Friday, September 25, 2009

A Call for Workshops, Papers, and Posters for The Second Biennial Integral Theory Conference

The 2010 Integral Theory Conference has issued its call for submissions. I will be reposting this a couple of time for maximum exposure.

C'mon, you know you want to share your wisdom with us.

A Call for Workshops, Papers, and Posters for
The Second Biennial Integral Theory Conference

In late July 2010, John F. Kennedy University and Integral Institute will host the second biennial Integral Theory Conference, the world’s largest academic conference devoted to the field of integral theory and practice. The conference will take place at the JFK campus and Hilton Concord and provide a forum where scholars and practitioners in this burgeoning movement can gather for intellectual exchange, community building, and networking. We expect this year’s event to sell out again with over 500 people in attendance.

The theme of this year’s conference is Enacting an Integral Future. Enaction refers to the individual and social practices we take up to interact with reality and which in fact bring reality into being through a participatory process of observer, mode of observation, and observed. The principle of enactment is foundational to the post-metaphysical commitments of integral theory. The theme will inform the opening night presentation as well as the keynote presentation by Dr. Robert Kegan – Harvard’s renowned developmental psychologist.

Although the theme of enaction need not be used as the theme for any workshop, individual, or poster presentation, we will be asking all accepted presenters to briefly address the modes through which they are “enacting” their work—that is, discussing what perspectives are the primary foundation for their presentation (for example, 1st-, 2nd -, or 3rd-person perspectives, or some combination of these). The intention will be to support the goal of knowledge integration and to help attendees contextualize what they hear. This need not be done in the language of the AQAL model, but in the way of each presenter’s choosing. More details will be given upon acceptance.

Information will be provided below detailing:

• Call for Pre-conference Workshops
• Call for Papers and Presentations
• Call for Poster Presentations

Please note: All accepted presenters—whether doing workshop, paper/presentation, or poster—will receive a discount on their registration fee. Details are given in the sections below.

Call for Workshops

We are pleased to announce that the 2010 conference will include half-day and full-day pre-conference workshops on Thursday, July 29th. Participants will be required to signup and pay in advance. The submission deadline for workshop proposals is November 15th, 2009. Notification of acceptance or rejection will occur on January 15th, 2009. We anticipate having up to two full-day and four half-day workshops, depending on the number and quality of proposals.

Workshops may be academic, applied/practical, or experiential in focus. In general, any topic that is acceptable for papers and presentations (see below) is acceptable for workshops.

Please note: Individuals accepted for workshop presentations will have their entire tuition fee for the conference waived. They will also receive a complete set of the 2010 Conference recording (MP3s), a copy of the book Integral Theory in Action: Applied, Theoretical, and Critical Perspectives on the AQAL Model (SUNY, 2010) edited by Sean Esbjorn-Hargens, as well as an official conference t-shirt.

Workshop Proposal Submission Guidelines:

Please note: Because of the highly competitive nature of the process, we need some uniform way of comparing presentations. Submissions that do not conform to the following guidelines will be returned.

Proposals should be single spaced in Times font 12 and include:

• A 250-400 word abstract of your proposed workshop along with a title, institutional affiliation of the presenters (if any), and contact information. Include a brief justification for the workshop, including anticipated benefits to the Integral academic community.

• A two-page outline which details the organization of your workshop. Include the specific topics and subtopics you plan to cover as well as any experiential exercises and multimedia elements you plan to include.

• Please include up-to-date CVs for each member of the presentation team. If accepted, we will later ask for a biography (150 words) to place in the conference materials.

• Suggest a target audience and the maximum and minimum number of participants for the workshop.

Workshop proposals will be subject to a refereed review process. The deadline for workshop proposals will be November 15th, 2009. Please send to: Mark Forman, Ph.D. at mforman@jfku.edu. Please contact Dr. Forman if you have any questions.

Call for Papers and Presentations

At this time, the conference will begin accepting presentation proposals. The submission deadline for proposals is November 15th, 2009. Notification of acceptance or rejection will occur on January 15th, 2009. We anticipate having 80 spaces for presentations, but well over that number of submissions; it will be a competitive process. Note last year we accepted 100 submissions but have decided to reduce the number in order to allow for more 90 minute presentations this year. Those presenters and presentation teams that are accepted will be required to submit 15-20 page doublespaced scholarly paper detailing their work by May 15th, 2010.

The length of the presentations at the conference will be either 60 minutes or 90 minutes. 60 minute presentations should include at least 15 minutes for questions and discussion, while 90 minute presentations should include at least 30 minutes for this purpose. The length of presentation offered will be given upon notification of acceptance. We expect presenters to strike a creative balance between 3rd-person didactical, 2nd-person dialogical, and 1st-person experiential components.

While it is expected that many presentations will reference the AQAL (“all-quadrant, all-level”) model associated with Ken Wilber, presentations which feature alternative perspectives and critiques of the AQAL model are strongly encouraged.

As with the first conference, John F. Kennedy University and Integral Institute are proud to co-sponsor eight $500 awards for Best Papers at the Integral Theory Conference.

• Four awards will be given for the best presentations and papers from each of the quadrant perspectives associated with integral theory.

• One award will be given for best overall theoretical contribution.
• One award will be given for best overall empirical or research contribution.
• One award will be given for best constructive criticism of integral theory.
• One award will be given for best alternative to integral theory.

Please note: All individuals who are accepted for papers/presentations will receive a $100 reduction on their tuition fee for the conference.

These Best Papers along with some other outstanding papers from the conference will be published in the Journal of Integral Theory and Practice and might appear in an anthology as part of the SUNY series in Integral Theory.

A list of the 2008 winners can be found on the conference website. These papers are being published in Integral Theory in Action (SUNY 2010) and will be available at the conference.

The presentations may address original work in the following areas:

Theory and Research Presentations
Theory and research presentations may either include discussions of specific research results, assessment tools, and areas of theoretical interest or more broadly address issues of methodological pluralism, or theoretical comparisons (e.g., Wilber as compared to Bhaskar). These presentations should use concrete examples of application when possible to illustrate their theoretical points.

Presentations on theory and research may focus on any of the following areas.

• Integral Research (e.g., study results, the development of specific measures, Integral Methodological Pluralism, mixed method designs, and validity).

• Alternative and Complementary Approaches to Integral Theory (e.g., Gebser, Aurobindo, and various recent voices such as Almaas, Bhaskar, Ritzer)

• Critical Views of Integral Theory (e.g., limits of current interpretations, missing components, and textual analysis of Wilber’s writings)

• Improvements to Integral Theory (e.g., further differentiations, clarifications, expanded analysis, recommendations, and new interpretations of AQAL)

Applied Presentations
Presentations that focus on specific applications of Integral Theory will receive greater consideration than broad overviews. For example, rather than presenting how quadrants, levels, lines, states, and types apply in general to sustainability, presentations that go into detail concerning the use of one or two aspects of Integral Theory and present case study material will be prioritized. Also, we value applications that highlight what did not work or illuminated areas of concern regarding a given integral approach.

Presentations on application may address any number of areas including the following areas:

• Individual Transformation (e.g., psychotherapy, coaching, Integral Life Practice)

• Community Wellbeing (e.g., medicine, healthcare, nursing, social work)

• Institutional Development (e.g., business, leadership, organizations, education)

• Global Dynamics (e.g., ecology, sustainability, politics, international development)

• Spirituality (e.g., pastoral care, consciousness, integral buddhism, spiritual direction)

• Aesthetic Expressions (e.g., art, creative writing, film analysis, movement)

• Gender Explorations (e.g., sexuality, embodiment, feminism)

Presentation/Paper Submission Guidelines

Please note: Because of the highly competitive nature of the process, we need some uniform way of comparing presentations. Submissions that do not conform to the following guidelines will be returned.

Proposals should be single spaced in Times font 12 and include:

• A 250-300 word abstract of your proposed presentation along with a title, institutional affiliation of the presenters (if any), and contact information.

• A two-page outline which details the organization of your presentation. Include the specific topics and subtopics you plan to cover as well as any experiential exercises and multimedia elements you plan to include.

• Please include a 150 word biography of each of the presenters. If accepted, we will later ask for a truncated biography (60-75 words) to place in the conference materials.

• A 15-20 page, double-spaced original (i.e., unpublished) scholarly paper to be submitted by May 15th, 2009. Please note: In rare cases we may accept a paper that has been accepted for publication or has recently been published. Failing to produce a paper will result in your presentation spot being given to a presenter on the waitlist with a scholarly paper.

Proposals will be subject to a refereed review process. The deadline for proposals will be November 15th, 2009. Please send proposals to: Mark Forman, Ph.D. at mforman@jfku.edu. Please contact Dr. Forman if you have any questions.

Call for Posters

At this time, the conference will begin accepting proposals for poster presentations. We especially encourage current undergraduate and graduate students to consider submitting proposals for posters. The submission deadline for poster presentations is December 15th, 2009. Notification of acceptance or rejection will occur on February 15th, 2009. Please note: The deadline is later than the presentation deadline so as to give those who were not able to get a presentation slot a chance to submit a poster presentation.

Poster presentations involve creating a visual representation of your work on posterboard, usually involving some combination of an abstract, graphs, tables, figures/images, and schematics. Conference attendees will circulate through the space during the times you will be presenting, viewing the posters and collecting written information During the specified periods it would be good to have a 3 to 5 minute verbal presentation prepared to help introduce your ideas and topic to attendees. Presenters can also provide attendees copies of your paper or handouts that summarize your key points.

The conference is going to make a significant effort this year to highlight poster presentations, including setting them up in the lobby area of the Hilton Concord before and after the major gatherings on Friday and Saturday evening.

John F. Kennedy University and Integral Institute are also proud to co-sponsor two $250 awards for the best poster presentations at the Integral Theory Conference. As with the papers, while it is expected that many presentations will reference the AQAL (“all-quadrant, all-level”) model associated with Ken Wilber, posters which feature alternative perspectives and critiques of the AQAL model are strongly encouraged.

Please note: All individuals who are accepted for poster presentations will receive a $50 reduction on their tuition fee for the conference.

Poster Presentation Submission Guidelines

Please note: Because of the highly competitive nature of the process, we need some uniform way of comparing presentations. Submissions that do not conform to the following guidelines will be returned.

Proposals should be single spaced in Times font 12 and include:

• A 250-300 word abstract of your poster topic along with a title, institutional affiliation of the presenters (if any), and contact information.

• A one-page outline which details the organization of your presentation. Include the specific topics and subtopics you plan to cover as well as any multimedia elements you plan to include (i.e., such as a video run on VCR or laptop).

• Please include a 100 word biography of each of the presenters. If accepted, we will later ask for a truncated biography (60-75 words) to place in the conference materials.

Proposals will be subject to a refereed review process. The deadline for proposals will be December 15th, 2009. Please send proposals to: Mark Forman, Ph.D. at mforman@jfku.edu. Please contact Dr. Forman if you have any questions.

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