2021 INSTRUCTIONS FOR SESSION CHAIRS

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Planning Sessions

Rules for Participation: Session chairs should review the Rules for Participation carefully. Please note especially the participation policy; session chairs who solicit papers for their sessions should inquire whether the invitee has already submitted a paper to another session, and if so, should withdraw their invitation to avoid having the person give more than one presentation as first author.
Session Length (in-person/Chicago program): Sessions and workshops are scheduled in time slots of two hours and five minutes in length. Please plan for no more than two hours and five minutes per session. Please allow at least 5 min. for discussion and transition after each paper. Please note that any session with papers that exceed this time limit or that does not allow time for discussion will be sent back to the session chair for reduction and revision. If you receive more than six high-quality submissions for a single session, your session will be automatically considered for an additional section, or you will be asked to limit your selection to six papers. Please remember also that four high-quality presentations are better than five medium-quality presentations. If you do not think you will have enough papers to fill a two hour and five minute session, please contact the chair(s) of the program committee by March 15, 2021.
Session Length (virtual component): This section will be updated when information is available for the virtual program to be held online, December 9-12, 2021.
Peer Review: Session chairs are responsible for assessing the quality of submissions. Chairs may want to consult with others in the field while reviewing some submissions. Please read ASOR’s Policy on Professional Conduct and keep this in mind when reviewing paper submissions. Section E(5-7) is particularly relevant regarding the presentation of unprovenanced materials and the presentation of research from occupied territories. If a paper raises concerns in terms of compliance with ASOR’s Policy on Professional Conduct, please alert the Co-Chairs of ASOR’s Program Committee and do not accept the paper in the online system.
Acceptance/Rejection of Papers: Please submit your assessment of each abstract via ASOR’s online abstract submission system. You will be given access to the abstract submissions for both the in-person and virtual components soon after the submission period ends on March 15. The official deadline for completion of your review of submissions is April 9, but earlier notice is appreciated. You may be asked to review additional paper proposals that were not accepted/placed during the first round of reviews. The ASOR office will notify proposers of whether their papers have been accepted or rejected by May 15. Please do NOT notify proposers yourself of the acceptance or rejection of their proposals, as it is important that all acceptances and rejections be issued at the same time, in an official format, and from the ASOR office.
Timeline and Deadlines: Session chairs should read the Deadlines for the 2021 ASOR Annual Meeting carefully.

Schedule and Abstract files:

This section will be updated to include information about the 2021 virtual component to be held online, December 9-12. Please check back regularly for updates.

In order to build the schedule and assemble the program book documents, each session and workshop is asked to submit the order of presentations (schedule) to ASOR’s Director of Meetings and Events by May 1. The ASOR Office will format the program listing, but you are responsible for indicating the order of the presentations and, if there are 8 or more papers, which speakers will be presenting in each session/time-slot.

Abstracts: All accepted abstracts will be lightly copy-edited for grammar, format, and consistency. If you notice necessary corrections related to content or names, please note those in the comments section when completing the review of the abstract.

Special Media Requests for in-person meetings: All rooms will be equipped with an LCD projector, screen, and podium with microphone. ASOR does NOT provide computers for sessions. Session chairs are responsible for arranging to have a laptop that can be used for the duration of the session with pre-loaded presentation materials from each speaker.

If you need any other audiovisual equipment beyond that listed above, it is the session chair’s responsibility to email Arlene Press with your request by May 1, 2021. Audio connections are not available in every room and it is important to notify ASOR in advance if you learn that a presenter has included sound in their slides. Requests cannot always be met and may add an expense to the session. Live streaming is not permitted.

The Program Committee reserves the right to reject any session that is substantially different from the proposal originally approved.

Note: If a session chair needs to cancel a session due to a dearth of submissions or other reasons, he/she must notify the Program Committee Chair(s) by March 15, 2021.

Etiquette for Session Chairs

All session chairs should be aware of the following rules of etiquette:

1. Discussants: If someone is invited to participate as a discussant or respondent in your session, they must be a current ASOR academic member and register for ASOR’s Annual Meeting. While discussants do not have an official peer-reviewed paper on the program, they should complete an abstract submission form with the title “Discussant,” to ensure that they have an official listing on the academic program. It is essential for the success of a session involving a discussant that the discussant receives a draft of the papers at least one week before the Annual Meeting. It is the responsibility of session chairs to facilitate this exchange.

2. Session Schedule: The published schedule will be followed strictly. Let presenters, discussants/respondents, and panelists know of this practice. If a participant of the session does not attend and does not submit a paper to be read or finishes early, do not begin the next presentation until the printed time. Fill “gaps” with discussion or a break; the session should not be rearranged or otherwise modified. It is essential for the success of the papers and the ensuing discussion that presentations not be allowed to run beyond the time allotted for them.

3. Changes to Schedule: Announce any changes to the schedule at the beginning of the session and at the time of the change.

4. Troubleshooting: Ask if there is a TFBA Fellow in the room to assist, use the Audio-Visual Support number listed at or near the podium, or contact the ASOR registration desk while at the meeting if you have problems, such as:

– The room is not set up according to special requests that the chair may have arranged in advance of the meeting.
– You cannot find the light switches
– There are not enough chairs
– Another group is in your room at the time you are scheduled

ASOR Programs Committee

Click here for a list of Programs Committee members.

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