AAAL2015: Proposal Submission Policy Clarifications

Each individual can be the first author only once "in addition to a possible role as a colloquium organizer, discussant, or co-author/co-presenter of another paper.” That means only one additional role is possible—as a colloquium organizer, discussant, or co-author/co-presenter of another panel.

Here is the policy:

Individuals may submit a maximum of one abstract as first author, whether a paper, a poster, a roundtable session, or as part of a colloquium. First authors are expected to present the research bearing their name, but all authors are encouraged to share in the presentation of co-authored research. An individual may appear as a first author only once on the program, in addition to a possible role as a colloquium organizer, discussant, or co-author/co-presenter of another paper.

"A possible role" means one role, and "or" means one of the listed items.

Please do not put your name on more than two proposals, and please do not put your name as the first author on more than one proposal. Thank you for your cooperation!

You can submit your proposal for AAAL2015 at: http://bit.ly/aaal2015cfp

Submission Deadline: August 20, 2014 11:59 PM EDT

Disciplinary Alignment--You Are What Conference You Attend

Although it is possible--and in some cases necessary--to develop multiple disciplinary alignments, being recognized as a viable member of multiple fields is not an easy feat. Given the persisting influence of the disciplinary division of labor (Matsuda, 1999), it is important to develop a solid footing in at least one of the main disciplinary contexts. 

One of the most obvious manifestations of disciplinary alignment is conference attendance. If you specialize in second language writing in the United States, that means you would regularly and actively participate in CCCC, AAAL or TESOL as your home conference--in addition to attending the Symposium on Second Language Writing. 

The choice of the conference has implications for what you read, who you associate with, and what kind of jobs you will apply for (and get). 

In any case, working in a transdisciplinary field such as second language writing is not easy because you need to read not just everything that's related to second language writing but read widely in one or more of the related fields. 

Jing Xia is a winner of 2012 AAAL Graduate Student Award

Congratulations, Jing Xia, for receiving the 2012 AAAL Graduate Student Award from the American Association for Applied Linguistics! Well deserved!

Jing is a Ph.D. Candidate in Applied Linguistics at Arizona State University, specializing in second language writing.