All presenters have been asked to upload a version of their talk to our own Humanities Commons Group, at least one week prior to their scheduled session. This version of the talk can take many forms: it could be a written draft of a paper, slides with notes, a video or audio recording of the speaker, etc. Each session will have at least two respondents and a chair, all of whom will be responsible for reading the session’s papers in full before the session and preparing a number of questions for the authors. 

To kick-off each of the one-hour sessions, each speaker will give an elevator-pitch (3 mins MAX) outlining the highlights of their paper. This pitch should assume that the audience has read the paper beforehand and should speak only to summarize the following: “X is what I am looking for, X is how I went about it: X is what I found” or, even more simply, “X is what I did, X is why it matters”.

The majority of the hour is meant to be spent in discussion. We have done our best to draw together papers whose themes and methods will allow for constructive, relevant, and insightful conversation amongst speakers and their audiences. An online forum does not lend itself well to three 20-minute papers, so we invite all participants to engage deeply in these sessions, to be generous with their time and their expertise, and to come prepared as a sign of respect for all involved. 

The Arts Resource Centre at the University of Alberta will be providing technical support for the conference. All registered participants will receive full details about log-ins, links, and remote participation in the weeks leading up to the conference.