Convention
How to Organize a Panel
How to Organize a Panel for the ASEEES Annual Convention
Proposal Submission Deadline:
March 1
Putting together a panel at ASEEES for the first time can seem like an overwhelming exercise. As the 2025 ASEEES Program Committee Chair, my first advice to someone seeking to put together a panel is to start early, at least eight weeks before the proposal deadline. I cannot stress the importance of this enough. If you wait until a week or two before the deadline, most people will be booked. If you are a junior scholar, I would also encourage you to be bold. Try to reach out to at least a few scholars who are more senior than you whose work you admire. The best types of panels are those that bring together scholars at different levels. Even if that person is unable to join your panel, the fact that you have introduced yourself and your work is important. It may result in other professional opportunities down the road.
And don’t get discouraged! It might seem like panels form organically and easily. In fact, few come about in this manner. Most are the product of a lot of initiative and hard work. I am not sure what my record is for the number of emails I had to send to organize a panel. If I tally up declines, non-responses to my panel invites and communication on organizational matters with panelists, it might be fifty emails. Most panels do not take so much effort to organize, of course, but do prepare to spend some time on putting together your panel. For further tips on panel organization, see the helpful list compiled by ASEEES staff below.
– Sarah Cameron (University of Maryland, College Park), 2025 ASEEES Program Committee Chair
Tips & Guidelines
Before organizing a panel, please review the Rules and Guidelines for Convention Participation. For technical instructions on submitting a proposal and using the online submission platform, see the Call for Proposals.
Panels entail presentation of papers (distributed in advance to a discussant) on a related topic or theme, followed by structured discussion. Panels have: 1 chair; a min. of 3 to max. of 4 papers; and at least 1 discussant, with a max. of 2.
Session Organizers submit the panel proposal and serve as the main point of contact.
⌛Start early
Finding participants can be more time-consuming than you might expect. Start developing your panel theme and looking for participants in December, before the submission system opens in early January, and plan to submit your proposal well before March 1.
💬Pick a topic
Panel topics should be specific enough to distinguish your panel from others, but broad enough to encompass multiple scholars’ research and appeal to audiences beyond your subfield. Think about the larger questions or issues that your research engages with. Work in consultation with your colleagues/co-panelists. For examples, consult past programs.
👤Find presenters
Think of this as an opportunity to build your professional network – and to find new ways to frame and approach your own work!
- Consult your colleagues and advisors about scholars working on similar topics.
- Contact others in the field whose work you are interested in and ask them what they are working on.
- Explore past programs and the consult newly revamped Papers/Panels Wanted Board.
📋Choose a panel title and develop a panel abstract
Give your session a clear and descriptive title (<20 words) and abstract (<250 words). Good titles and descriptions are essential for the review and scheduling processes and help other participants find your panel in the program. Make clear and coherent the topic, stakes, and potential contributions of the proposed panel, and outline both the overall subject and the individual papers’ specific foci.
🗪Find a chair and a discussant
Look for experts on your panel topic to offer substantive discussion of the paper presentations. Consider how a discussant might offer new insights and feedback for the presenters (this is the goal of an academic conference presentation!). Panel discussants should be at the post-doctoral level, especially for panels made up entirely of graduate students. While one role per participant is strongly preferred, discussants and paper presenters may also serve as the chair, if necessary.
✅Submit your proposal!
Before submitting your proposal, review the technical instructions in the Call for Proposals and verify that your proposal meets the eligibility requirements and is ready for submission.
With questions, explore the Convention Proposals FAQs or contact [email protected]. We’re here to help!
Networking Sessions
Want to organize a panel but unsure how to find participants? Seeking a panel for your paper?
Join ASEEES for one or more of our virtual networking sessions for organizing panels. These meetings will give potential convention participants an opportunity to meet colleagues with overlapping research interests and ask questions about organizing panels for the Annual Convention.
Note:The networking sessions are loosely organized by the thematic categories ASEEES uses in our submission process. These are in no way intended to be comprehensive or mutually exclusive categories – participants with multidisciplinary research interests should consider attending more than one networking session!
Thursday, January 15, 2026 at 12 PM Eastern
Anthropology, Cultural Studies
Disability Studies
Gender/LGBTQ Studies
Economic History, Economics, Business
Geography, Environmental Studies
International Relations, Security Studies, Foreign Policy
Politics, Law
Urban Studies, Built Environments
Thursday, January 22, 2026 at 12 PM Eastern
Early Slavic Studies
History: 1800-1900
History: 1900-1945
History: 1945-1990
History: Since 1990
Jewish Studies
Religion, Philosophy
Thursday, January 29, 2026 at 12 PM Eastern
Digital Humanities
Library/Information Sciences
Linguistics, Language Pedagogy, Translation
Professional Development
Non-language Pedagogy/State-of-Field
Sociology, Public Health, Education
Thursday, February 5, 2026 at 12 PM Eastern
Arts I: Visual Culture, Material Culture, Applied and Fine Arts
Arts II: Music, Theater, Performance Studies
Folklore Studies
Cinema, Television, Electronic Media
Literature: 19th Century
Literature: 20th Century
Literature: 21st Century
Thursday, February 12, 2026 at 12 PM Eastern
OPEN SESSION
Papers/Panels Wanted Board
Check out the new and improved Papers/Panels Wanted Board to submit your paper/panel ideas and/or to find panels, paper presenters, chairs, and discussants for your session!