Special Format Session Proposals
Special Sessions is our “umbrella” term for general conference sessions that invite interaction, movement, “non-traditional” conference presentation tools such as instruments/film clips/crafting etc., and multimedia resources. We consider the following sessions “special format” and offer richer details in our fuller breakdown of each proposal option:
Interactive Sessions
NWSA’s members often create and introduce incredibly interactive and exciting sessions that lean outside the ‘standard’ academic conference proposal model. We ask that should your session involve movement, sound activities, or what may be considered a ‘non-traditional’ activity, that you select this category. This designation allows our Proposal Review Committee to meaningfully evaluate the proposed general conference session.
Organizing Sessions
This session format is grounded in our desire to curate spaces of meaningful collaboration and resource sharing among NWSA members/attendees interested in exploring particular issues, questions, as well as interventions that uniquely impact/shape Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (WGSS). Organizers are encouraged to engage our field’s interdisciplinary locations and submit a series of conceptual and/or theoretical questions that attend to the conference theme and/or subthemes; examples include addressing the contours of institutional culture and policy on the state of the field, pedagogical interventions, methodological imperatives, as well as special topics that may be addressed in and outside of formal academia. Organizing Sessions are driven by discussion, rather than structured panel-style presentations; therefore, interested presenters should include a listing of generative discussion prompts in their abstract to further contextualize the focus of the session.
Poster Presentations
Poster proposals present research or analysis on a topic by combining graphics and text on a poster board. We schedule poster sessions together in a gallery-style time block in order to make space for presenters to interact on a one-on-one basis with the attendees viewing the poster. A well-planned poster communicates its message in a visually and textually powerful way, allowing the attendees to grasp the information quickly and accessibly with the author(s).
We understand that many of our applicants are traveling across the United States of America and across human-made borders; in this context, traveling with a poster board is no easy feat for some. Therefore, we do not impose specific guidelines re: design and poster size, we want you to have as much flexibility as you need. The Poster Boards NWSA Provides for this session are made of cork board and velcro; this allows presenters options if they would like to use pushpins or velcro to “hang” their posters. We recommend presenters design posters with the dimensions of 36 in x 40 in.
What makes a Strong Special Format Proposal?
We especially welcome Special Format proposals that:
| Interactive Sessions |
truly engage the invitation to offer "interactive" experiences for attendees; clearly articulate how the session will be structured/facilitated, clear learning objectives for participants, and intentional alignment with the 2026 Call for Proposals theme and subthemes. |
| Organizing Sessions |
meet the fullness of curiousity in attending to the tenuous and contemporary issues that particularly impact WGSS scholar-activism; Organizing Sessions are designed to explore "how might we" questions that address the boundaries/limitations within our fields/ disciplines and inform actionable change in and outside of academia. We encourage proposals focused on regional organizing, institutional type, local organizing and collaborations with non-academic collectives, undergraduate and graduate discussion circles, etc. that aim to discuss, resource share, and move into action |
| Poster Sessions |
introduce and explore emerging, in-progress, and recent scholarship, aims to utilize images, graphics, or other visual multi-mediums to express your research, collaborative presenter roles with co-authors, and clear engagement with the (sub)themes of the annual conference |
Generally strong proposals offer:
"Clear tie in between feminist texts and the proposal (for example, a direct quotation; a brief description of the main theory or theories that are used within the proposal; a justification for why this text or historical/contemporary figure was chosen as it related to feminist movements). Intersectional, decolonial, and/or queer perspectives are interwoven throughout the proposal, and not simply tacked on at the end." - Melinda Chen, NWSA Member-at-Large
"A strong proposal uses clear, accessible language that can be understood by an interdisciplinary audience of readers. A strong proposal should clearly articulate the paper's topic, argument, and methodology or evidence. A strong proposal should cite relevant sources in Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies and should explain the relationship of the paper to the conference theme or subthemes." - Kristina Gupta, NWSA Vice President