Call for Proposals

Recovering Human Thriving: Navigating Global Chaos, Pandemics, and Artificial Intelligence

Many recent issues have impacted the secondary and post-secondary classroom, including the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, generative AI (Artificial Intelligence), war between Russia and the Ukraine, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, climate crisis, and the rise in mental health crises among youth and college aged students. We have an opportunity at our forthcoming AEA conference to examine these issues and discuss ways to address some of the challenges these issues present in the classroom.

What does it mean to thrive as a human today? What does it mean to use language and human creativity in a world where machines are used to complete human tasks? How do we respect human capacities and creative endeavors? What can humans do that machines cannot? How do we conserve and maintain human cultures and communities—social groupings where we find meaning and sustenance for our souls? How do we create and respond to art and literature when humanity is ailing?

As Christian educators we have unique perspectives on these issues and how to approach them, not just for the “here and now” but for eternity.

We are looking for paper, panel, and roundtable proposals that tackle these questions, invite conversation, and provide strategies for the English classroom at both the high school and the university levels.

AEA invites proposals for 15–20-minute presentations, 45–60-minute panels, and 45-60 minute roundtables that address all aspects of English language and literature. Preference will be given to proposals from English teachers, faculty, and graduate students that address the conference theme of recovering human thriving. Please submit proposals (no longer than 350 words) for a presentation and/or panel session, with a short biographical note(s), by January 15, 2025 to adventistenglishassociation@gmail.com. 

Topics include, but are not strictly limited to:

·      Humanizing the virtual classroom

·      Responding to the mental health crisis

·      The future of humanities instruction

·      Performance literature

·      Critiquing the role of technology

·      Strategies for ethical use of AI in the university or secondary classroom

·      Teaching methodologies in secondary and/or higher education

·      Teaching English in “Contact Zones,” such as in international institutions or non-traditional education systems (e.g., prison systems or community centers)

·      Linguistic, literary, historical and/or theoretical English research

While we are especially excited to accept papers on the conference theme, we will consider panels and individual papers on any themes in writing, language, literature, and English research and pedagogy.

Abstract Submission UPDATED Deadline: February 15, 2025

Acceptance UPDATED Notification:  March 15, 2025