[Crwt-undergrad-info] ASLE Call for Proposals

Allison Hedge Coke allisonh at ucr.edu
Tue Aug 20 17:20:44 PDT 2024


https://www.asle.org/conference/biennial-conference/

------------------------------
*ASLE Call for proposals*
------------------------------
*Allison Hedge Coke *<allisonh at ucr.edu> Tue, Aug 20, 2024 at 5:08 PM

To: Dana Simmons <dana.simmons at ucr.edu>
Hi Dana,

Forwarding ASLE Call for proposals

https://www.asle.org/conference/biennial-conference/

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BIENNIAL CONFERENCE
<https://www.asle.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/2025logodraft.png> ASLE
2025 BIENNIAL CONFERENCE*COLLECTIVE ATMOSPHERES: AIR, INTIMACY, AND
INEQUALITY*

*July 8-11, 2025*

*University of Maryland, College Park,ancestral lands of the Piscataway
People*
 CALL FOR PROPOSALS

Reflecting on the use of tear gas and other chemical weapons during the
2016 Standing Rock protests, Paiute scholar Kristen Simmons notes that
“[t]he conditions we breathe in are collective and unequally distributed. …
The atmosphere is increasingly a sphere to be weaponized.” A few years
later, this weaponization became clear as the unequally-experienced
COVID-19 respiratory pandemic overlapped with protests over the chokehold
murder of George Floyd at the hands of police—giving heartbreaking new
relevance to the Black Lives Matter rallying cry, “I can’t breathe.”
Meanwhile, deforestation and air pollution are again on the rise. The
Amazon rainforest, for instance—dubbed the “lungs of the world” due to its
ability to absorb carbon dioxide and produce oxygen—has come under
intensified threats. Wildfires stoked by climate change fill the air with
toxic smoke. And new research finds that unhoused people are
disproportionately exposed to air pollution. Breath and air, as has become
palpably obvious, are phenomena necessary for life, yet often overlooked
and not equally available to all. As historian Achille Mbembe states, what
humanity currently faces is “a matter of no less than reconstructing a
habitable earth to give all of us the breath of life.”

Fittingly, in our fields of ecocriticism, ecomedia studies, and
environmental humanities, we find a nascent wave of work attending to the
idea that air/atmospheres are at once specific to our individual bodies,
unequally experienced, and shared by all biotic life across time and space.
This work contributes to an emerging “respiratory humanities” and
“atmospheric humanities” —the latter of which, as the International
Commission on Science and Literature and the International Commission on
History of Meteorology recently declared in a joint call for papers,
considers “the atmosphere’s agency as it becomes manifest as a medium,
life-giver, carrier, nutrient source, threat and a concern in modern life,
politics, and art.” Meanwhile, the prominent subfield of affect studies
engages with more figurative conceptions of “atmosphere,” including mood
and ambience. In sum, atmospheres become increasingly visible as sites of
contestations and convergences where the intimacy of breath is bound up
with wide-ranging environmental and cultural crises.

Of course, atmospheric thinking has a very long history. The idea of “bad
air” as a disease vector is an ancient one, and it persisted into the 19th
century in the miasma theory of disease transmission. In the 1800s,
polymath Charles Babbage wrote of the air as a “one vast library” that
serves as a repository of human and more-than-human history. Scientists
Simon L. Lewis and Mark A. Maslin recently concurred, suggesting with their
“Orbis Hypothesis” that the European colonization of the Americas left an
atmospheric trace. And since the late 1970s, the ozone layer and greenhouse
gasses have been major topics of scientific as well as public concern.

We seek papers, creative works, and other forms of inquiry that engage with
these concerns, broadly construed. Possible topics include but are not
limited to:

   - “Settler atmospherics” (Simmons) and Indigenous activism
   - Climate and/as history; histories of weather
   - Sensing air pollution; citizen science around air pollution
   - The emergence and role of the “respiratory humanities” or “atmospheric
   humanities”
   - Relationship of the above to the “blue humanities,” “green
   ecocriticism,” and/or “energy humanities”; waves of ecocriticism
   - Aesthetics of visibility/invisibility and air
   - Representing air inequality in haptic, olfactory, or other non-visual
   media
   - Unhoused populations and air inequality
   - Environmental racism and air inequality
   - Wildfires and smoke; prescribed burns and Indigenous fire knowledge as
   alternative technologies
   - Respiratory pandemics and the media
   - Rhetoric of anti-AAPI hate during COVID-19
   - Masking and dis/ability rhetoric; long COVID and “crip time” (Alison
   Kafer)
   - Air purification technology and the commodification of air (see
   Yangdon Li)
   - “Atmospheric rivers,” flooding, and representation
   - Representations of atmospheric layers (troposphere, stratosphere,
   mesosphere, thermosphere, exosphere)
   - Air travel and alternatives
   - Space environmentalism: space debris, cosmic dust, extraterrestrial
   exploration
   - Airwaves, radio waves, soundwaves—from podcasts to birdsong
   - Affect studies and intangible/figurative atmospheres

We also welcome work that engages in other ways with the larger concerns
outlined above—including climate change, environmental health and justice,
settler colonialism—and/or with the vision and mission of ASLE, which seeks
to inspire and promote intellectual work in the environmental humanities
and arts. Our vision is an inclusive community whose members are committed
to environmental research, education, literature, and art, as well as
service, environmental justice, and ecological sustainability. See more
here: https://www.asle.org/discover-asle/vision-history/.

Confirmed keynote speakers include:

   - *Hsuan Hsu* <https://english.ucdavis.edu/people/hlhsu>, author of *The
   Smell of Risk: Atmospheric Disparities and the Olfactory Arts*, and *Air
   Conditioning*
   - *Craig Santos Perez
   <https://www.hawaii.edu/news/2023/11/16/perez-indigenous-poetry-book-award/>*,
   winner of the 2023 National Book Award for poetry
   - *JT Roane
   <https://geography.rutgers.edu/people/faculty/faculty-member/974-roane-j-t>*,
   author of *Dark Agoras: Insurgent Black Social Life and the Politics of
   Place in Philadelphia*, and co-leader of the Black Ecologies Lab at
   Rutgers
   - *Kaia Sand <https://www.streetroots.org/users/kaia-sand>*, poet,
   activist, and Executive Director of Street Roots
   <https://www.streetroots.org/> (Portland, OR)

------------------------------
*CALL DETAILS *

ASLE welcomes proposals for the following presentation formats for our 2025
conference (described in more detail in the sections below):

   - pre-formed panels of scholarly papers, creative readings, roundtables,
   or discussion symposia of between 4 and 8 presenters;
   - individual scholarly papers or creative readings, to be placed into
   panels;
   - pre-conference workshops

While the vast majority of sessions will only be available to people
attending the conference in person, there will also be fully virtual
sessions and a virtual keynote to allow people who cannot attend in person
an opportunity to participate (at a lower registration cost). *These will
be held on July 17-18 2025.*

In-person plenary sessions will also be available to virtual participants,
both as live streams and recorded, and a couple of virtual pre-conference
workshops are planned. Other in-person conference sessions will not be
available virtually, and we are not able to accommodate hybrid sessions at
the conference. People who submit proposals to present at the conference
in-person will therefore *not *be able to present at in-person sessions
virtually.

*Paper and Panel Submission Process *

All presentation sessions will be 90 minutes long. We will accept proposals
for the 2025 conference for both pre-formed panels and individual
presentations, with no preference given to one type of proposal or the
other. Both scholarly and creative submissions are welcome. ASLE encourages
experimentation with alternative forms of presentation, discussion, and
engagement, especially in pre-formed panels. We expect to receive more
proposals than we can accommodate; therefore, not all proposals will be
accepted.

*Only one individual abstract submission is allowed per person*.
Participants can present only once during the conference as part of a
panel; facilitating or participating in a pre-conference workshop or
chairing a panel do not count towards this limit. If a pre-formed panel
organizer wishes to submit two or more topically linked panels, that is
allowed, but organizers may still only present on one panel.

All presentation proposals must be submitted via the Pheedloop submission
platform. Click on your submission format type below and fill out the
required form. If this online submission requirement poses a significant
difficulty, please contact us at 2025asleconf at gmail.com.

Please read below to find specific submission information for the various
presentation formats, submission guides, and links to the submission forms.
------------------------------
*PRE-FORMED PANELS*

Proposals for pre-formed panels can be in several formats:

   - traditional scholarly papers or creative readings, which must include
   a chair (who may also serve as a panelist) and four presentations of
   fifteen minutes each, followed by discussion time
   - discussion symposia (new in 2025), which must include four to six
   moderators who frame a topic and lead a discussion with the panel attendees
   - roundtables, which must include a chair (who may also serve as a
   panelist) and five to six panelists who speak for no more than 10 minutes
   each, followed by discussion time
   - paper jams, which must include a chair (who may also serve as a
   panelist) and seven or eight panelists who speak for no more than 7-8
   minutes each, followed by discussion time

We especially encourage groups engaged in artistic, pedagogical, activist,
or other types of collaborative work to present the results of those
efforts in one of the formats above. Alternative formats for pre-formed
panels are also encouraged, such as visual exhibitions, interactive
creative engagements, debates, etc. Please contact ASLE Conference Chair
Beatriz Rivera Barnes at 2025asleconf at gmail.com. before proposing such
alternative formats.

A proposal for a full panel session should be a summary abstract which
gives a brief description of the session in 300 words (2000 characters) or
less. This might include applicability to the conference theme, how it
connects to the mission and goals of ASLE and the broader environmental
humanities community, and/or scholarly and creative merits. Proposals may
also be submitted for virtual panels. Any proposals for virtual panels must
be clearly indicated as such at the time of submission. Please note again
that we are NOT able to accept hybrid part-virtual panels.

*For traditional panels, paper jams, and roundtables where presenters DO
have separate formal talk titles/abstracts, this submission requires two
steps:*

   1. Panel chair/organizer should select the panel format and submit the
   panel abstract for session. Please include presentation titles and authors
   for all other panelists in the provided fields, so we can check them
   against submissions in step 2.
   2. Other panelists (including the panel organizer if they are also
   presenting) must also submit their individual abstracts (300 words/2000
   characters or less) as a separate proposal. Please have them select
   “Individual Abstract that is part of a Pre-Formed Panel” and include the
   panel session title in the appropriate field. Full panel sessions will be
   considered completed and ready for review once all panelists have submitted
   their abstracts as separate proposals.

*For roundtables where presenters DO NOT have a separate formal talk
title/abstract*, and for *discussion symposia*, step 2 is not required, but
all discussants and their contact information must be listed in the
“Co-speakers” section of the submission form.

Pre-formed panels are not guaranteed acceptance in the conference, unless
they are submitted by affiliated organizations or ASLE interest groups. If
we are unable to accept a panel, the proposals in that panel will receive
full consideration as part of the individual abstracts review. To encourage
institutional diversity and exchange, all pre-formed panels must include
participants from more than one institution and from more than one academic
rank or sector.


*Posting Your Panel Call*To facilitate more inclusion and
interdisciplinarity in pre-formed panels, we encourage people with panel
ideas to post a brief call of no more than 300 words to invite presenters
to apply to your proposed panel theme. Please post your panel call *no
later than October 10, 2024 *via this link
<https://www.asle.org/category/calls-for-papers/>. We will post these calls
on the ASLE conference website and advertise them in our publicity channels.
BEFORE SUBMITTING, CHECK OUT THESE DETAILED GUIDELINES WITH STEP-BY-STEP
INSTRUCTIONS: ASLE 2025 SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS
<https://www.asle.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/ASLE-2025-Submission-Instructions.pdf>*SUBMIT
A PRE-FORMED PANEL PROPOSAL*
<https://site.pheedloop.com/portal/event/EVEHBVWXVKRHO/submission/CALUD7HKOXK272E/>
------------------------------
*INDIVIDUAL PRESENTATIONS OR READINGS*

Proposals may be submitted for individual paper presentations or readings,
for a maximum of 15 minutes each. These presentations, if accepted, will be
placed into panels. Potential presenters will be asked to indicate whether
they would also be willing to participate in a roundtable (5-6 presenters
per panel) or paper jam (7-8 presenters per panel) format, with shorter
presentation times; willingness to participate in such formats will
increase chances of acceptance. Individual proposals should contain
abstracts of no more than 300 words/2000 characters, and should include:

   - Working title for the presentation (you will be able to edit this
   later)
   - Brief overview of the topic background
   - Specification of content type (e.g. theoretical contribution, project
   description, pedagogical experience, presentation of artistic work,
   personal or institutional experience, etc.)
   - Statement of content, including presentation’s main focus

Proposals may be submitted for virtual presentations, to be included in
virtual online panels. Any proposals for virtual presentations must be
clearly indicated as such at the time of submission.
BEFORE SUBMITTING, CHECK OUT THESE DETAILED GUIDELINES WITH STEP-BY-STEP
INSTRUCTIONS: ASLE 2025 SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS
<https://www.asle.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/ASLE-2025-Submission-Instructions.pdf>*SUBMIT
AN INDIVIDUAL PROPOSAL*
<https://site.pheedloop.com/portal/event/EVEHBVWXVKRHO/submission/CALUD7HKOXK272E/>
------------------------------
*PRE-CONFERENCE WORKSHOP PROPOSALS*

As we have in the past, we will hold a number of pre-conference workshops
on important and emerging topics that reflect the diversity of our
approaches and our membership: these workshops may or may not relate
directly to the conference theme (although we encourage it), and will be
held on the morning of Tuesday, July 8, prior to the start of general
sessions in the afternoon. This year, we are calling for workshop proposals
and will choose from the submissions received. We will offer between 6-8
in-person and 2-3 virtual workshops.

A proposal to lead a Pre-Conference Workshop should be geared to an
audience of fifteen participants, keep in mid a three-hour time frame, and
include no more than two co-leaders. Proposals should include:

   - an abstract of 300 words/2000 characters or less, describing the
   workshop content, goals, and structure, written for a broad,
   multidisciplinary audience; and
   - your (and your co-leader’s, if applicable) particular experiences and
   qualifications to lead the
   workshop, including a brief bio.

As workshop leaders’ names will appear on the program, we encourage (but do
not require) accepted proposers to present in the workshop instead of
giving a paper during the conference. If your workshop proposal is not
accepted, there should be ample time to submit in a different proposal
format prior to the deadline on January 3.

Pre-Conference Workshop leaders are eligible for a registration waiver for
the 2025 conference. *To submit a proposal to lead a workshop, please apply
by October 24, 2024.*

Conference participants may register for one of the chosen workshops on a
first come, first served basis during registration, for an additional $20
fee. There will be 15 spots available for each workshop. Depending on the
specific workshop format, workshop participants will either do shared
readings in advance of the workshop; share a short scholarly paper in
advance; and/ or bring ideas and projects with them to the workshop. The
names of all workshop participants will be listed in the conference
program. Workshop participants may also present in another format at the
conference, if they wish.
BEFORE SUBMITTING, CHECK OUT THESE DETAILED GUIDELINES WITH STEP-BY-STEP
INSTRUCTIONS: ASLE 2025 WORKSHOP SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS
<https://www.asle.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/ASLE-2025-Workshop-Submission-Instructions.pdf>*SUBMIT
A PRE-CONFERENCE WORKSHOP PROPOSAL*
<https://site.pheedloop.com/portal/event/EVEHBVWXVKRHO/submission/CAL0MYCD7XS80JC/>
------------------------------
*DATES AND DEADLINES *

   - All proposals for pre-formed panels, individual presentations that are
   part of pre-formed panels, and individual presentations or readings must be
   submitted via Pheedloop by *11:59pm PST on January 3, 2025*. Any
   proposals for presentations in pre-formed panels that are not accepted for
   the conference will automatically be considered as individual
   presentations.
   - All proposals for Pre-Conference Workshops must be submitted via
   Pheedloop by *11:59 pm PST on October 24, 2024*. Proposers will be
   notified of acceptance status no later than *November 24, 2024*. Those
   whose workshops are not accepted are welcome to submit a proposal in
   another conference presentation format by the *January 3, 2025 *
   deadline.
   - If you submitted a proposal but discover you can no longer attend the
   conference, please inform the organizer of your panel (if relevant)
   *and *ASLE of withdrawal by *January 30, 2025*, if possible.
   - We will evaluate all proposals carefully and notify people of whether
   their proposal has been accepted by *February 27, 2025*.

For questions about submitting, please contact us at 2025asleconf at gmail.com
.
------------------------------
CONFERENCE LOCATION

As environmental humanists, we recognize that in-person meetings such as
the ASLE conference are largely made possible by fossil fuels and thereby
contribute to climate change. Guided by the goals outlined in the 2020-2026
ASLE Strategic Plan
<https://www.asle.org/wp-content/uploads/ASLE-Strategic-Plan-2020-26.pdf>,
we selected this conference site due to its relative proximity to the
majority of ASLE members as well as its connectivity to interstate rail
transit. Additionally, College Park is located on the Green Line of the DC
light rail metro system, and we encourage attendees to utilize it when
possible. The stop is about a mile from campus.
https://www.wmata.com/rider-guide/stations/college-park.cfm#
<https://www.wmata.com/rider-guide/stations/college-park.cfm>

The nearby area boasts several projects and landmarks of interest,
including ECO City Farms, the Hyattsville Food Forests, the Rachel Carson
House, and the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal. As per tradition, the conference
will include field trips to such sites, as well as a local “cultural
crawl.”

The University of Maryland, College Park <https://umd.edu/> is the state’s
flagship university, located just outside Washington, D.C.  One of the
nation’s preeminent public research universities with an enrollment nearly
41,000, UMD has a commitment to environmental and social values, such as
the programs, projects, and events offered through the Office of
Sustainability’s SustainableUMD <https://sustainability.umd.edu/about> network
and the School of Public Policy’s Do Good Institute
<https://dogood.umd.edu/research-impact-dgi>.

*I first attended and presented at ASLE at the 2009 conference in Victoria,
BC.  At the time, I was a Master’s student and didn’t yet know whether I
wanted to pursue studies in the field of environmental literature, or even
a career in academia more broadly. After five days of amazing conference
panels, intellectually stimulating conversations, and fun hiking
adventures, I was certain that I had chosen the right field and the right
profession.  Now, attending ASLE conferences truly feels like coming home.
I would not be where I am today without ASLE, an organization that is
welcoming of all perspectives, all methodologies, and scholars at all
stages of their careers.* – Stephen Siperstein (English Teacher, Choate
Rosemary Hall)

ASLE welcomes proposals to host both our biennial conferences and off-year
affiliated symposia.


*Biennial Conference Proposal Guidelines
<https://asle.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/ASLE_Conference_BiennialGuide.pdf>
<https://asle.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/ASLE_Conferences_BiennialGuide.pdf>*These
guidelines are to assist potential hosts in formulating a complete and
compelling proposal for our large biennial conference.

*Off-Year ASLE Symposia Guidelines*
<https://asle.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/ASLE_Conferences_OffYearGuide.pdf>
Details of how to submit a proposal for an ASLE seed grant or ASLE
affiliation to assist with your own smaller symposium in non-conference
years (even years).


*Sustainability at Conferences
<https://asle.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/ASLE_Conferences_Sustainability.pdf>*ASLE
is committed to making our conferences as sustainable as possible. Please
consult this document if you are considering proposing a Biennial or
Off-Year ASLE Conference.

*Accessibility at Conferences
<https://asle.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/Access-Guidelines-for-ASLE-Biennial-Conferences.pdf>*
ASLE is committed to making our conferences as accessible as possible.
Please consult this document if you are considering proposing a Biennial or
Off-Year ASLE Conference.

[image: ASLE]
The Association for the Study of Literature and Environment seeks to
inspire and promote intellectual work in the environmental humanities and
arts. Our vision is an inclusive community whose members are committed to
environmental research, education, literature, art and service,
environmental justice, and ecological sustainability.
CONTACT ASLE
Phone & Fax: 603.357.7411
Email: info at asle.org
Address: P.O. Box 502 Keene, NH 03431-0502

<https://www.facebook.com/pages/ASLE-Association-for-the-Study-of-Literature-and-Environment/110738002282120?ref=ts>
  <https://twitter.com/ASLE_US>
SUBSCRIBE TO ANNOUNCEMENTS
If you wish to subscribe to our quarterly e-newsletter, please contact us at
 info at asle.org to be added to the mailing list. To join our discussion
list, click on "Stay Informed" --> "Discussion" on the main menu above.
*Allison Adelle Hedge Coke, **Distinguished Professor of **Creative Writing*
**She/her & Surname is Hedge Coke, no hyphen**
*Look at This Blue
<https://coffeehousepress.org/collections/shop/products/look-at-this-blue>*

*     Weird Times, Be Kind*
------------------------------
*ASLE Call for proposals*
------------------------------
*Allison Hedge Coke *<allisonh at ucr.edu> Tue, Aug 20, 2024 at 5:08 PM

To: Dana Simmons <dana.simmons at ucr.edu>
Hi Dana,

Forwarding ASLE Call for proposals

https://www.asle.org/conference/biennial-conference/

CONTACT <https://www.asle.org/discover-asle/contact/> MEMBER LOGIN
<https://www.asle.org/membership-account/> DONATE
<https://www.asle.org/join-our-community/donate/>
<https://www.asle.org/>

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   - STAY INFORMED <https://www.asle.org/category/stay-informed/>
   - EXPLORE OUR FIELD <https://www.asle.org/explore-our-field/>
   - JOIN OUR COMMUNITY <https://www.asle.org/join-our-community/>
   - RESEARCH & WRITE <https://www.asle.org/research-write/>
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BIENNIAL CONFERENCE
<https://www.asle.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/2025logodraft.png> ASLE
2025 BIENNIAL CONFERENCE*COLLECTIVE ATMOSPHERES: AIR, INTIMACY, AND
INEQUALITY*

*July 8-11, 2025*

*University of Maryland, College Park,ancestral lands of the Piscataway
People*
 CALL FOR PROPOSALS

Reflecting on the use of tear gas and other chemical weapons during the
2016 Standing Rock protests, Paiute scholar Kristen Simmons notes that
“[t]he conditions we breathe in are collective and unequally distributed. …
The atmosphere is increasingly a sphere to be weaponized.” A few years
later, this weaponization became clear as the unequally-experienced
COVID-19 respiratory pandemic overlapped with protests over the chokehold
murder of George Floyd at the hands of police—giving heartbreaking new
relevance to the Black Lives Matter rallying cry, “I can’t breathe.”
Meanwhile, deforestation and air pollution are again on the rise. The
Amazon rainforest, for instance—dubbed the “lungs of the world” due to its
ability to absorb carbon dioxide and produce oxygen—has come under
intensified threats. Wildfires stoked by climate change fill the air with
toxic smoke. And new research finds that unhoused people are
disproportionately exposed to air pollution. Breath and air, as has become
palpably obvious, are phenomena necessary for life, yet often overlooked
and not equally available to all. As historian Achille Mbembe states, what
humanity currently faces is “a matter of no less than reconstructing a
habitable earth to give all of us the breath of life.”

Fittingly, in our fields of ecocriticism, ecomedia studies, and
environmental humanities, we find a nascent wave of work attending to the
idea that air/atmospheres are at once specific to our individual bodies,
unequally experienced, and shared by all biotic life across time and space.
This work contributes to an emerging “respiratory humanities” and
“atmospheric humanities” —the latter of which, as the International
Commission on Science and Literature and the International Commission on
History of Meteorology recently declared in a joint call for papers,
considers “the atmosphere’s agency as it becomes manifest as a medium,
life-giver, carrier, nutrient source, threat and a concern in modern life,
politics, and art.” Meanwhile, the prominent subfield of affect studies
engages with more figurative conceptions of “atmosphere,” including mood
and ambience. In sum, atmospheres become increasingly visible as sites of
contestations and convergences where the intimacy of breath is bound up
with wide-ranging environmental and cultural crises.

Of course, atmospheric thinking has a very long history. The idea of “bad
air” as a disease vector is an ancient one, and it persisted into the 19th
century in the miasma theory of disease transmission. In the 1800s,
polymath Charles Babbage wrote of the air as a “one vast library” that
serves as a repository of human and more-than-human history. Scientists
Simon L. Lewis and Mark A. Maslin recently concurred, suggesting with their
“Orbis Hypothesis” that the European colonization of the Americas left an
atmospheric trace. And since the late 1970s, the ozone layer and greenhouse
gasses have been major topics of scientific as well as public concern.

We seek papers, creative works, and other forms of inquiry that engage with
these concerns, broadly construed. Possible topics include but are not
limited to:

   - “Settler atmospherics” (Simmons) and Indigenous activism
   - Climate and/as history; histories of weather
   - Sensing air pollution; citizen science around air pollution
   - The emergence and role of the “respiratory humanities” or “atmospheric
   humanities”
   - Relationship of the above to the “blue humanities,” “green
   ecocriticism,” and/or “energy humanities”; waves of ecocriticism
   - Aesthetics of visibility/invisibility and air
   - Representing air inequality in haptic, olfactory, or other non-visual
   media
   - Unhoused populations and air inequality
   - Environmental racism and air inequality
   - Wildfires and smoke; prescribed burns and Indigenous fire knowledge as
   alternative technologies
   - Respiratory pandemics and the media
   - Rhetoric of anti-AAPI hate during COVID-19
   - Masking and dis/ability rhetoric; long COVID and “crip time” (Alison
   Kafer)
   - Air purification technology and the commodification of air (see
   Yangdon Li)
   - “Atmospheric rivers,” flooding, and representation
   - Representations of atmospheric layers (troposphere, stratosphere,
   mesosphere, thermosphere, exosphere)
   - Air travel and alternatives
   - Space environmentalism: space debris, cosmic dust, extraterrestrial
   exploration
   - Airwaves, radio waves, soundwaves—from podcasts to birdsong
   - Affect studies and intangible/figurative atmospheres

We also welcome work that engages in other ways with the larger concerns
outlined above—including climate change, environmental health and justice,
settler colonialism—and/or with the vision and mission of ASLE, which seeks
to inspire and promote intellectual work in the environmental humanities
and arts. Our vision is an inclusive community whose members are committed
to environmental research, education, literature, and art, as well as
service, environmental justice, and ecological sustainability. See more
here: https://www.asle.org/discover-asle/vision-history/.

Confirmed keynote speakers include:

   - *Hsuan Hsu* <https://english.ucdavis.edu/people/hlhsu>, author of *The
   Smell of Risk: Atmospheric Disparities and the Olfactory Arts*, and *Air
   Conditioning*
   - *Craig Santos Perez
   <https://www.hawaii.edu/news/2023/11/16/perez-indigenous-poetry-book-award/>*,
   winner of the 2023 National Book Award for poetry
   - *JT Roane
   <https://geography.rutgers.edu/people/faculty/faculty-member/974-roane-j-t>*,
   author of *Dark Agoras: Insurgent Black Social Life and the Politics of
   Place in Philadelphia*, and co-leader of the Black Ecologies Lab at
   Rutgers
   - *Kaia Sand <https://www.streetroots.org/users/kaia-sand>*, poet,
   activist, and Executive Director of Street Roots
   <https://www.streetroots.org/> (Portland, OR)

------------------------------
*CALL DETAILS *

ASLE welcomes proposals for the following presentation formats for our 2025
conference (described in more detail in the sections below):

   - pre-formed panels of scholarly papers, creative readings, roundtables,
   or discussion symposia of between 4 and 8 presenters;
   - individual scholarly papers or creative readings, to be placed into
   panels;
   - pre-conference workshops

While the vast majority of sessions will only be available to people
attending the conference in person, there will also be fully virtual
sessions and a virtual keynote to allow people who cannot attend in person
an opportunity to participate (at a lower registration cost). *These will
be held on July 17-18 2025.*

In-person plenary sessions will also be available to virtual participants,
both as live streams and recorded, and a couple of virtual pre-conference
workshops are planned. Other in-person conference sessions will not be
available virtually, and we are not able to accommodate hybrid sessions at
the conference. People who submit proposals to present at the conference
in-person will therefore *not *be able to present at in-person sessions
virtually.

*Paper and Panel Submission Process *

All presentation sessions will be 90 minutes long. We will accept proposals
for the 2025 conference for both pre-formed panels and individual
presentations, with no preference given to one type of proposal or the
other. Both scholarly and creative submissions are welcome. ASLE encourages
experimentation with alternative forms of presentation, discussion, and
engagement, especially in pre-formed panels. We expect to receive more
proposals than we can accommodate; therefore, not all proposals will be
accepted.

*Only one individual abstract submission is allowed per person*.
Participants can present only once during the conference as part of a
panel; facilitating or participating in a pre-conference workshop or
chairing a panel do not count towards this limit. If a pre-formed panel
organizer wishes to submit two or more topically linked panels, that is
allowed, but organizers may still only present on one panel.

All presentation proposals must be submitted via the Pheedloop submission
platform. Click on your submission format type below and fill out the
required form. If this online submission requirement poses a significant
difficulty, please contact us at 2025asleconf at gmail.com.

Please read below to find specific submission information for the various
presentation formats, submission guides, and links to the submission forms.
------------------------------
*PRE-FORMED PANELS*

Proposals for pre-formed panels can be in several formats:

   - traditional scholarly papers or creative readings, which must include
   a chair (who may also serve as a panelist) and four presentations of
   fifteen minutes each, followed by discussion time
   - discussion symposia (new in 2025), which must include four to six
   moderators who frame a topic and lead a discussion with the panel attendees
   - roundtables, which must include a chair (who may also serve as a
   panelist) and five to six panelists who speak for no more than 10 minutes
   each, followed by discussion time
   - paper jams, which must include a chair (who may also serve as a
   panelist) and seven or eight panelists who speak for no more than 7-8
   minutes each, followed by discussion time

We especially encourage groups engaged in artistic, pedagogical, activist,
or other types of collaborative work to present the results of those
efforts in one of the formats above. Alternative formats for pre-formed
panels are also encouraged, such as visual exhibitions, interactive
creative engagements, debates, etc. Please contact ASLE Conference Chair
Beatriz Rivera Barnes at 2025asleconf at gmail.com. before proposing such
alternative formats.

A proposal for a full panel session should be a summary abstract which
gives a brief description of the session in 300 words (2000 characters) or
less. This might include applicability to the conference theme, how it
connects to the mission and goals of ASLE and the broader environmental
humanities community, and/or scholarly and creative merits. Proposals may
also be submitted for virtual panels. Any proposals for virtual panels must
be clearly indicated as such at the time of submission. Please note again
that we are NOT able to accept hybrid part-virtual panels.

*For traditional panels, paper jams, and roundtables where presenters DO
have separate formal talk titles/abstracts, this submission requires two
steps:*

   1. Panel chair/organizer should select the panel format and submit the
   panel abstract for session. Please include presentation titles and authors
   for all other panelists in the provided fields, so we can check them
   against submissions in step 2.
   2. Other panelists (including the panel organizer if they are also
   presenting) must also submit their individual abstracts (300 words/2000
   characters or less) as a separate proposal. Please have them select
   “Individual Abstract that is part of a Pre-Formed Panel” and include the
   panel session title in the appropriate field. Full panel sessions will be
   considered completed and ready for review once all panelists have submitted
   their abstracts as separate proposals.

*For roundtables where presenters DO NOT have a separate formal talk
title/abstract*, and for *discussion symposia*, step 2 is not required, but
all discussants and their contact information must be listed in the
“Co-speakers” section of the submission form.

Pre-formed panels are not guaranteed acceptance in the conference, unless
they are submitted by affiliated organizations or ASLE interest groups. If
we are unable to accept a panel, the proposals in that panel will receive
full consideration as part of the individual abstracts review. To encourage
institutional diversity and exchange, all pre-formed panels must include
participants from more than one institution and from more than one academic
rank or sector.


*Posting Your Panel Call*To facilitate more inclusion and
interdisciplinarity in pre-formed panels, we encourage people with panel
ideas to post a brief call of no more than 300 words to invite presenters
to apply to your proposed panel theme. Please post your panel call *no
later than October 10, 2024 *via this link
<https://www.asle.org/category/calls-for-papers/>. We will post these calls
on the ASLE conference website and advertise them in our publicity channels.
BEFORE SUBMITTING, CHECK OUT THESE DETAILED GUIDELINES WITH STEP-BY-STEP
INSTRUCTIONS: ASLE 2025 SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS
<https://www.asle.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/ASLE-2025-Submission-Instructions.pdf>*SUBMIT
A PRE-FORMED PANEL PROPOSAL*
<https://site.pheedloop.com/portal/event/EVEHBVWXVKRHO/submission/CALUD7HKOXK272E/>
------------------------------
*INDIVIDUAL PRESENTATIONS OR READINGS*

Proposals may be submitted for individual paper presentations or readings,
for a maximum of 15 minutes each. These presentations, if accepted, will be
placed into panels. Potential presenters will be asked to indicate whether
they would also be willing to participate in a roundtable (5-6 presenters
per panel) or paper jam (7-8 presenters per panel) format, with shorter
presentation times; willingness to participate in such formats will
increase chances of acceptance. Individual proposals should contain
abstracts of no more than 300 words/2000 characters, and should include:

   - Working title for the presentation (you will be able to edit this
   later)
   - Brief overview of the topic background
   - Specification of content type (e.g. theoretical contribution, project
   description, pedagogical experience, presentation of artistic work,
   personal or institutional experience, etc.)
   - Statement of content, including presentation’s main focus

Proposals may be submitted for virtual presentations, to be included in
virtual online panels. Any proposals for virtual presentations must be
clearly indicated as such at the time of submission.
BEFORE SUBMITTING, CHECK OUT THESE DETAILED GUIDELINES WITH STEP-BY-STEP
INSTRUCTIONS: ASLE 2025 SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS
<https://www.asle.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/ASLE-2025-Submission-Instructions.pdf>*SUBMIT
AN INDIVIDUAL PROPOSAL*
<https://site.pheedloop.com/portal/event/EVEHBVWXVKRHO/submission/CALUD7HKOXK272E/>
------------------------------
*PRE-CONFERENCE WORKSHOP PROPOSALS*

As we have in the past, we will hold a number of pre-conference workshops
on important and emerging topics that reflect the diversity of our
approaches and our membership: these workshops may or may not relate
directly to the conference theme (although we encourage it), and will be
held on the morning of Tuesday, July 8, prior to the start of general
sessions in the afternoon. This year, we are calling for workshop proposals
and will choose from the submissions received. We will offer between 6-8
in-person and 2-3 virtual workshops.

A proposal to lead a Pre-Conference Workshop should be geared to an
audience of fifteen participants, keep in mid a three-hour time frame, and
include no more than two co-leaders. Proposals should include:

   - an abstract of 300 words/2000 characters or less, describing the
   workshop content, goals, and structure, written for a broad,
   multidisciplinary audience; and
   - your (and your co-leader’s, if applicable) particular experiences and
   qualifications to lead the
   workshop, including a brief bio.

As workshop leaders’ names will appear on the program, we encourage (but do
not require) accepted proposers to present in the workshop instead of
giving a paper during the conference. If your workshop proposal is not
accepted, there should be ample time to submit in a different proposal
format prior to the deadline on January 3.

Pre-Conference Workshop leaders are eligible for a registration waiver for
the 2025 conference. *To submit a proposal to lead a workshop, please apply
by October 24, 2024.*

Conference participants may register for one of the chosen workshops on a
first come, first served basis during registration, for an additional $20
fee. There will be 15 spots available for each workshop. Depending on the
specific workshop format, workshop participants will either do shared
readings in advance of the workshop; share a short scholarly paper in
advance; and/ or bring ideas and projects with them to the workshop. The
names of all workshop participants will be listed in the conference
program. Workshop participants may also present in another format at the
conference, if they wish.
BEFORE SUBMITTING, CHECK OUT THESE DETAILED GUIDELINES WITH STEP-BY-STEP
INSTRUCTIONS: ASLE 2025 WORKSHOP SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS
<https://www.asle.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/ASLE-2025-Workshop-Submission-Instructions.pdf>*SUBMIT
A PRE-CONFERENCE WORKSHOP PROPOSAL*
<https://site.pheedloop.com/portal/event/EVEHBVWXVKRHO/submission/CAL0MYCD7XS80JC/>
------------------------------
*DATES AND DEADLINES *

   - All proposals for pre-formed panels, individual presentations that are
   part of pre-formed panels, and individual presentations or readings must be
   submitted via Pheedloop by *11:59pm PST on January 3, 2025*. Any
   proposals for presentations in pre-formed panels that are not accepted for
   the conference will automatically be considered as individual
   presentations.
   - All proposals for Pre-Conference Workshops must be submitted via
   Pheedloop by *11:59 pm PST on October 24, 2024*. Proposers will be
   notified of acceptance status no later than *November 24, 2024*. Those
   whose workshops are not accepted are welcome to submit a proposal in
   another conference presentation format by the *January 3, 2025 *
   deadline.
   - If you submitted a proposal but discover you can no longer attend the
   conference, please inform the organizer of your panel (if relevant)
   *and *ASLE of withdrawal by *January 30, 2025*, if possible.
   - We will evaluate all proposals carefully and notify people of whether
   their proposal has been accepted by *February 27, 2025*.

For questions about submitting, please contact us at 2025asleconf at gmail.com
.
------------------------------
CONFERENCE LOCATION

As environmental humanists, we recognize that in-person meetings such as
the ASLE conference are largely made possible by fossil fuels and thereby
contribute to climate change. Guided by the goals outlined in the 2020-2026
ASLE Strategic Plan
<https://www.asle.org/wp-content/uploads/ASLE-Strategic-Plan-2020-26.pdf>,
we selected this conference site due to its relative proximity to the
majority of ASLE members as well as its connectivity to interstate rail
transit. Additionally, College Park is located on the Green Line of the DC
light rail metro system, and we encourage attendees to utilize it when
possible. The stop is about a mile from campus.
https://www.wmata.com/rider-guide/stations/college-park.cfm#
<https://www.wmata.com/rider-guide/stations/college-park.cfm>

The nearby area boasts several projects and landmarks of interest,
including ECO City Farms, the Hyattsville Food Forests, the Rachel Carson
House, and the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal. As per tradition, the conference
will include field trips to such sites, as well as a local “cultural
crawl.”

The University of Maryland, College Park <https://umd.edu/> is the state’s
flagship university, located just outside Washington, D.C.  One of the
nation’s preeminent public research universities with an enrollment nearly
41,000, UMD has a commitment to environmental and social values, such as
the programs, projects, and events offered through the Office of
Sustainability’s SustainableUMD <https://sustainability.umd.edu/about> network
and the School of Public Policy’s Do Good Institute
<https://dogood.umd.edu/research-impact-dgi>.

*I first attended and presented at ASLE at the 2009 conference in Victoria,
BC.  At the time, I was a Master’s student and didn’t yet know whether I
wanted to pursue studies in the field of environmental literature, or even
a career in academia more broadly. After five days of amazing conference
panels, intellectually stimulating conversations, and fun hiking
adventures, I was certain that I had chosen the right field and the right
profession.  Now, attending ASLE conferences truly feels like coming home.
I would not be where I am today without ASLE, an organization that is
welcoming of all perspectives, all methodologies, and scholars at all
stages of their careers.* – Stephen Siperstein (English Teacher, Choate
Rosemary Hall)

ASLE welcomes proposals to host both our biennial conferences and off-year
affiliated symposia.


*Biennial Conference Proposal Guidelines
<https://asle.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/ASLE_Conference_BiennialGuide.pdf>
<https://asle.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/ASLE_Conferences_BiennialGuide.pdf>*These
guidelines are to assist potential hosts in formulating a complete and
compelling proposal for our large biennial conference.

*Off-Year ASLE Symposia Guidelines*
<https://asle.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/ASLE_Conferences_OffYearGuide.pdf>
Details of how to submit a proposal for an ASLE seed grant or ASLE
affiliation to assist with your own smaller symposium in non-conference
years (even years).


*Sustainability at Conferences
<https://asle.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/ASLE_Conferences_Sustainability.pdf>*ASLE
is committed to making our conferences as sustainable as possible. Please
consult this document if you are considering proposing a Biennial or
Off-Year ASLE Conference.

*Accessibility at Conferences
<https://asle.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/Access-Guidelines-for-ASLE-Biennial-Conferences.pdf>*
ASLE is committed to making our conferences as accessible as possible.
Please consult this document if you are considering proposing a Biennial or
Off-Year ASLE Conference.

[image: ASLE]
The Association for the Study of Literature and Environment seeks to
inspire and promote intellectual work in the environmental humanities and
arts. Our vision is an inclusive community whose members are committed to
environmental research, education, literature, art and service,
environmental justice, and ecological sustainability.
CONTACT ASLE
Phone & Fax: 603.357.7411
Email: info at asle.org
Address: P.O. Box 502 Keene, NH 03431-0502

<https://www.facebook.com/pages/ASLE-Association-for-the-Study-of-Literature-and-Environment/110738002282120?ref=ts>
  <https://twitter.com/ASLE_US>
SUBSCRIBE TO ANNOUNCEMENTS
If you wish to subscribe to our quarterly e-newsletter, please contact us at
 info at asle.org to be added to the mailing list. To join our discussion
list, click on "Stay Informed" --> "Discussion" on the main menu above.
*Allison Adelle Hedge Coke, **Distinguished Professor of **Creative Writing*
**She/her & Surname is Hedge Coke, no hyphen**
*Look at This Blue
<https://coffeehousepress.org/collections/shop/products/look-at-this-blue>*

*     Weird Times, Be Kind*

*Director, Medical Health and Humanities DE, UCR School of Medicine*
*Director, **Along the Chaparral*
allisonh at ucr.edu
Allison.hedgecoke at medsch.ucr.edu <allisonh at medsch.ucr.edu>
(909) 848-3803 messages - VM/text
If this correspondence arrives past your work hours, please do not feel
obligated to respond until an appropriate time. Respecting work/life
balance is important to me.
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