The CENTRAL EURASIAN STUDIES SOCIETY (CESS) invites panel and paper
proposals for the Fifth CESS Annual Conference, October 14-17, 2004, in
Bloomington, Indiana. The event will be held at Indiana University,
hosted by the Inner Asian and Uralic National Resource Center.

Panel and paper topics relating to all aspects of humanities and social
science scholarship on Central Eurasia are welcome. The geographic
domain of Central Eurasia extends from the Black Sea and Iranian Plateau
to Mongolia and Siberia, including the Caucasus, Crimea, Middle Volga,
Afghanistan, Tibet, and Central and Inner Asia.

Deadline for submission of panel/paper proposals: APRIL 2, 2004.

Submissions of pre-organized panels are strongly encouraged and will be
given some preference in the selection process. Individual papers are
also welcome and will be assigned by the program committee to an
appropriate panel with a chair and a discussant. We also welcome attendees
who do not wish to participate in a panel (see the
Registration/Pre-registration Form for information:
http://cess.fas.harvard.edu/CESS_Conf-Reg.html).

There has been a huge growth in the interest in the CESS conference as
our society has become more established. Attendance rose from less than
150 in the first three annual conferences to over 800 at the fourth one
(Harvard 2003), including nearly 500 people from nearly 40 countries who
participated in the ca. 80 panels on the program. We expect the
conference this year will be an even stronger event, and we hope that
all interested in this region will try to come.

Please note that due to this high level of interest, and the fact that
the total number of participants in CESS 2004 will be more limited due
to space constraints, we anticipate that the selection of papers will be
very competitive.

SUBMISSION OF PROPOSALS

The Conference Committee accepts ONLY ELECTRONIC SUBMISSIONS -- either
by webform (see forms for Pre-organized Panels and for Individual Papers
at: http://cess.fas.harvard.edu/CESS_Conference.html), or by an e-mailed
form in MS Word format in the case of those who don't have web access.
This is because website submissions can more easily be processed than
other methods, and we have limited resources to manage the hundreds of
submissions that we anticipate receiving. Those who don't have access
to the website may contact us and we will e-mail the submission forms in
MS Word format.

The following information is required for submissions; we suggest that
you prepare the text before accessing the website so you can simply
paste the information into the form:

FOR PAPER PRESENTERS: 1) Name, 2) Current institutional affiliation,
3) Title/position, 4) E-mail, 5) Postal address, 6) Telephone, 7) Fax,
8) Title of Paper, 9) Abstract of Paper (a summary of the paper of 200-
300 words; abstracts longer than 300 words may be rejected), 10) Any
audio-visual equipment requests (specify: overhead projector, slide
project, video player), 11) A one-page CV which contains the information
which the panel chair may require for introductions, and includes the
presenter's educational background (highest degree, year awarded,
awarding institution, and field of study).

FOR PANELS: Proposals may be submitted for regular panels (with
presentation of scholarly papers) and roundtable panels (featuring
discussion of a current topic in the field).

REGULAR PANELS: In addition to the information for paper presenters (as
indicated above), the following are also required: a) a title for the
proposed panel, and b) name, affiliation, and contact information of the
panel chair and discussant. Panels should have four or five paper
presenters, a chair, and a discussant. The program committee can accept
panel submissions which lack up to two of these, but no panel proposal
should have fewer than four-five people who have given a firm assurance
that they will participate in the conference unless they are prevented
by circumstances out of their control. If the panel as proposed does
not include a full complement of panelists (i.e., 4-5 presenters,
discussant and chair), the other panel participants may be filled in as
necessary by the program committee if the panel proposal is accepted.
Pre-organized panels should be thematically coherent and may be
organized by a scholarly organization (though this is not required).

ROUNDTABLE PANELS: A roundtable has four to six presenters and a
chair/moderator. For roundtable proposals, the organizer must provide a
paragraph describing the panel objectives and providing justification
for use of the roundtable format. The same information is required of
each participant as for regular panels with the exception that abstracts
are not required.

BEST PAPER AWARD: There will be an award in the amount of $500 given to
the best graduate student conference paper submitted to the Awards
Committee for consideration. See the CESS awards webpage for details
(http://cess.fas.harvard.edu/CESS_Awards.html), or contact the Awards
Committee Co-chair, Dr. Uli Schamiloglu <uschamil@wisc.edu>.

MONGOLIA SOCIETY ANNUAL MEETING: From this year, the Mongolia Society
will be holding its annual meeting concurrently with the CESS Conference
(and we expect other related associations will do the same). For more
information about the Mongolia Society meetings when it is available,
see: http://www.indiana.edu/~mongsoc/

IMPORTANT NOTES:

* SUBMISSION FORMAT: Do not send your proposal in any format other than
the webform or the MS Word form, as the committee will not consider
it in that case.

* ENSURING QUALITY PROPOSALS: Since the selection process is expected
to be quite competitive, we strongly advise you to follow the
Guidelines for Writing Abstracts available on the conference website
(see below). Those who do not do this will have significantly lower
chances of their proposal being accepted. If you do not have web
access, we can send you the guidelines by e-mail upon request.

* COMMITMENT TO PARTICIPATE: By submitting a proposal, you are
indicating your serious intention to participate in the conference --
including to take the necessary steps to obtain any required visa or
funding -- unless prevented by circumstances out of your control.
You will be asked to confirm your commitment in June after your
proposal is accepted.

* E-MAIL CONTACT: Since all communication with prospective participants
is via e-mail, and we will require your confirmation of participation
in June after proposals are accepted and again in September when all
of your visa and travel arrangements should be in place, it is
vitally important that you make sure we always have an e-mail address
that will reach you.

* ABSTRACTS OF PUBLISHABLE QUALITY: If you are accepted and participate
in the conference, your abstract will be published, so please write
it carefully to avoid errors and ensure that it conforms with the
criteria for a good abstract (see Guidelines for Writing Abstracts
available on the conference website; see below).

* PROGRAM LIMITATIONS: No participant may present more than one paper
at the conference. Without special justification, the program
committee will not schedule any individual to appear on more than two
panels as a presenter or discussant.

SCHEDULE OF KEY DATES

Deadline for submission of panel/paper proposals: APRIL 2, 2004.

* Note: Submissions after this date may be accepted only in the case of
special justifying circumstances and at the discretion of the program
committee.

Notification of acceptance: by June 1.

* The Conference Committee will provide, upon request, mailed or faxed
invitation letters to support an application for a visa or travel
funds; these will be sent in the second half of June. Note:
Obtaining a U.S. visa can be take a long time, and we urge
participants to begin the process immediately upon notification of
their proposal's acceptance.

Pre-registration deadline: SEPTEMBER 10.

* Note: Pre-registration is not required, but entitles you to reduced
registration fees.

Deadline for notification of audio-visual requests: August 15.

Papers should be submitted to chairs/discussants: by SEPTEMBER 23.

* Paper presenters will be informed via e-mail in mid-September of the
e-mail addresses of their panel's chair and discussant, to whom they
should send their papers by the deadline.

Conference: OCTOBER 14-17.

* Arrival to Bloomington is on the afternoon/evening of Thursday, Oct.
14. Panels begin from Friday morning and continue through mid-day on
Sunday, Oct. 17.

REGISTRATION

Membership in CESS is not required for participation in the Annual
Conference, though we strongly encourage it, and CESS membership
entitles you to reduced conference registration fees. See the CESS
Membership Form for details (http://cess.fas.harvard.edu/CESS_Membership.html).

Payment of registration fees IS REQUIRED for all attending the
conference, as follows:

Regular fee members*: $55 (pre-registration) or $65 (at conference)
Reduced fee members**: $35 (pre-registration) or $45 (at conference)
Non-members: $80 (pre-registration) or $90 (at conference)
Indiana Univ. students: $30 (pre-registration) or $35 (at conference)
IU student CESS members: $20 (pre-registration) or $25 (at conference)

* "Regular fee members" are those who have paid their annual dues at
$30.
** "Reduced fee members" are those who have current membership at
reduced fees ($0-$15).

For methods of payment, see the Registration Form at:
http://cess.fas.harvard.edu/CESS_Conf-Reg.html.

NOTE: CESS DOES NOT have funds to support the costs of conference
participation. Participants must obtain their own funding -- from
personal resources, their own institutions, or grant-giving
organizations which provide conference travel grants. Some further
information about possible sources is available on the Supplementary
Conference Information page at: http://www.iub.edu/~cess2004

TRAVEL AND ACCOMMODATIONS

Indiana University in Bloomington is one of the strongest and
longest-standing centers for the study of Central Eurasia. Bloomington
is located 50 miles south of Indianapolis, where the nearest major
airport is located. From the Indianapolis airport, a shuttle service is
available to Bloomington, and bus lines connect Bloomington to other
major nearby cities. More details are available on the Supplementary
Conference Information page at: http://www.iub.edu/~cess2004 (available
after Dec. 15).

The primary accommodations for conference attendees, as well as the
conference sessions, will be in the Indiana Memorial Union Hotel and
Conference Center (IMU) at 900 E. 7th Street, Bloomington, IN 47405.
Those attending CESS 2004 may obtain a reservation for one of the rooms
set aside for our conference in the IMU by contacting reservations as
follows: phone: +1 (812) 856-6381, toll free: 800-209-8145,
fax: +1 (812) 855-3426, e-mail: <imuhotel@indiana.edu>,
web: http://imu.indiana.edu/hotel_conference_center/

Other options for accommodations in Bloomington, as well as more
practical information for conference attendees may be found on the
Supplementary Conference Information page at: http://www.iub.edu/~cess2004
(available after Dec. 15)

FURTHER INFORMATION

The Co-chairs of the Conference Committee are:

Dr. Laura Adams (Georgetown University; lladams2@earthlink.net)
Dr. Edward J. Lazzerini (Indiana University; elazzeri@indiana.edu)

Full information about CESS 2004 in Bloomington may be found on the
conference webpages:

* Main conference website:
http://cess.fas.harvard.edu/CESS_Conference.html
* Registration: http://cess.fas.harvard.edu/CESS_Conf-Reg.html
* Program (available in June 2004):
http://cess.fas.harvard.edu/CESS_Program.html
* Full information about hosting and location at Indiana University:
http://www.iub.edu/~cess2004 (Note: This page will become available
after Dec. 15)

Virtually all informational questions about the conference can be
answered by consulting the above-mentioned webpages. If you don't have,
web access or if you don't find the answer to your questions there, you
can contact the conference organizers by e-mail at
<cess2004@indiana.edu> (Note: this address will be functional after Dec. 15).

The hosts of future CESS conferences are as follows:
2005 - Boston University
2006 - University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
2007 - University of Washington-Seattle
2008 - University of Wisconsin-Madison

CONFERENCE-RELATED CORRESPONDENCE SHOULD BE ADDRESSED TO:

CESS 2004 Annual Conference
Inner Asian and Uralic National Resource Center (IAUNRC)
Indiana University
Goodbody Hall 324
Bloomington, IN 47405 U.S.A.
fax: +1 (812) 855-8667
tel.: +1 (812) 856-5263
e-mail: cess2004@indiana.edu (Note: this address will be functional
after Dec. 15)
http://cess.fas.harvard.edu/CESS_Conference.html

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