The 2015 Undergraduate Humanities Symposium

2015 Undergraduate Humanities Symposium

Congratulations to our 2015 Undergraduate Humanities Symposium Winners!

  • 1st Place–Rosalyn Stilling—Judy Chicago’s The Dinner Party and the Problem of Female Identity
  • 2nd Place–Anastasia Bergeron—The Fight for Tomorrow, or What the Near Extinction of the American Bison and Coastal Erosion in South Louisiana have in Common
  • 3rd Place–Raquel Garza—Femininity: Murdered or Illuminated in Carson McCuller’s The Ballad of the Sad Café?

Sigma Tau Delta, the Department of Languages & Literature, and the College of Arts & Sciences are pleased to announce the 2015 Undergraduate Humanities Symposium. The Symposium will take place February 10-11, 2015.

The Undergraduate Humanities Symposium will showcase humanities-based scholarly activities of undergraduates at Nicholls State University. All undergraduate students at Nicholls State are eligible to participate.

Papers on any topic within the fields of humanities are welcome, including but not limited to:

  • Literary Studies
  • History
  • Art History
  • Rhetoric
  • Film Studies
  • Philosophy
  • Modern Language Studies
  • Linguistics
  • History of . . . (Science, Math, Music, etc.)
  • Cultural Studies
Logistics
  • Participants must submit a 150-300 word abstract of their paper by November 14, 2014.
  • Submissions may be for individual presentations or for panels comprised of three to four presenters.
  • Panel proposals must include a brief panel description (no more than 300 words) and brief descriptions of each presentation (no more than 150 words).
  • A committee comprised of Nicholls faculty, staff, and students will select and organize papers into presentation panels.
  • Selected students will prepare and deliver a 12-15-minute oral presentation of their paper delivered in conventional humanities conference style. This means students will read the full version of their paper. Presentations may be supplemented with visual aids, PowerPoint slide shows, etc.
  • Selected students will also submit a written version of their presentation to the committee. To be eligible for an award, students must orally present their papers and submit a written version of their papers.
  • The committee will select the best paper and a runner up paper.
  • The winning paper will receive a $100.00 award and a certificate. The runner up paper will receive a $50.00 award and a certificate. The third place paper will receive a $25.00 award and a certificate. All students presenting and submitting papers will receive a certificate of participation.
  • Presentations will be held February 10-11, 2015. All presentations will be held on the Nicholls State campus and are free and open to the public.
  • Please submit abstracts/proposals by November 14, 2013 to scott.banville@nicholls.edu.
Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What’s a symposium?

A: A symposium is simply a conference or meeting where people gather to discuss a particular subject. The faculty committee will organize the presentations into panels that share a similar theme or approach.

Q: How long can my presentation be?

A: Your presentation should be 15-20 minutes long. Your panel moderator will be in contact with you about whether your presentation should be 15 or 20 minutes long.

Q: I’m not sure if I can say everything I need to in 15 minutes.

A: Don’t worry, no one expects you to say everything about a topic in 15 minutes. Moreover, there will a question and answer period during which you can add in things that you didn’t have time to cover.

Q: Can I use a PowerPoint presentation, show images, or movie clips during my presentation.

A: Yes.

Q: Do I have to read my paper as part of my presentation?

A: While presentation styles differ across disciplines and even depending on the personality of the presenter, one common and widely accepted practice among scholars in the humanities is for presenters to read their papers.

Q: Am I eligible for an award if I don’t present?

A: No. To be eligible for an award, you must orally present your paper.

Q: Am I eligible for an award if I don’t submit my paper?

A: No. To be eligible for an award you must submit a paper version of your presentation.

Q: Who should submit an abstract and participate in the Humanities Symposium?

A: Any undergraduate student who has taken a humanities class–Art History, Literature, a modern foreign language, History, etc.

–Any student who might be interested in going to graduate school.

–Any student who might be interested in going to professional school.

Q: Do I need to have my paper written by the time I submit my abstract?

A: No. Many times, scholars will submit an abstract for a paper they have yet to write. Think of an abstract as an outline or as a proposal. Your paper doesn’t have to 100% match your abstract; as long as it is on the same general topic you’ll be fine.

Q: Does it cost anything to participate in the Humanities Symposium?

A: No and in fact you could win money via one of the awards.

Q: Can I submit my paper as part of a pre-formed panel consisting of three or four other papers?

A: Yes. Many times, scholars collaborate and submit an abstract for a pre-formed panel of three or four papers.

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