2013 Institute of the Linguistic Society of America: Call for Workshop and Conference Proposals

The 2013 Linguistic Institute will take place June 24 to July 19, 2013 on the campus of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, with the theme ‘Universality and Variability'. The Institute focus will be on the unusual synergies currently emerging in Linguistics, tied to exploring and modeling what is invariant about human language while also working to understand the complexities of linguistic variability. These synergies necessarily involve basic research concerning fundamental aspects of linguistic knowledge and the integration of diverse approaches to linguistic study, particularly as linked to the study of language as a cognitive endowment and process and the study of language as a central component of human cultures, social action and perception.

As is traditional at LSA Institutes, there are several courses with a strong computational focus, and the Institute will therefore quite relevant to ACL members. For more information on the Institute, see http://lsa2013.lsa.umich.edu/.

We are requesting initial, informal proposals for potential workshops to be hosted in conjunction with the Institute. These proposals are to be submitted by July 1, 2012. We are happy to host a meeting of a regular conference or of a one-time-only workshop, particularly workshops that are consistent with the Institute theme. As at previous Institutes, the general assumption is that workshop funding is the responsibility of their organizers and that workshops have no or minimal registration fees to allow them to be maximally accessible to Institute participants, who are primarily students.

Classes at the Institute will be offered Monday through Thursday (except for the week of July 4th, when classes will be held Monday to Wednesday, and Friday). This leaves most Fridays and all of the weekends free for workshops and conferences to be offered concurrently with the Institute. The specific available dates are listed below:

  1. June 23, 24 (the weekend before the official start of the Institute)
  2. June 28, 29, 30
  3. July 6 and 7 (note that Friday is not available since it will be an ordinary class day for Institute attendees).
  4. July 12, 13, 14.

Proposals should contain the following information:

  1. The title of the workshop.
  2. The name of the sponsoring organization (if applicable).
  3. The names, institutional affiliations, and e-mail addresses of the organizers.
  4. The proposed length of the workshop or conference (e.g. half-day, one full day, two full days, etc.).
  5. The format of the event (e.g. method of selecting speakers, length of talks and discussion, use of commentators, etc.).
  6. Any available information about the presenters.
  7. A brief, one paragraph description of the workshop.
  8. Expected number of participants.
  9. Any special facility needs.
  10. Anticipated sources of funding.
  11. Dates: If your workshop needs to be on a specific weekend, please specify the dates. If not, indicate that any of the available weekends will be possible.

Please note that July 1, 2012 is not a formal deadline for workshop proposals. You may propose a workshop at a later date, although it may not be possible to accommodate proposals received after this date. Workshop proposals will not be subjected to outside evaluation; however, should we receive more proposals than we can accommodate, we will select among them according to the date submitted and fit with the overall Institute.

Submit your workshop proposals to lsa2013.workshops [at] umich.edu by July 1, 2012. Questions about workshops may also be directed to this e-mail address.