Useful information for delegates
Conference format and timetable
The conference will run for four days, with day one slightly shorter than the three following days. The Firth lecture/Keynote will take place on the opening day, but there will be a plenary event on each following day. All keynotes/plenaries will address the conference theme.
ASA2025 is a fully hybrid conference: all plenaries, lectures, panels, roundtables, and events will be streamed on zoom. Delegates on registration will be able to choose between online participation and face-to-face participation.
Rules
- All panels/roundtables must have at least two convenors, so as to avoid session cancellations if one convenor cannot attend the events
- Delegates (those attending the conference) may only make one presentation each (please note that a roundtable contribution counts as being a discussant, not a presenter). You may be a co-author on multiple papers if you are not the one presenting them. In addition, a delegate may also convene once (be that a plenary, panel, lab or roundtable) and be a discussant or a chair in one plenary session, panel, or roundtable.*
- You do not have to be an ASA member to present or convene content. However, conference registration prices for members are notably lower than for non-members, so there may be a financial incentive to join the Society.
- All those attending the conference, including discussants and chairs, will need to register and pay to attend.
*Multiple roles in the conference
Each participant is permitted to present a paper once, convene once (either a lab or a panel), be a discussant once (in a panel, lab or roundtable), be a chair once (in a panel, lab, or roundtable). Please note that roundtable participants are considered discussants.
contact: conference(at)theasa.org
Online access information
The conference is fully hybrid and supported by a team of administrators. This means that convenors do not need to set up or run their zooms on the week, this will be done by a tech team and supported by a team of local volunteers.
How to find the zoom links
All registered delegates will gain access to the conference via the conference programme. This is includes those registered as face-to-face, as well as those registered as online.
In order to access the Zooms and subsequent recordings you need to be registered and logged in.
Once logged in the message and log in button in the programme disappear and the website is showing that you are now 'logged in'.
Only logged in and paid up delegates will see the Zoom access buttons in the programme.
Buttons for online access appear in the panel header above the abstracts.*
*These will be visible a few days before the conference.
The same buttons will appear on plenaries, the Firth lecture, keynotes, etc.
Please note:
- Make sure you have the latest version of the Zoom app installed on your computer and your camera and microphone working. You will need to have a Zoom account (albeit this can be a free account, not a professional one).
- All panels will be recorded unless the panel convenors and presenting authors decide otherwise.
- Online contributors must ensure that they have a strong enough connection to present online. If this is not the case, it is possible for contributors to send a recording to their convenors; this can also be done as “in case” the internet connection has problems on the day, or any other tech issues they may be having from home. The conference admins on conference(at)theasa.org can also help organise a transfer.
Any queries with the above please email conference(at)theasa.org
How to update your information
Log in from the Log in link top-right in the toolbar above and once logged in, click Logged In and Manage Account in the drop-down. You can add both a short bio and an avatar.
With the conference fast approaching, it's also worth ensuring that your account displays the correct institutional affiliation - as this is displayed on the panel pages online and for f2f delegates, on the printed badge. It is preferable to have full institutional names, instead of abbreviations, however very long names won't fit easily on the badge. This looks best under 40 characters and definitely shouldn't exceed 80 characters! If you don't have an institutional affiliation it is fine to leave it empty, or write something like 'independent scholar'.
Formats: panels, roundtables, laboratories
This conference has panels in various formats:
- Panels are structured in the traditional manner of four papers per 90-minute session. Panels with more than four papers accepted were allocated additional sessions depending on the number of proposals received.
- Roundtables in which a group of scholars (no more than 5) discuss particular themes/issues in front of (and subsequently with) an audience. While a roundtable can include short (5-10 min) provocations/presentations, the main idea is to create a lively debate, not to focus on any one presenter. Roundtables are limited to one 90-minute session.
- Laboratories are characterised by experimentation, collaboration, interaction or improvisation, bringing the focus to research methods, the ethnographic process and the mode of expression in presenting results. Rather than exhibiting already finished work, the aim of laboratories is to organise collective research activities that are open-ended and cultivate possibilities for surprise, novelty and learning. Laboratories are designed as interactive, reflexive sessions that prioritise exploration, rather than the discussion of already established research results. They can be used to tackle practical problems, to re-evaluate concepts, to find new theoretical and political directions, or to understand emergent cultural dynamics. Whether concerned with possibilities and limitations in current anthropological practice, or with cultural and political problematics in an unequal world, labs can provide space for addressing any themes in creative, interactive, and open-ended fashion.
Communication between authors/convenors
While convenor/author email addresses are not displayed on the panel pages for privacy reasons, the in-built secure email messaging system allows site visitors to email convenors with queries.
How to share your panel page with others
Click on the panel header to expand the panel details and then click on the circular share icon to find different options: email, Facebook, X, etc.
Registration and Funding
Follow this link to the registration page for detailed information and registration rates.
All participants - panel convenors, authors, chairs, discussants, organisers, keynotes, plenary speakers, guests, volunteers, committee members and those without any specific role - MUST register in advance of the event.
The deadline to register to confirm attendance is 17 March for active participants, when early bird registration closes. After this date, unregistered content will be withdrawn.
The call for funding closed on 20 February, applicants received notification of outcome in early March. Sadly there is no further funding left to allocate in the form of travel/accommodation support, or registration fee waiver.
Adding co-authors, co-convenors, chairs and discussants
If you did not specify colleagues when proposing the panel/paper, you can add them through the system. You can do this by clicking on the green ‘add convenor/author/discussant/chair’ button at the bottom of each list of participants and adding their name in the box that appears. Remember to click on the green ‘save’ on the right hand side, or the bottom of the page, in order to save your changes.
Participants will appear as ‘proposed’ and not be visible on the public programme until they create an account and accept their role via the email sent to them.
If you have difficulties with this, please email the conference administrators with names and email addresses and role they’ll play, and we will email them a request to add their details so we can add them to your content.
Scam-aware
While our database is secure, a search for 90% of academic names (listed as convenors/authors) yields an active email address which can be spammed by scammers posing as conference accommodation support services, requesting payments/personal info (we do NOT use such providers); or sent spoof emails purporting to come from Council/Committee/Exec members requesting financial assistance. Please check the sender information carefully and the grammar of such requests, and if you do not recognise the email address as ours or the grammar is somewhat 'off', delete such emails. We cannot prevent receipt of these emails which do not come via our system.
Convenor responsibilities
It is the convenors' responsibility to ensure that all session participants are well briefed and that panels, roundtables and labs meet ASA2025 requirements. To that end, convenors should not only communicate their decisions about proposals to their session, but also later in the process keep active communication with authors/contributors:
- answering their questions
- reminding them to register
- figuring out the best sequence of presentations
- advising newcomers on the length of presentations
- keeping your eye on author and discussant/chair registrations
- marking up and informing us of withdrawals
- inform them of any late changes or additional chairs/discussants
For some guidance on the day of the panel, we have put together a short checklist to help.
About convening hybrid sessions
The conference is fully hybrid and supported by a team of administrators. This means that convenors do not need to set up or run their zooms on the week, this will be done by a tech team and supported by a team of local volunteers. We have also put together a guide for convening online sessions.
Distribution of papers over sessions
No panel session should include more than four papers, but can include fewer - this is a convenor decision. For example, a panel with six accepted can be split over two sessions as 4+2 or as 2+4, etc. Convenors can indicate the distribution by “dragging and dropping” papers in the desired order, in the system. Convenors should allot each presenter a maximum of 15+5 minutes for panels of four papers, but 20+5 minutes for panels of three papers.
Editing your paper
Paper authors can use the login link in the toolbar above to edit their proposals.
How to update your information
Log in from the Log in link top-right in the toolbar above and once logged in, click Logged In and Manage Account in the drop-down. You can add both a short bio and an avatar.
With the conference fast approaching, it's also worth ensuring that your account displays the correct institutional affiliation - as this is displayed on the panel pages online and for f2f delegates, on the printed badge. It is preferable to have full institutional names, instead of abbreviations, however very long names won't fit easily on the badge. This looks best under 40 characters and definitely shouldn't exceed 80 characters! If you don't have an institutional affiliation it is fine to leave it empty, or write something like 'independent scholar'.
Pre-circulation of papers
ASA has no rule about this, but many convenors are keen to pre-circulate completed papers. To facilitate this and save on email traffic, if requested by convenors, authors can upload PDFs of their papers within the online system, which will then show as downloadable files beneath the abstract on the public panel page on the site. There is currently no option to restrict this to panelists/delegates (although this feature is in the development pipeline).
Timing of presentations
Each panel/workshop session slot will be 90 minutes long, accommodating a maximum of four presenters. Convenors should allot each presenter a maximum of 15 +5 mins for panels of four papers.
Communication between authors/convenors
Convenor/author email addresses are not shown on the panel pages for privacy/anti-spam reasons. However there is an in-built secure email messaging system which has been updated to give more reliable delivery. If you cannot work that, please email conference(at)theasa.org to obtain relevant email addresses.
Any queries with the above please email conference(at)theasa.org.
Accessibility guidelines
Capacities for vision, hearing and sustained interaction in large crowds vary between people, and wax and wane for each of us from hour to hour and over the course of our lives. Conference participants are encouraged to follow these common accessibility guidelines, so as to make their presentation and other activities within the conference as accessible as possible.
Besides ensuring all colleagues are equally supported in their desire to participate, maximising the accessibility of presentations and discussions helps reach a wider academic audience.
Recognising the diversity of experiences, we accept that you may need to interpret/ignore these guidelines, in interest of your own health.
On-site accessibility, best practices for delegates, convenors and presenters - read more here.
