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2020 Western Archives Meeting (WAM)

  • 1.  2020 Western Archives Meeting (WAM)

    Posted Nov 01, 2019 09:38 AM

    The deadline for proposals for the 2020 Western Archivists Meeting (WAM) to be held April 22-25, 2020 in San Francisco, California is Monday, November 4, 2019 (11:59p PT)!

     

    The submission proposal form is available online at: https://forms.gle/VMA4Eg7Bwz6dj9Y26

     

    We invite proposals on all topics, but encourage applicants to address the meeting's central theme of Labor, Power, and Privilege through any of the following lenses:

    • Contingency & precarity
    • The impact of precarity on historically marginalized communities (i.e. people of color, indigenous/Native peoples and nations, lgbtiqa+, disabled folks, undocumented communities, etc.) and the archival record
    • Labor, staffing, and the history/future of work in archives
    • Collective responsibility and solidarity in archives/memory work
    • Community-based archives/memory work
    • Balance of power and representation in archives/the archival workforce
    • Emotional labor and/or trauma-informed archival work
    • Challenges and benefits to collaboration/collective action (i.e. consortia, grassroots work, etc.)
    • The true costs of maintenance (staffing, knowledge, infrastructure), especially re: large, complex, technical projects

     

    First-time presenters, current graduate students, early-career professionals, lone arrangers, and other individuals who work with archival materials in less traditional or unconventional roles are encouraged to apply; we especially encourage cross-regional proposals to foster greater collaboration amongst the four regional associations.  To encourage session planning, the Program Committee has created a spreadsheet to facilitate communication and session planning.

    Presentations that promote discussions that are more broadly applicable to a range of organizations/individuals will be given preference over sessions that simply discuss completed projects with narrow applicability. 

    Possible session types include:

    Panel Discussion: Open session with a panel of three to four individuals informally discussing a variety of theories or perspectives on the given topic(s).

    Traditional: Open session with two to three fully prepared papers of fifteen minutes each and a comment and discussion period after the papers.

    Lightning Talk: Fast-paced open session with many concise papers presented under a tight time limit, with details of the limit determined by the proposer.

    Poster Presentation: A summary of your research, scholarly, or creative project in a visually engaging manner. Presenters will be expected to be with their posters at a specified time during the meeting to discuss them with viewers.

    Alternative Format: Don't feel confined by the prescribed formats - suggest an alternative or create your own! Sessions may take a variety of forms (e.g., unconference, hack-a-thon, fishbowl, pop-up, mini-workshop, world café, debate, etc). We welcome your creative ideas about how your topic might best be addressed!

    Workshop: Limited enrollment session that allows interaction with participants and usually teaches or refines archival skills. Workshops will be held on April 22, 2020 (pre-conference).

    The Program Committee will review all proposals and contact the session chair by late November 2019. All presenters are required to register for WAM and to fund their own travel expenses, and may only participate in one session.

    SCA, as the host of the Western Archivists Meeting, is committed to creating a welcoming and accessible meeting for all presenters and attendees. If you need specific accommodations to support your participation in this event, or if you have further questions about the proposal process, please contact the Program Committee Chair, Tanya Hollis.

    Thank you,

    2020 WAM Program Committee 



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    Jen Barkdull, CA
    Archivist
    The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
    Salt Lake City UT
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