Propose a Special Session for PAMLA 2019 Conference

We are excited to announce that PAMLA.org is in the process of migrating all of our conference materials and digital tools for organising sessions over to a brand spanking new site! It has been quite a long time in the making, but we are sure that this new site will make it easier for our members and presiding officers to propose special sessions (extended deadline: until March 31), propose abstracts to approved sessions (from April 10-June 10), and pay their 2019 membership dues and conference fees (payment system to open in April). For now, however, the system is ready for you to submit a proposal for a special session for the upcoming 117th Annual PAMLA Conference in beautiful downtown San Diego: at the stunning Wyndham San Diego Bayside Hotel from Thursday, November 14th to Sunday, November 17th!

 

The 2019 conference theme is “Send In the Clowns,” so prepare to explore every element of the carnivalesque and clowning! Oh, and hey, Bozo, don’t forget to break out those size 46 super-extra-large yellow shoes you once used for your kid-sister’s seventh birthday party as a goof, and get to it!

 

To Propose a Special Session, you’ll have to begin with some first steps!

 

The first step is to create a new User Account here! When you arrive at the login page, please create a new user account with a username and password you will remember, registered to an email that you will frequently check throughout the year. From there you can explore your account, tinker with your profile by adding a professional affiliation and a brief biography, and Propose a Special Session for the 2019 Conference!

 

When you are all logged in (having created a user account) and ready to roll, click on the “Propose a Session” button, or locate the User tab at the top of the page, and click the first drop-down option entitled “Propose Session.”  Please go here for details about session types and presiding officer or presenter guidelines!

 

For example, if I were to propose a session on the phenomenon of clowning in children’s media culture (specifically television clowns like Bozo, Cookie, or Blinky), I would give a title to my proposed special session (TV Clowning and Children’s Culture), choose a format (panel), a primary subject area (Send In the Clowns), and if necessary, a seconary subject area (Film and Media Studies). After including the necessary information, I would continue onward and write a brief abstract (between 50-150 words), and a broader description of the session (200-400 words) for the special session! And hey, if you like this idea about TV Clowns and Children’s Culture, how about you steal that idea, friend of PAMLA! The extended deadline for Special Session proposals is Sunday, March 31st.

 

Please note that anyone can propose a special session (but you’ll need to join PAMLA should your special session be approved), on any subject that is not a repetition of our regular, standing sessions. However, topics attuned to the special Conference Theme “Send in the Clowns” may receive special consideration! So, c’mon, you clowns, let’s get PAMLA 2019 underway with some fun (or, for some, creepy) special sessions for the upcoming 2019 PAMLA Conference!