Call for Proposals
Society for Textual Scholarship 2021 Conference:
Reckonings, Recoveries, and Transitions
19–22 May, 2021
Hosted virtually by The New School, New York
Textual scholarship addresses the practices, theories, technologies, values, and
materials that shepherd texts, broadly construed, through time. This editorial,
curatorial, theoretical, and analytical work is profoundly entangled in the history and
persistence of inequity as well as the rhetoric of division and alliance. Whose textual
legacies are preserved? Which texts are reformatted and reproduced? How is textual
reception shaped by access to cultural markets? How do the material and labor
conditions of textual production influence meaning-making? How are creation,
composition, publication, and audience conceived? These and similar questions prompt
us to direct our inquiries both outwardly, to the people and texts we examine, and
inwardly, to our field’s construction and history.
The theme of the 2021 STS conference, “Reckonings, Recoveries, and Transitions,”
invokes critical analysis of the past, reflection on the present, and speculation about the
future of textual scholarship, as we transit through a period of multi-dimensional, global
upheaval. We invite proposals related to this theme and on other aspects of textual
scholarship. This conference, hosted by The New School, NYC, will be entirely virtual
and aims to welcome new participants and encourage disciplinary assessment and
exploration.
Possible topics include:
Reckonings
• Textual scholarship and racism
• Textual scholarship and sexism
• Textual scholarship and activism
• Textual scholarship and ableism
• Textual scholarship and politics
• Textual scholarship and violence
• Reckoning as computation
• Reckoning with the history of textual scholarship
Recoveries
• Textual recoveries, discoveries, and “discoveries”
• Preserving marginalized textual traditions and materials
• Textual scholarship and health or illness
• Queer textual scholarship
• Feminist textual scholarship
• Anti-racist textual scholarship
• Textual production and reception in relation to economic distress and recovery
Transitions
• Media instantiations and migrations
• Texts and archives outside institutions, e.g., community archives
• Textual scholarship in uncertain times
• Transitions in modalities and methods
• Textual scholarship by other names
• Infra-political textual archives
• Editorial investments and risks
• Who and what does textual scholarship serve in the twenty-first century?
Textual scholarship is an established discipline, but STS is an interdisciplinary
organization and so is our conference and journal, Textual Cultures (edited by Marta
Werner). We bring together scholars and practitioners from diverse disciplines,
including literature, history, musicology, classical and biblical studies, theology,
philosophy, art history, legal history, the history of science and technology, computer
science, library and information science, lexicography, epigraphy, paleography,
codicology, cinema studies, new media studies, game studies, theater and performance
studies, linguistics, gender and sexuality studies, race and ethnicity studies, indigenous
studies, disability studies, and textual and literary theory. We share an interest in the
recovery and analysis of the material traces of the textual past broadly defined, and the
creation of a community of interpreters sharing knowledge and methods to that end. As
an organization, STS is committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Session Formats
We welcome proposals tailored to the four session formats below, designed to
maximize opportunities for real-time connection and conversation, leverage the
affordances of virtual platforms, minimize screen fatigue, and reduce barriers to
participation.
Panels
A panel consists of two or three 15-minute presentations followed by discussion.
• Individual proposals will be organized thematically into groups by the
conference program committee. Pre-organized panels are welcome.
• Please indicate in your proposal whether you would like to present in real time
or submit a pre-recorded presentation. Pre-recorded presentations will be due
by May 3.
Seminars
Seminars—a new format for the STS conference—are discussions of pre-circulated
research-in-progress essays (2500-6000 words) focused on related topics. Discussion is
led by a moderator. There are no real-time presentations, and seminar participants will
meet in conference sessions for discussion only, having read each others’ essays in
advance.
• In your proposal, please provide a description of your research in progress and
several topics germane to your contribution (see list of possible topics above;
other topics welcome).
• Essays will be due by April 23.
• You are welcome to organize a seminar around a specific topic or submit an
individual proposal (see instructions below); individual proposers will be
organized into groups based on their identified topic interests.
Flash Video Essays
The flash video essay—a new format for the STS conference—is a one- to three-minute
video that presents an argument or explores a point of view. It might consist of a tour of
a specific textual space, an interview, a sequence of archival materials, or original textbased art.
• In your proposal, please provide a short description of your video essay and
several topics germane to your contribution (see list of possible topics above;
other topics welcome).
• Please indicate in your proposal whether you would like to present in real time
or submit a pre-recorded presentation. Pre-recorded presentations will be due
by May 3.
Exhibits
Exhibits—a new format for the STS conference—are five-minute presentations in any
format: for example, lightning talks, virtual poster presentations, audio narratives, or
videos.
• In your proposal, please provide a description of your presentation along with a
list of possible topics (see list of possible topics above; other topics welcome).
• Please indicate in your proposal whether you would like to present in real time
or submit a pre-recorded presentation. Pre-recorded presentations will be due
by May 3.
Proposal Guidelines
Proposals should consist of the following:
- Name(s) and affiliation(s)
- Email address
- Title of submission
- Format type: panel, seminar, flash video essay, or exhibit
- 250-word proposal abstract
- List of specific topics (from the suggested topics listed in this CFP) to which the
submission relates - If you are submitting a proposal for a panel, video essay, or exhibit, please
indicate whether you would like to present in real time during the conference or
provide a pre-recorded presentation.
Proposals for pre-composed panels and seminars are welcome. You may suggest or
include a moderator. Pre-composed panel and seminar proposals should include the
above proposal information for each presentation, plus a title, brief description, and
contact person for the overall panel.
Organizing sessions based on topics. Accepted proposals for individual panel papers,
seminar papers, video essays, and exhibits will be assembled into groups in keeping
with the Society’s interdisciplinary ethos.
Proposals due: Monday, 8 February, 2021
Notification: Monday, 1 March, 2021
Seminar papers due: Friday, 23 April, 2021
Pre-recorded presentations, videos, and exhibits due: Monday, 3 May, 2021
Registration begins: Friday, 23 April, 2021
Inquiries and proposals should be sent to sts2021conference@gmail.com
There is no registration fee for this virtual conference, but all presenters must be
members of STS. For information about membership, please visit the Society for
Textual Scholarship website https://textualsociety.org/membership-information/.
Given the unique circumstances of the pandemic, we will waive the membership
requirement for presenters with a demonstrated financial need (e.g. unemployment);
please write to Andy Reynolds, Secretary (areynolds@wtamu.edu) for more
information.
For conference updates and information, see the STS website at
http://textualsociety.org
Society for Textual Scholarship 