Museums
Emerging Research
What is the format for your session (check one)? We encourage you to choose the most engaging format appropriate for your topic. Please read definitions before selecting.
Definitions for Formats:
- Charette (120 minutes) – A charette is collaborative session in which a group comes together to draft a solution to a particular problem or expand on an idea. This session should be designed as a working session that creates an output. The organizer decides the topic, but the participants supply most of the discussion. This session requires a strong facilitator.
- Conversation Provocation (75 minutes) – Audience members engage in discussion/debate. One facilitator poses a predetermined question and encourages attendees to participate. The facilitator manages the discussion as a guide on the side, not a sage on the stage.
- Experiential (75 minutes, onsite only) – Do a program – don’t just talk about it. Immerse your colleagues in a playful (or dark) experience exploring your topic. Attendees should spend time doing something, not just talking.
- Idea Studio (75 minutes) – Informed and inspired by a prompt or topic area, attendees work together interactively to develop new ideas and creative solutions for their sites, in their communities, or in the field at large.
- Lightning Round (75 minutes) – A strong moderator puts together a session around a particular theme. Then, they recruit speakers who can teach something specific to the audience in ten minutes or less. An ideal Lightning Round session would have 10 minutes for introduction, 50 minutes for five presentations, and 15 minutes for Q&A. An example of this session type could be what are five things you have learned over your career that you wish you knew when you started?
- Nuts and Bolts (75 minutes) – This session type focuses on a particular skill that is needed in the history profession. For example, it could be creating a collections management plan, developing a mission-driven budgeting process, or creating an education program for autistic children. It should be specific enough that attendees leave with a practical skill, but flexible enough that any size museum can adapt it for their needs. It is not designed to be a “show and tell,” but a “show and how to.”
- Roundtable (75 minutes) – One chair and up to three panelists examine complex historical or professional issues in discussion before an audience. These should go beyond “show and tell” presentations and instead be information-rich, emphasize practical takeaways, and include discussion of the complexity of the issues. Panelists should provide contrasting perspectives, represent a diversity of identities, and draw from varied institutions (in budget, mission, location, etc.). Ample time must be allowed for audience discussion.
- Workshops (full- or half-day sessions on Wednesday or Saturday) – These long-form, in-depth sessions are designed to teach special skills in a small group setting and may occur on or off-site. Proposals should detail the specific skills the workshop will teach as well as the methods and techniques instructors will use. Workshops should include takeaway resource materials (handouts, samples, reading lists, tools/props, etc.). Workshops may have up to four instructors. Participants in workshop sessions pay fees which contribute to the conference budget and presenters and panelists all contribute their presentations in-kind.
Session Chair and Presenter Contact Information, including “Describe what this speaker brings to the session (125 words or less):”
