Call for Academic Proposals for DisCon III

We are no longer accepting academic proposals.

DisCon III, the 2021 World Science Fiction Convention, will include an academic program area to feature analysis of works and themes in the science fiction, fantasy, and horror genres.

The academic track will accept proposals for both in-person and on-line presentation

We are accepting four types of proposal:

  • Solo presentations (1 paper, 35 minutes + Q&A)
  • Individual papers (3 papers, 15 minutes each + 15 minutes Q&A)
  • Complete panels (3 papers, 15 minutes each + 15 minutes Q&A)
  • Discussion panels (1 moderator + 3 participants, these may not be papers)

Individual submissions will be grouped together by the committee.

These panels are peer-reviewed and academic in nature, but speakers should remember that their papers should be accessible to a more general audience.

We welcome submissions from academics and independent scholars, and particularly encourage those new to academia.

We are committed to the anti-racist reviewing practices outlined here: https://tinyurl.com/n7bfwp8j

Discon III welcomes and encourages submissions by and relating to groups that have traditionally been underrepresented in genre literature, media, and studies.

We welcome papers and discussion proposals on the work of our Guests of honor:

And on: politics, law; cultural influences; linguistics and translation; on-line communities and cultures;  publishing, distribution and reception; technological change; and any other aspect of interest in science fiction, fantasy and horror studies.

Applicants should submit a proposal with a title of no more than 48 characters and an abstract of no more than 500 characters, and should indicate whether they prefer an in-person or online program slot.

Panel abstracts should include a list of speakers who have agreed to participate.

Discussion sessions should include a list of participants and must include a moderator.

The committee will favor panel applications that feature diverse and representative panel participants.

Applicants may submit more than one proposal, i.e.,  they may submit a paper + a discussion panel; or a solo presentation and a set of papers, but they may not submit two short academic papers.

Submissions will close on September 30th; peer review by the academic committee will take place during October and notifications will be sent out by October 31.

All accepted speakers must have a DisCon III membership for the date of their presentation or panel. If institutional support is not available, please email us at academic@discon3.org for information regarding a membership for the presentation day only.

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