Instructions for Section Chairs

General instructions follow concerning requests for new sections and preparing section packets for submission to the ASOR office. Included below is a Sample Program Copy to illustrate how to submit a summary of your section's program, and an online Session Media form summarizing your media needs is also available as a replacement for the blue paper form mailed out to all Section Chairs.

I. Membership / Registration

A. Membership:

Individual or institutional membership in ASOR is a prerequisite for participation in the Annual Meeting program. Participants must include their membership number on their Participation/Abstract Forms. Membership numbers are printed on the upper left of ASOR mailing labels and are also available from our Membership/Subscriber office at 800-821-7823. Please ensure that your participants are members of ASOR. If they are current members, they will be sent the ASOR Spring Newsletter that includes the Annual Meeting Program Guide.

B. Registration:

Preregistration is a requirement for all participants in the Annual Meeting Program. Registration and payment are to be submitted to the ASOR office before the April 1, 2000 deadline. Upon receipt of their registration and payment, the ASOR office will send out a letter of acknowledgement, which participants can then copy and send to section chairs as proof of registration. Registration forms will be sent out in the ASOR Newsletter and are posted on the web at the Preregistration form.

Visiting non-North American scholars and scholars whose main area of research is not Near Eastern archaeology may be exempt from one or both of the membership and registration requirements upon request of the Section Chair but only if they have not previously participated in the Annual Meeting (previous participation can be confirmed by the ASOR main office). The Participation/Abstract Form provides a mechanism for requesting waivers.

If you are inviting paper submissions from colleagues for your section, please ask them whether they have already submitted an abstract to another section at the Meeting. If the person has already submitted to another section, please withdraw your invitation to them or tell them that they may only be involved in your section if they are not presenting elsewhere. A participant may not present two papers at the same meeting (see "Two Appearance Policy" below).

II. Two Appearance Policy

Members may present one paper and either chair one session or be a respondent / discussant / panelist in one section. Persons may participate only two times on the program in any capacity (business meetings are exempt.)

III. Session Scheduling

Sessions are placed in two (2) hour time slots. Please plan no more than two sessions and no session longer than two hours. Please allow time for discussion of papers.

IV. Guidelines for Submission of Program Copy

Please submit a summary of your program, following these guidelines (see the Sample Program Copy below):

1. Include the complete title of the section, indicating the session number in parentheses. E.g., Reports on Current Excavations and Surveys, ASOR-Affiliated (Session #1 of 2).

2. Include the theme of the session if applicable.

3. Include the total time for the session and times needed by each paper. The total session time may not exceed two hours, including breaks and discussion.

4. Refer to the Participation/Abstract Forms to verify information on each participant's name, institutional affiliation, and paper title. Your summary will be used to create the Program Book for the Meeting, so it is essential that it be as accurate as possible.

V. Instructions for Submitting Abstracts (for presenters and section chairs):

A. Abstracts are requested for each paper in the program. A single abstract representing an entire session is not acceptable. Footnotes should not be used in the abstracts - references, if absolutely necessary, should provide complete bibliographic information.

B. Abstracts longer than the 250 word limit should be edited by the section chair to conform to the length limit. Abstracts should be double spaced when submitted in paper form by the presenter.

C. Section chairs should submit all Participation/Abstract forms (received in paper and email form) to the ASOR office with the rest of their materials. Abstracts that are not submitted to the ASOR office on or before May 1, 2001 may not be published in the ASOR Abstract Book.

VII. Etiquette for Presiders

The Section Chair is responsible for making sure that all Session Presiders are aware of the following rules of etiquette.

A. The printed schedule will be followed strictly. Let presenters, respondents, and panelists know of this practice. If a participant of the session finishes early, do not begin the next portion until the printed time. Fill "gaps" with discussion or a break.

B. Announce any changes to the schedule at the beginning of the session and at the time of the change.

C. Ask your student assistant or contact the ASOR Registration Desk while at the Meeting, if you have problems, such as:

1. the room is not set up according to the chair's request in the Session Media Request Form.

2. if you cannot find the light switches, require an additional carousel, etc. *Note, any additional audio-visual equipment beyond that listed on the Participation Form must be approved by the Committee on Annual Meeting and Program and may incur excess charges to the session.

3. if another group is in your room at the time you are scheduled.

VII. Deadlines for Presenters and Section Chairs

A. Due to Eric Cline by March 1, 2001

Proposals for New Sections

B. Due to Section Chairs from Presenters by April 1, 2001

Participation/Abstract Form

Proof of Paid or Waived Registration (in form of letter from ASOR)

C. Due to ASOR Boston office from Section Chairs by May 1, 2001

Program Copy

Participation/Abstract Forms

Proof of paid or waived registration

Session Media Request Form

For more information contact:

Eric Cline, Chair of the Program Committee
Dept. of Classics and Semitics
345 Phillips Hall
George Washington University
Washington, DC 20052
tel 202-994-0316

or the ASOR Boston office (see contact information page for address and phone).

SAMPLE PROGRAM COPY

Reports on Current Excavations and Surveys, ASOR-Affiliated (Session 1 of 2)

2 hours total time

Theme (optional): none

Reports on Current Excavations - ASOR-Affiliated I

Eric H. Cline (George Washington University), Presiding

Sharon Herbert (University of Michigan) and Andrea Berlin (University of Minnesota), "New Excavations at Tel Kedesh" (20 min.)

Douglas R. Edwards (University of Puget Sound), "Life in a Small Town: Three Seasons of Excavations at Khirbet Cana, Israel" (20 min.)

Kenneth G. Holum (University of Maryland) and Clayton Lehmann (University of South Dakota), "The 2000 Season of the Combined Caesarea Expeditions" (20 min.)

Martha Sharp Joukowsky (Brown University), "Petra 2000: Brown University Excavations of the Great Temple" (20 min.)

Steven Falconer, Jennifer Jones, and Patricia Fall (Arizona State University), "Early Bronze IV Village Life at Tell Abu en-Ni'aj, Jordan" (20 min.) Discussion (20 min.)

General Discussion (20 min.)