The following announcement was written by the U.S. Federation of Genealogical Societies:
The Federation of Genealogical Societies is pleased to announce an invitation to submit lecture proposals for the 2008 FGS Conference
Footprints of Family History
Pennsylvania Convention Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania September 3-6, 2008
Request for Lecture Proposals - Deadline is January 5, 2007
We're looking for a wide variety of presentations - including immigration (given Philadelphia's role as No. 1 port of entry in the 18th century) and migration (focusing not just on trans-Atlantic groups but also movements of African-Americans from the Southern Gulf states). Other suggested topics include:
Mid-Atlantic resources
Basic research topics
New slants on methodology
Teaching to school-age children
Society management
Material culture
Military records
Property research
Migrations from Pennsylvania
Religious and ethnic groups
Submissions on original topics are especially encouraged, including those that are not restricted to genealogy but are of interest to historical researchers. Potential speakers may submit any number of proposals. While most sessions are expected to follow the usual one hour lecture format, the program committee will consider proposals for panels, workshops, and sponsored lecture proposals are welcomed.
Announcing: one-half hour lecture spots also will be offered
Speakers will receive compensation according to FGS guidelines. Details on the compensation package will be available on the FGS Web site.
Camera-ready handouts are required for each lecture or workshop presentation and will be included in the syllabus distributed to conference participants. The deadline for submissions of syllabus materials is April 30, 2008. Guidelines for the formatting of the syllabus content will be included with the invitations to speak.
Please include the following information in your proposals:
- Your name, address, telephone and e-mail address
- Title of presentation
- Brief description of your presentation (up to 40 words for the registration booklet)
- Audience (beginning, intermediate, advanced, or teachers)
- Outline or summary of presentation
- Audio/visual requirements (Computer technology is strongly encouraged!)
- Summary of recent speaking experience. (Those who have not spoken at a national conference before should include an audiotape of a recent lecture.)
- Brief biography (50 words for the registration booklet)
Proposals will be evaluated principally on the following criteria:
- Speaker's experience, skill, and ability to produce a high quality oral presentation
- Relevance of the topic to the conference themes
- Originality of the topic
- Anticipated interest level in the topic
Proposals must be received by January 5, 2007, and may be submitted through regular mail, e-mail, or the Federation Web site at www.fgs.org.
E-mail submissions must be in Word, Word Perfect, or PDF format. Please do not duplicate electronic and print submissions. For additional information you may e-mail, write, or telephone conference program chair Catherine "Casey" Zahn at (609) 273-8064 or caseywilkz@aol.com.
Thank you for the time and consideration you will invest in your proposals.
Catherine "Casey" Zahn
FGS 2008 Program Chair
P.O. Box 200940
Austin, TX 78720-0940
