Workshops and Roundtable Proposals

Workshop and Roundtable Proposals 

We welcome proposals that are focused on learning outcomes and engage facets of our membership/community as well as our field. Workshops are rooted in skill-building/exchange, resource sharing, and often hold elements of mentorship. Roundtable-style sessions do not rely on traditional reading of papers or visual presentation tools; these sessions foster discussion and ideation with presenters and their audience. 

Workshop

Workshops provide an opportunity to exchange information or work on a common problem, project, or shared interest. Workshops are typically experientially oriented, grounded in a Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies anchored research agenda, and include brief presentations that allow adequate time for reflective discussion and interaction.

Roundtable

Roundtables typically include a moderator and 4-6 presenters who make brief, informal remarks about a specific idea or project. They allow for extensive discussion, audience participation, and are often centered on broad topics, works-in-progress, and/or collaborative projects that invite thought partnership. Roundtables are, by design, discussion based and do not rely on traditional oral paper presentations or visual presentation tools.

What makes a Strong Proposal?

"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 

All conference proposals are peer-reviewed anonymously (without author identification). Guidelines for reviewers are developed by the Proposal Review Committee and include parameters such as: 

Topic: Is the topic/question/issue relevant to the field of women’s/gender studies?
Relationship to Theme and Sub-Theme: Are the topics/questions/issues discussed in the proposal clearly connected to the overall conference theme and one of the sub-themes?
Frameworks: Is the proposal grounded in relevant feminist/womanist theoretical/conceptual/applied frameworks?
Clarity: Is the proposal well-organized, coherent, and clear? 

NWSA Annual Conference Workshop, November, 2024. Photo by Tafari Stevenson-Howard.

Download Our Workshop and Roundtable Template

Our templates align directly with the steps within our submission site to assist you in this process! We encourage you to download the appropriate templates linked below to develop your proposal and relevant materials. This will help guide your submission; these templates are not a vehicle in which to submit your proposal. 

Download the Template

NWSA Annual Conference Roundtable, November, 2024. Photo by Tafari Stevenson-Howard.