All proposals due December 1, 2021.

Research Presentations– In these more conventional conference papers, you are invited to share fully developed research that makes an original contribution to the field. Your presentation of your work will be discussed with a small group of attendees who will have read the papers in advance.  Completed papers of up to 6000 words must be made available to attendees prior to the conference (deadline March 13, 2022).  Authors will be invited to present their papers in less than 10 minutes, allowing 20 minutes of conversation with an interested group of attendees. Your 250-300 word paper proposal submitted through the link below should briefly identify the primary research question/thesis, methodology, major theoretical/scholarly conversation partners, and significance to the field of practical theology. Proposers should also include 4-5 tags or keywords that will help participants to identify the primary focus of the paper.

Proposal Form for Research Presentations

Knowledge Collaborations– The collaboration sessions are meant to be lively, participative conversations about critical ongoing challenges in the field, emerging areas of research and teaching, or new directions in practical theology demanded by this moment in history. They should not be presentations of completed research, but rather a structuring of collaborative time to build networks of learning. Propose a theme for a two session sequence (one Friday, one Saturday), 3 hours total.  Your proposal should include 2-3 practical theologians who will work together to design a process over both sessions that creates space for sharing and furthering important conversations, exploring resources and/or framing of significant questions and approaches, and leveraging connections across distinctive perspectives to build strength in the field. Participants who join the initial team in the sessions will commit to participating in both sessions in the hope of developing an extended, in-depth conversation. The process can include a range of options for interaction, such as:

• presentations of ongoing quantitative or qualitative research projects for collaborative analysis and feedback
• panel discussions about emerging areas of practical theological work from teaching or research paired with small group responses/imagination for how they might be incorporated in different contexts
• a space for storytelling, poetic reflection, contemplative practice, or artistic creation related to vocational discernment inviting reflection on “what’s next” for participants in terms of research projects, teaching directions, program/curricular development, or commitment to public engagement
• several presentations of new texts within a particular topic and discussions of how they would shift research or teaching in practical theology if we took them seriously
• a process for developing a shared volume, podcast, or collaborative research effort on an important topic that conference participants could help shape and perhaps join as contributors

These ideas are meant to be suggestive not comprehensive, so feel free to propose a collaboration that takes other forms. Proposals of 250-300 words should include the names and institutional locations of the members of the leadership team, the topic of collaboration, a brief outline of how the two 1.5 hour sessions will be structured (including a description of how other conference attendees will be meaningfully engaged in the sessions), and significance of the collaboration to the field of practical theology.

Proposal Form for Knowledge Collaborations

Questions about these formats or which one you should submit? Please email Jennifer Ayers with questions: jennifer.r.ayres@emory.edu