Did you miss the March 16th deadline for special session proposals for the 2019 PAMLA Conference? Well, you are in luck! We are excited to announce that PAMLA is extending the deadline for special session proposals for the November 14-17, 2019 Pacific Ancient and Modern Language Association Conference, in San Diego. Our new special session proposal deadline is now Sunday, March 31st.

Thank you if you already proposed a special session for the 2019 PAMLA Conference. You will hear back soon from us regarding your proposal. But if you haven’t yet proposed, we’d love to have a few more strong proposals engaging our diverse session formats (workshops or creative conversations, roundtables or special events, anyone?) and subject areas, with a few more playing with the conference theme of “Send In the Clowns,” which centers on the carnivalesque, clowning, and satirical performance. Other topics are also welcome.

We are especially interested in special session proposals related to Spanish and Portuguese, British and Anglophone, Asian, French, Italian, or Multi-ethnic literatures and/or cultures, as well as sessions focused on topics such as Creative Writing, Rhetoric, Composition, and Pedagogy. We are also interested in new special session proposals that could eventually, after a few successful years as special sessions, become general/standing sessions (Canadian Studies? Medical Humanities? Japanese Literature and Culture? Chinese Literature and Culture? Arabic and Hebrew Literatures? Slavic Literatures and Cultures? Caribbean Literatures and Cultures? Australian Studies? Contemporary Visual Arts? Etc.)

While you’re at it, why don’t you check out our diverse list of creative session formats (https://www.pamla.org/2019/session-formats)? We love the traditional conference panels that many of you are accustomed to, but we thought that we would encourage everyone to test the waters and submit a special session that may be a bit more radical in its format, ranging from a Creative Conversation (perhaps a conversation with a clown, a poet, etc.), to a Roundtable (with multiple brief, informal presentations), to a Workshop (on professional or artistic skills, pedagogy, or innovative approaches), to a Special Event (a poetry reading, puppet show, face-painting and balloon folding, or an art walk or gallery talk of some kind).

We look forward to seeing your special session proposals submitted to our online application site by the end of the month! Apply at https://pamla.ballastacademic.com/ Please also reach out to your friends, colleagues, and students who may have missed the original deadline and might be good candidates to propose (and if accepted preside over) a special session.