current conference

Forty-Eighth Annual Conference, Sept. 26-29 2024, Atlanta, Georgia

#thegsa2024

General Information

Last update: April 12, 2024

Information for Submissions

Conference submission, presentation, and scheduling guidelines

Conference Registration

  • TBA

Conference Hotel

Courtland Grand Hotel
165 Courtland Street NE
Atlanta, GA 30303
  • Discounted GSA group rate for standard double room: $179.00 + tax (the booking link for the discounted rate will be included in your conference registration confirmation email)

Conference Program

  • TBA

Information for Presenters

  • The 48th Annual Conference is an in-person conference; participants may not attend virtually (e.g. Zoom, FaceTime, etc.), nor may they have their contributions read in absentia.
  • All presenters must email advance copies of their completed papers to the commentator, and a brief biographical paragraph to the moderator, three weeks in advance of the conference at the latest.
  • Presenters in 3-person panels are expected to limit their presentations to twenty minutes. Should four presenters be scheduled, the time limit is fifteen minutes.
  • Commentators should speak for no more than ten minutes. Please note that any commentator who does not receive a completed paper by the deadline is under no obligation to offer a response on that paper at the conference.
  • Moderators are urged to let speakers know when they have only a minute or two left and then to intervene if they exceed their allotted time.
  • Withdrawals: Should changes in your situation necessitate your withdrawal, even last-minute, please inform Dr. Jennifer L. Jenkins (operations[at]thegsa.org) as soon as possible before, or if necessary, after the conference so that we may keep accurate records. We also ask that you inform your fellow session participants. For more information, please see our submission guidelines.
  • Refunds: Information TBA

Accommodation Requests

  • Accommodation requests related to a disability and accessibility should be directed to the GSA Operations Director, Dr. Jennifer L. Jenkins.

Moderators and Commentators

We encourage GSA members to volunteer as moderators and commentators in Atlanta!

For the sake of independent and impartial peer review and effective oversight of session rules (such as time limits), presenters may not serve as commentator or moderator of the panel on which they are presenting; similarly, a commentator may not also serve as the moderator of the same panel and vice versa. Exceptions to this policy are only made in the case of late participant withdrawals at the discretion of the Executive Director/Program Director.

Moderators hold a crucial position in making the panel run smoothly. A session moderator's duties consist of 

  • ensuring the session starts on time
  • introducing the various speakers
  • making sure presenters limit their presentations to the amount of time allotted to them: 20 (3-person panels) or 15 (4-person panels) minutes for presenters; 10 minutes for commentator, e.g. by letting speakers know when they have only a minute or two left and then intervening if they exceed their allotted time
  • serving as m.c. for the discussion that follows
  • making sure the session concludes on time

Moderators contact the panelists in advance to 1) ensure that each panelist sends a c.v./biographical blurb to the moderator for introducing them, and 2) remind presenters to send their papers to the panel's commentator far enough in advance of the conference such that the commentator can adequately prepare the commentary (this should be done no later than ca. 3 weeks prior to the conference.)

Commentators: During a panel session, each paper presenter will present their paper (20 minutes each for 3-person panels; 15 minutes each for 4-person panels), followed by the commentator's prepared commentary (maximum 10 minutes). The floor will then be opened to discussion, moderated by the panel's moderator.  A commentator's duties include

  • preparing the commentary on the panel's papers, which aims above all to accentuate the common ground that the papers cover (i.e. the ways in which they intersect with each other; how they deal with common questions/issues/challenges and collectively raise common questions, etc.)
  • stimulating collective discussion

While commentators are free in their commentary to pose questions to individual paper authors, the overall emphasis should be more on bringing the papers into dialogue with one other rather than on discussing each of them in isolation. Presenters are responsible for sending their panel commentator copies of their papers no later than ca. 3 weeks prior to the conference so that commentators have sufficient time to prepare their comments. Please note that graduate students may not serve as commentators.

Certificate of Attendance

If you will need official confirmation of attendance (e.g. for travel reimbursement from your institution, for a tenure/promotion dossier, etc.), you must request it in person at the registration desk in Atlanta.

Conference Travel Support

Please visit the following pages for information about available financial support for travel to the GSA conference:

Withdrawal from the Conference

  • All individuals withdrawing from the conference must inform the GSA. Please contact Operations Director Dr. Jennifer L. Jenkins to confirm your absence as soon as possible, even if that means after the conference, so that we can plan and also keep accurate records.
  • All non-North Americans are eligible for our travel grants. There is no fixed deadline for applications; however, members are urged to apply as soon as they can demonstrate that they have exhausted all funding possibilities in their home countries after receiving official GSA confirmation of their accepted participation. We also have a Community Fund to help cover conference expenses for any member, regardless of location.
  • Individuals withdrawing from the conference after acceptance of their papers and/or panels will not have their GSA membership dues refunded.
  • Withdrawn participants may not present via video conference (Skype, Zoom, etc.) at in-person sessions, nor may they have their contributions read in absentia.
  • Conference Fee & Meal Refunds:
    • TBA

Conference App

TBA

AV Information

TBA

Publisher and Exhibitor Information

  • Advertising order form for
    • GSA 2024 Conference Program Book (online only) – deadlines:
      • Early-bird reservations (receive 20% discount): May 17, 2024
      • Reservations & Artwork: June 14, 2024
    • German Studies Review 47.3 issue (October 2024) – deadline:
      • Reservations & Artwork: August 15, 2024
  • ​​Exhibitor registration, package shipping instructions, booth hours
    • TBD

For Attendees from outside the US

While the GSA can not advise on visa matters, international conference attendees may find the following US State Department resources helpful: