THE APT CONFERENCE 2010 � PROPOSAL GUIDELINES
Reed College, Portland, Oregon, October 21-23, 2010
Proposals Due February 20, 2010
The Association for Political Theory welcomes paper proposals, panel proposals, and proposals for
roundtable discussions from all approaches and on all topics in political theory, political
philosophy, and the history of political thought. Faculty, advanced PhD candidates, and
independent scholars are eligible to apply. We also encourage faculty to volunteer to serve as
chairs and/or discussants.
Individual and co-authored paper proposals: To propose a paper, you must submit an abstract of
300-400 words and a copy of your CV via the appropriate link on the APT website. Please note the
pre-circulation requirement, explained below, and please note that you should limit the length of
your paper to 30 pages of text so that discussants may provide suitable feedback.
Panel proposals: To propose a partial or full panel, you must submit a proposal for the panel as
well as proposals for each paper that it includes. In other words, each paper on a panel must be
proposed individually (with abstract and CV as described above), and all must also be listed on the
separate form for panel proposals (on the APT website).
The Program Committee prefers, but does not require, panels that include junior and senior
faculty and a graduate student, and different approaches to the subject of the panel, to promote
interaction among scholars from different backgrounds. The Program Committee will evaluate
every panel proposal as such, and each of its component papers as individual proposals. We may
(1) accept a panel and all its papers as proposed, (2) accept the panel, but alter it by rejecting one
or more of its component papers and/or including one or more other papers submitted
separately, or (3) reject a proposed panel, but accept some or even all of its component papers
and recombine them into other panels. Because of the relatively small size of the conference, APT
tends to accept very few whole panel proposals.
Roundtable discussion proposals: To propose a roundtable discussion, the organizer must submit
a proposal for the whole roundtable and each participant must submit a separate proposal
explaining his or her contribution to the discussion (theoretical perspective, substantive focus)
and attach a CV. The roundtable proposal should include a description of the roundtable�s
subject, rationale, and aims as well as a brief explanation of how the roundtable will be
conducted. Roundtable proposals should be submitted using the form for panel proposals.
Roundtable participants should submit proposals of their contributions to the roundtable using
the form for paper proposals.
Proposing to serve as a chair and/or discussant: To volunteer to be a chair and/or discussant at
the conference, submit the form for paper proposals. State your areas of expertise and interest in
the box for the �proposal� and attach your CV. Participants in past APT conferences have noted
the value of discussants� comments and chairs� facility in conducting panels. You may offer to
serve in both of these roles, but the Program Committee prefers to limit volunteers to one role to
maintain the quality of these contributions as well as broad participation in the conference.
Program Committee decisions: Applicants will be notified of Program Committee decisions by
April 15, 2010 via e-mail.
Precirculation requirement: All papers accepted for the conference must be submitted
electronically to an archive on the APT website no later than October 1, 2010. Pre-circulation
serves three ends: 1) it gives discussants, other panelists, and conferees a chance to read the
papers before the session so that they may intelligently comment on them; 2) it helps to ensure
high quality papers; and 3) it allows APT members unable to attend the conference to
communicate with authors and participate in APT�s scholarly community. The Program Committee
and most who have attended previous APT conferences think that pre-circulation of papers
enriches the quality of discussion at the conference and the quality of feedback given to authors.
The archive will be password-protected so that access is limited to members of APT. Papers that
are not submitted to the archive by October 1st will be removed from the program.
Membership: Participation in the conference requires membership in the Association. Papers are
available to APT members only, so conference participants will need to join APT to receive access
to the archive. Membership is free � apply at the APT website.
Questions and assistance: For questions about the program or proposal guidelines, please contact
the Program Committee Co-Chairs, Dustin Howes and Keally McBride. If you have trouble
submitting your proposal, please contact the APT Webmaster, Dennis McEnnerney.
Dustin Howes <[log in to unmask]>Keally McBride <[log in to unmask]>Dennis
McEnnerney<[log in to unmask]>
All of conference submission forms may be found by visiting the APT website, clicking on �APT
Conferences,� and following the links to the 2010 conference:
http://apt.coloradocollege.edu/
