SMT 2021 Call for Proposals

The Committee strongly encourages all authors to visit the website of the SMT’s Professional Development Committee for advice and successful proposal samples from prior years.

Deadline

• SMT proposals must be received by 11:59 p.m. EST, Monday, January 18, 2021 (Extension deadline). 
• Please take time zone differences into account. No proposals will be accepted after the deadline.
• In order to avoid last-minute technical problems, the Program Committee recommends that proposals be submitted at least twenty-four hours before the deadline.

Guidelines and rules for all proposals

• All proposals will be evaluated anonymously and should exclude the author’s name and any other direct or indirect signal of authorship.
• References to the author’s own work must occur in the third person.
• “Author” tags must be removed from electronic files. (In Adobe Acrobat, go to the “File” menu, select “Properties” and delete the name from the Author box.)
• Any online materials, including but not limited to YouTube channels and websites, must also be anonymized.
• All single- and joint-authored proposals should indicate a preference for either paper or poster presentation. 
• The Program Committee and Climate Task Force are also investigating the option of recorded virtual alternatives to face-to-face presentations that would allow more accessibility and reduce our carbon footprint.
• Proposals will not be considered if they exceed word limits or if an individual violates the rules on multiple submissions described below (see Participation).

Papers

Submitting your proposal

• A submission for a single-author or joint-author paper must include the title and description for a presentation of 20 minutes’ duration. The description (including notes) should be no more than 500 words. Each mathematical equation may be counted as one word.
• The online submission form will request that authors provide five relevant and specific keywords; recommended are names of composers, theorists, methodologies employed, repertoires discussed, or anything distinctive to the proposal. 
• Supplemental materials
  • Successful proposals typically include appended supplementary materials (such as musical examples, diagrams, hyperlinks, and selected bibliography) as necessary to substantiate an argument, demonstrate results, or clarify the proposal’s relationship to prior scholarship.
  • The examples may include text annotations, and texts that are themselves analytical objects, such as quotations from treatises, archival documents, or translations are also acceptable; however, any text in the supplementary examples should serve only to illuminate arguments already present in the 500-word proposal and should not introduce new examples, explanations, or evidence. 
  • Supplementary materials must not exceed four pages.
  • The proposal and supplementary materials should preserve the anonymity of the author(s) as described above.
• When submitting the proposal online, authors will be prompted for identification and contact information. A sound system and LCD projector will be available for all presenters. Please indicate whether or not a piano is required.  The Society cannot guarantee internet access for presentations.
• The Committee strongly encourages all authors to visit the website of the SMT’s Professional Development Committee for advice and successful proposal samples from prior years.

Accepted proposals

• Accepted papers will generally be allocated a 30-minute slot: 20 minutes for the paper and 10 minutes for discussion.
• The Committee may accept a proposed paper under the condition that it be transformed into a poster.

Posters

The Program Committee strongly encourages proposals for a prominently featured Poster Session, which provides an opportunity for scholars to present their research in a more informal setting.

Presenting a poster

• Poster presenters will either bring a printed poster suitable for mounting on an easel, or present their poster digitally by connecting their laptop or tablet computer to an LED screen.
• Presenters will stay with their posters and interact with interested individuals, summarizing primary findings and answering questions about the research. 
• Presenters may optionally augment the poster presentation with sound files (headphones required) and/or handouts.
• For tips on presenting a poster, please see these guidelines from the SMT Professional Development Committee.

Submitting your proposal

• A submission for a single-author or joint-author paper must include the title and description for a poster. The description (including notes) should be no more than 500 words. Each mathematical equation may be counted as one word.
• Your submission should indicate your preference for the poster format.
• Indicate whether you plan to present a traditional poster, a digital poster, or either.
• The Society cannot guarantee internet access for poster presentations.
• The online submission form will request that authors provide five relevant and specific keywords; recommended are names of composers, theorists, methodologies employed, repertoires discussed, or anything distinctive to the proposal. 
• Supplemental materials
  • Successful proposals typically include appended supplementary materials (such as musical examples, diagrams, hyperlinks, and selected bibliography) as necessary to substantiate an argument, demonstrate results, or clarify the proposal’s relationship to prior scholarship.
  • The examples may include text annotations, and texts that are themselves analytical objects, such as quotations from treatises, archival documents, or translations are also acceptable; however, any text in the supplementary examples should serve only to illuminate arguments already present in the 500-word proposal and should not introduce new examples, explanations, or evidence. 
  • Supplementary materials must not exceed four pages.
  • The proposal and supplementary materials should preserve the anonymity of the author(s) as described above.
• When submitting the proposal online, authors will be prompted for identification and contact information. A sound system and LCD projector will be available for all presenters. Please indicate whether or not a piano is required. The Society cannot guarantee internet access for presentations.
• The Committee may accept a proposed poster under the condition that it be transformed into a paper.
• For tips on presenting a poster, please see the guidelines from the SMT Professional Development Committee.

SMT Special Sessions

An SMT special session is proposed as a whole, rather than as a set of individual submissions. Two formats are available: the integrated special session and the alternative-format special session.

Presenting an integrated special session

• An integrated special session comprises a set of papers that are closely related in content, thoughtfully integrated, and framed by a session rationale.
• Each paper occupies a regular 30-minute slot (20-minute presentation plus 10-minute question period).
• The Committee reserves the right to consider each paper separately and to program a paper with or without the others from that proposed session.

Presenting an alternative format special session

• Alternative format special sessions are organized in a non-standard way, such as: 
  • Panel discussion
  • Workshop
  • “Flipped” session
  • “Lightning talk” session
  • A set of 30-minute papers in 45-minute timeslots (the “old” SMT format)
  • Etc. 
• Because individual contributions typically do not fall within a standard 30-minute timeslot, an alternative format session is accepted or rejected in its entirety.

Submitting your proposal

• The session rationale, and the individual paper proposals should be submitted by the session organizer through the SMT website as a single package.
• A cover letter that identifies the title and author of each proposal, as well as their institutional affiliation and contact information will be submitted as a separate file. The Program Committee will only see the session rationale and the individual paper proposals.
• Special sessions of either type may be either 90 or 180 minutes in duration.
• Proposals for special sessions must include a session rationale of no more than 500 words.
• Additionally, all special session proposals must have individual proposals for all segments of the session (except for respondents).
  • These should follow, where possible, the guidelines for paper proposals.
  • With prior approval of the Program Committee chair, special session proposals may be exempted from certain of the guidelines listed above, including, in some cases, the rule of anonymity for participants. To discuss the possibility of exemptions, those wishing to propose such sessions must contact the Program Committee Chair no later than January 1, 2021.

Participation restrictions

The society has certain restrictions on participation in the annual conference, detailed below. Under no circumstances should an individual be involved in more than two proposals viewed by the SMT Program Committee. In cases of multiple submissions that do not follow these rules, none of the submissions will be considered.

Restrictions on paper/poster presentations at SMT

An individual may participate in the SMT annual conference in only one of the following ways:

• Author or joint author of a 20–30 minute paper or a poster (whether in a regular session or special session)
• Organizer of an integrated special session; organizers may also present a 20-minute paper for that same session.
• Organizer of an alternative-format special session; organizers may also deliver a paper of 30 minutes or less in the same session.
• Author or joint author of a scholarly paper or a presentation of more than 10 minutes as part of a standing committee session. The Program Committee will not evaluate papers or presentations by the individual standing committees, but the chairs shall submit complete descriptions of their sessions through the online portal by January 18, 2021.

Additional forms of participation at SMT

In addition to the participation guidelines given above, authors may accept an invitation to: 

• chair a session
• participate in a roundtable discussion
• perform
• give a non-scholarly presentation as part of an alternative-format special session or standing committee session
• give a scholarly presentation of no more than 10 minutes in length in an alternative-format special session or standing committee session 

Interest Group Meeting Participation

Participation in SMT Interest Group Meetings is outside the purview of the Program Committee and is not relevant to the rules of participation given above. Names of presenters in Interest Group Meetings will not appear in the program. 

Membership and Registration Requirements

Non-members are invited to submit a proposal for consideration.

Please refer to our Policy for Registration and Membership at Annual Meetings for information on requirements for presenters and chairs.

Further questions

If you have a question about your participation that does not seem to be covered by the guidelines above, please contact the Chair of the Program Committee.

Submission Procedure

• All proposals should be submitted online through the submission portal. 
• All proposal materials must be formatted together as one PDF document under 10 MB in size.
• Those who have difficulties with online submission should contact Jennifer Diaz, Executive Director of SMT.
• Note that rejected proposals will remain anonymous; only the SMT Executive Director, in mailing out acceptance and rejection letters, will know the identities of the authors of these proposals.
• Those who present at the conference must be members in good standing of the Society.

SMT 2021 Program Committee

• Frank Samarotto (Indiana University Bloomington, Chair), pcchair@societymusictheory.org
• Johanna Devaney (Brooklyn College and CUNY Graduate Center)
• YouYoung Kang (Scripps College) 
• Nathan Martin (University of Michigan)
• John Roeder (University of British Columbia)
• Mark Spicer (Hunter College and the Graduate Center, CUNY)
• Jason Yust (Boston University)
• Patricia Hall (University of Michigan, ex-officio)

For clarification or further information, please contact SMT Executive Director Jennifer Diaz at SMT@societymusictheory.org.