There are three types of sessions:

Invited Sessions: Sessions that have been designated Invited Sessions will not be subject to further review, but participants are otherwise bound by the rules of the meeting and must submit abstracts, meeting registration forms and fees by April 1. You will know if your session has invited status.  

Volunteered Sessions: All sessions other than Invited Sessions are to be submitted as Volunteered Sessions.

Presidential Sessions: To submit a Presidential Session proposal, please email the panel's title, a two/three paragraph description/abstract of the panel's focus (not to exceed 300 words), and a list of panel participants, confirmed and solicited, to Deborah A. Thomas and John L. Jackson, Jr., at Deborah.Thomas@sas.upenn.edu and Jjackson@asc.upenn.edu. If possible, please include the titles and abstracts (not to exceed 250 words) of panelists' presentations. Deadline for presidential sessions is January 23, 2009.

The guidelines below apply to all sessions:

• All Sessions (Invited, Volunteered and Presidential) MUST be submitted online.  Sessions not submitted online will not be in the program.
• A session abstract of up to 500 words is required. The organizer is responsible for articulating the theme and relevance of the session in the session abstract. The concept of the session should be reflected in each paper; poorly integrated groupings are subject to revision or distribution of papers to other sessions.
• All sessions can be either 1.75 hours or 3.75 hours. 
  • The amount of hours dictates the amount of roles in a session.
  • A session with 1.75 hours will have up to seven 15 minute time slots; this includes all papers, discussants, discussions and breaks.
  • A session that is 3.75 hours has up to fifteen 15 minute time slots; this includes all papers, discussants, discussions and breaks.
  • All 3.75 sessions include at least one break.
  • Failure to comply will compromise scheduling opportunities.
• The session organizer is responsible for submitting the session structure.  This includes the title of the session, selecting the section that will review the session, key words, the session abstract and all roles (includes chairs, papers presenters, iscussants, discussions, and breaks).
• The papers within a proposed session will be evaluated individually. Organizers should be prepared for the possibility that some proposed papers may be rejected and other papers substituted or added.
• LCD projectors will be provided for every scholarly session on the AAA program. Audiovisual equipment must be operated by the participant. No changes to the original audiovisual order submitted online may be made after April 1.
• Every participant included in the proposal, including chairs and discussants, must be contacted and agree to participate.
• All Chairs, organizers, paper presenters, and discussants MUST register.  Failure to register or submit by April 1st will result in automatic removal from the session; participants that did not register nor submit will NOT appear in the program. 
• The names and institutional affiliations of the proposed participants should be verified by the organizer.
• All participants listed in the panel will receive an email requesting that they submit their proposal and or register depending on their role.  Please submit your session early, this will allow your participants time to submit their abstracts and register.

The roundtable provides a format to discuss critical social issues effecting anthropology. No papers are presented in this format. The organizer will submit an abstract for the roundtable but participants will not present papers or submit abstracts. Participation as a discussant in this type of format will be the participants' major role, having the same weight as a paper presentation. All organizers and discussants must register.

All volunteered papers/posters will be evaluated individually. The author submits the title, review section, key words, up to 250 word abstract and Co-author's names. Proposals must be accompanied by the meeting registration fee. One paper per person.

Volunteered papers/ posters, if accepted, will be grouped by the program committee into sessions around a common topic or theme. A maximum of 15 minutes will be allotted for the presentation of any single paper/ poster in such sessions.

How to create a poster (PDF)

The AAA Public Policy Forum provides a format to discuss critical social issues affecting anthropology, public policy issues of interest to anthropology, or public policy issues that would benefit from anthropological knowledge or expertise. The public policy forum engages anthropologists and non-anthropologists, as well as presenters and the audience, in a discussion of public policy issues to enhance application of anthropological knowledge beyond the discipline in order to advance anthropology in society at large. Recognizing that there may be diverse perspectives among anthropologists, the public policy forum presents a balanced view of the issue in order to promote dialogue among participants. Ideally, at least one policymaker will be included in the forum.

No papers are presented in the public policy forum. The ideal format consists of a moderator and no more than seven panelists. Panelists are introduced by the moderator, or introduce themselves and their interest in the topic, and the moderator proceeds to pose questions to panelists. Questions may be posed to one panelist directly, with other panelists commenting on the question after the original panelist has answered; or questions may be posed to the panel as a whole to elicit comment/discussion. After the panel discussion, the moderator requests questions or comments from the audience. It is important that adequate time be set aside at the end of the forum for audience participation.

Generally, public policy forums are allotted 1.75 hours, or 105 minutes, of annual meeting time. Since the dual purpose of the forum is to maximize discussion of policy issues among the panelists and the audience, it is recommended that time at the forum be allotted as follows: introduction (15 minutes); moderator-posed questions/answers (60 minutes); and questions/ comments from audience (30 minutes).

Refer the Review of the Session Proposal to the AAA Committee on Public Policy, NOT a section; complete the Session Structure Form, identify the moderator and potential panelists, and check their role as discussant (time allotment is 1.75 hours); submit an abstract of 500 words describing the Public Policy Forum and public policy issue to be discussed.

The 2009 SVA/ AAA Film, Video and Interactive Media Festival will take place during the 108th AAA Annual Meeting. As in the past, SVA selects a jury of anthropologists and film scholars who decide which submissions to include in the festival and, among those, which will receive awards. We continue to welcome interactive media work, and we also encourage short work which is under 15 minutes. DVD formats are fine. Registration for all submissions must be completed by April 1 at the AAA Meeting Registration Site online.

Filmmakers and distributors are asked to send work to be considered to Joyce Hammond, Department of Anthropology, Mail Stop 9083, Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA 98225, postmarked no later than April 1.

Students who are just finishing a film must also register by April 1, but may submit their work up until May 1. Submitted materials will not be returned. Award winners will be notified in the summer, and clips of award winners will be placed on SVA’s website. For further inquiries or questions contact Carol Hermer at chermer@pipeline.com.

Special events such as business meetings, committee and board meetings, workshops, food and beverage functions, and panels will be scheduled as part of the special events program, which is the responsibility of the executive office, from Wed through Sun. To avoid conflicts with scientific sessions, special events are usually scheduled during the periods of 12:15-1:30 p.m. and 6-7:15 p.m. Events are limited to 1.25 hours, except some events, workshops and board/ committee meetings, which may be scheduled on Wed, the first day of the meeting.

First priority in the assignment of time and space will be given to business, board and committee meetings of the AAA, including its sections. Other special events will be accommodated to the degree possible. For events organized by other organizations, there is an administrative fee to cover costs of arrangements and publication. The Special Events Program will not accommodate panels, papers or professional presentations that rightfully belong on the scientific program. To be listed in the meeting program, special event proposals must be accompanied by administrative fees when appropriate.

Papers can be submitted individually or as part of an organized session. Individually submitted papers will be grouped into sessions by the section review editors.

A waiver (or membership waiver) - nullifies the requirement to be a member in order submit a proposal. A waiver does not give you a complimentary membership and it does not annul the payment of a registration fee.