Rules, Guidelines and Regulations – SORAC 2010

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• SORAC 2010 Call for Papers
• Registration & Pre-Registration Information
• Membership Requirements and Information
• Paper Proposal / Abstract Review Process
• Attendance Information and Issues
• Paper and Panel Proposal Guidelines
• Exhibits
• Conference Program: Available by September 5. Click here to view.
• SORAC 2010 Registration Form

Pre-registration fees must be paid by all by July 31, 2010. Failure to do so will lead to the imposition of higher late fees as per our Pre-Registration and Registration Schedule below.

SORAC relies heavily on member contributions in order to finance its activities. As a result, individuals proposing a Panel, Paper, Roundtable, Graduate Student Paper or Special Panel Session must be current 2010 members of SORAC. All presenters and panel organizers must become members in good standing before they can present their papers at SORAC 2010. They must therefore pre-register for the SORAC 2010 International Conference (They will receive substantial Member Discounts as per our Membership Benefits).

Membership Fees for current non-members must be paid by proposal submitters as soon as their paper or panel proposal is accepted. Members with active, ongoing membership need not submit any membership fee, except if their member status is set to expire prior to SORAC 2010, and they have not renewed their 2009 and/or 2010 membership. In this case, they must pay their membership renewal fee as soon as their proposal is accepted. 

SORAC Policy on Proposal and Acceptances: The Abstract Review Committee of SORAC 2010 bears final responsibility for accepting or declining proposals in accordance with SORAC guidelines. All paper proposals will be reviewed separately, whether they have been submitted individually or as part of a panel, and the Abstract Review Committee may, depending on the situation, add or delete presentations on a panel in order to accommodate proposals for individual papers and to enhance the overall quality of the program. Efforts will be made to contact the chair of the panel affected by a change when it is made. You may use our Interactive SORAC 2010 Paper/Panel Proposal Form (MS Word version) to submit your paper and/or panel proposal. The form is interactive and can be typed into, saved and printed.

Notification of Acceptance/Rejection: Accepted proposals will be listed in the Preliminary Program, which will appear on the SORAC website about 30 days before the conference. However, notifications for acceptance or rejection will be made as proposals are received and processed. It may take up to 30 days for notifications to be sent out to proposal submitters. Submitters of proposals must be sure to provide us with active emails that they consult on a weekly basis at least. All notifications regarding SORAC 2010 will be made via email.

Letters of Invitation/Participation: For participants coming from Africa or from outside the United States, SORAC can provide a Letter of Invitation testifying to their participation as paper presenters at SORAC 2010. This is to assist individuals in expediting visas and securing funding. A request for a Letter of Invitation/Participation can be made by email using our Contact Form. However, Invitation Letters issued by SORAC will be sent only to members of SORAC in good standing (active members), and only to SORAC members whose proposals have been accepted for presentation at SORAC 2010. Exceptions can be made only after studying the specific situation of those seeking letters for reasons other than presenting a paper at SORAC 2010. Letters of Invitation will be sent by both email and Post Mail. All requests for letters of Invitation must reach us at least two months before the conference.

Non-Attendance: It is possible for a participant who cannot attend in person to have their paper read by another SORAC participant or official. However, such a participant must be an active member of SORAC, that is, must pay or have paid both the membership and pre-registration fee. Such a participant must also send both a finished and short version of their paper to SORAC. The short version will be read at the conference so it must fit within 20 minutes, and the finished version will be used for publication purposes after selection of the best conference papers for publication. Part of the membership and registration fees paid by participants unable to attend will be used to finance the administrative and organizational efforts related to such a situation, as well as pay nominal fees to the participants reading the papers on their behalf.

Individual Paper Proposals: Individuals should complete the “Paper/Panel Proposal” form. The paper or abstract should consist of a statement about the topic, the nature and extent of the research on which the paper or poster session is based and a brief summary of the main argument(s) (approximately 200 words). The quality of the abstract is the main criterion for acceptance. You may use our Interactive SORAC 2010 Paper/Panel Proposal Form (MS Word version) to submit your paper and/or panel proposal. The form is interactive and can be typed into, saved and printed.

The Abstract Review Committee will create panels from individual submissions with common themes and identify a panel chair and, if possible, a discussant. Individual proposals may also be added to proposed panels at the discretion of the Abstract Review Committee. Potential presenters are strongly encouraged to submit a paper proposal as part of a panel.

Panels and Panel Proposals: A panel typically has a chair, at least two or up to four paper presenters, and a discussant. Exceptionally, the Chair can also act as the discussant. A panel proposal consists of the “Panel Proposal” form, the panel abstract, and a “Paper Proposal” form and a 200 word abstract for each paper presenter. (You may use our Interactive SORAC 2010 Paper/Panel Proposal Form (MS Word version) to submit your paper and/or panel proposal. The form is interactive and can be typed into, saved and printed). The panel abstract should consist of a statement about the topic and a brief summary of the main argument(s) to be explored (approximately one paragraph of no more than 12 lines). Longer panel abstracts will not be accepted and the Abstract Review Committee will not review the proposal. The quality of the panel abstract is the main criterion for acceptance; a panel with a weak abstract or with two or more weak paper abstracts is unlikely to be accepted. The Abstract Review Committee may add individual papers to a proposed panel and/or a discussant if none has been indicated. You may use our Interactive SORAC 2010 Paper/Panel Proposal Form (MS Word version) to submit your paper and/or panel proposal. The form is interactive and can be typed into, saved and printed.

Roundtable Proposals: A roundtable typically consists of a chair and at least two or up to four presenters. A roundtable proposal consists of the “Paper/Panel Proposal” form, the roundtable abstract, and the proposed roundtable participants. The roundtable abstract should consist of a statement about the topic and a brief summary of the main argument(s) to be explored (approximately one paragraph of no more than 200 words). Longer abstracts will not be accepted and the Program Committee will not review the proposal. The quality of the roundtable abstract is the main criterion for acceptance. A Roundtable with a weak abstract is unlikely to be accepted. You may use our Interactive SORAC 2010 Paper/Panel Proposal Form (MS Word version) to submit your Roundtable proposal. The form is interactive and can be typed into, saved and printed.

Graduate Student Proposals: Graduate Student Panels are used to highlight graduate student research in progress and reports from the field. Graduate students will be scheduled to present on a panel chaired by a senior scholar. Graduate students should indicate their interest in participating in a Graduate Student Panel on the “Paper/Panel Proposal” form. Exceptional Graduate Student Papers may be integrated within general conference sessions. You may use our Interactive SORAC 2010 Paper/Panel Proposal Form (MS Word version) to submit your paper and/or panel proposal. The form is interactive and can be typed into, saved and printed.

Indicating a Sub-theme: All proposals should designate the section for which their proposal is most appropriate. The theme for SORAC 2010 is divided into sub-thematic sections. Please review the call for papers and indicate the sub-theme of the conference that best applies to your paper in order to help us organize the panels better.

Replacement Chairs: If a person assigned as a Panel or Roundtable Chair cannot attend, the replacement chair will be selected from the other panel/roundtable presenters.

Audio Visual Equipment: SORAC provides the following complimentary A/V equipment in most conference rooms: a slide projector (upon request), an overhead projector, LCD projectors (upon request), or a TV/VCR (upon request). Rooms with these equipments will be used for conference purposes when applicable. Internet access may be secured for participants wishing to use their computers for Internet access on-site. Laptops are not automatically provided, but may provided on a per request basis or rented on-site at a cost.  AV equipment must be requested at the time the proposal is submitted. Failure to request A/V equipment will result in the individual having to rent the equipment at personal expense through the onsite AV team.

Checklist for Individual Paper Proposals:

• Indicate if part of a regular panel or Graduate Student Panel
• A/V Request, if applicable
• Paper Proposal Form
• Paper Abstract
• Membership Dues and Pre-registration Fees
• Letter of Invitation Requested (Africa and Foreign Residents Only)

Checklist for Panel or Roundtable Proposals

• A/V Request, if applicable
• No presenter or discussant appears on another panel or roundtable
• Panel/Roundtable Proposal Form
• Panel or Roundtable Abstract
• Paper Proposal Form for each Presenter
• Abstracts for each paper (panel proposals only)
• Membership Dues and Pre-registration Fees for each panel or roundtable participant

Book and Art Exhibit: SORAC may grant special permission for book and art exhibit at the conference venue. However, potential exhibiters will need to be SORAC members and pay the registration fee. Contact us for more details.