WRITING THE CONFERENCE PROPOSAL CHERYL GEISLER

AGENDA Reasons to Participate A Look at the Call for Proposals The Logic of a Good Proposal: Two Examples Criteria for a Good Proposal Discussion: What You Might Have to Offer

REASONS TO PARTICIPATE WHY?

WHY A CONFERENCE? Annual get-together Showcase new developments Share lessons learned Report research Explore a topic in depth Meet people with similar interests

WHY A CALL FOR PROPOSALS? Need to fill time slots Need to attract registration Need to build community

WHY PRESENT? Acquire a distinctive experience Enhance career skills Engage in scholarly communication Receive a certificate of participation Have a chance to receive best paper award

A LOOK AT THE CALL FOR PROPOSALS WHAT DO THEY WANT?

CONFERENCE THEME: BORDER CROSSINGS “Our mandate is to provide an opportunity for students to research topics that they find engaging, and furthermore, topics that ‘cross borders’ so students can explore creativity, collaboration, and contestation in trans-disciplinary practice.” “A research strategy that crosses many disciplinary boundaries to create a holistic approach. It applies to research efforts focused on problems that cross the boundaries of two or more areas of study.”

KINDS OF PRESENTATIONS Individual or group Research paper OR Project Report Performance OR Demonstration Talk or Poster Course Project Film

SUBMISSION PACKAGE Contact Information Type of Submission Professor or Teaching Assistant Reference 300 word abstract Digital work related to proposal

HOW TO SUBMIT Submit your submission package to the Deans office by the deadline: January 5, 2012 at 11:30 pm Conference webpage: Application Package:

THE LOGIC OF A GOOD PROPOSAL: TWO EXAMPLES HOW?

PROPOSAL LOGIC Current Situation Desired Situation Proposal

EXAMPLE 1: SITUATION OCAD University has its facilities spread along McCaul Street, Dundas and Richmond street. The downtown location of the university is an attractive position for the largest University of Art & Design in Canada, yet it lacks a cohesive campus experience. Current Situation

EXAMPLE 1: PROPOSAL The aim of the Visible Campus project is to create a sense of identity between the different fragmented campus buildings of OCAD University. During my presentation I will talk about our research and analysis process which features both a ‘bottom up’ and a ‘top down’ approach. Proposal

EXAMPLE 1: DESIRED SITUATION As result of our process, we have identified opportunities for designing a more cohesive, social, lively and interactive campus experience, designs which we propose to present at the conference. Proposal Desired Situation

EXAMPLE 1: PROPOSAL LOGIC Current Situation Desired Situation Proposal Bottom-up and top-down research process to create a sense of identity Campus experience lacks cohesion Opportunities for a more cohesive, lively, and interactive campus

ABSTRACT: EXAMPLE 1 COMPLETE (188 WORDS) OCAD University has its facilities spread along McCaul Street, Dundas and Richmond street. The downtown location of the university is an attractive position for the largest University of Art & Design in Canada, yet it lacks a cohesive campus experience. A research project, ‘Visible Campus’ was initiated to address this gap. The aim of the Visible Campus project is to identify needs and create a sense of identity between the different fragmented campus buildings of OCAD University. During my presentation I will talk about our research and analysis process which features both a ‘bottom up’ and a ‘top down’ approach. The ‘bottom up’ approach entailed the interviewing of different stakeholders such as OCADU students, faculty, residents and local business owners. The top down approach includes both the needs from local BIAs and the university as well as a compilation of programmatic maps that helped to identify urban connections of the campus. As result, the project team identified needs and opportunities for creating a more cohesive, social, lively and interactive campus experience. Currently, we are designing for the needs identified in the research, which can be presented in March.

EXAMPLE 2: SITUATION How can geometric formalism help us to reflect on the utopian aspirations of modernism and the contemporary possibilities of imagining new and meaningful spaces of culture? Current Situation

EXAMPLE 2: PROPOSAL I examine the ways geometry is considered in the writings of various philosophers; I consider historical examples in art and architecture and other artistic practices that engage geometric forms; I use these frameworks to discuss my current studio practice. Proposal

EXAMPLE 2: DESIRED SITUATION Such an emphasis on the aesthetic experience of geometry enables us to see the opposition between the intelligible and the sensible realms as a productive one. An attentiveness to the possibilities and the limitations of materiality can serve as foundation for a responsible aesthetic production. Proposal Desired Situation

EXAMPLE 2: PROPOSAL LOGIC Current Situation Desired Situation Proposal Examine use of geometry in philosophy, art and my studio practice How can we reconcile modernism and contemporary thought More responsible aesthetic production

ABSTRACT: EXAMPLE 2 COMPLETE (203 WORDS) In this presentation I speculate on the use of geometric formalism to reflect on our relationship to the utopian aspirations of modernism and on the contemporary possibilities of imagining new and meaningful spaces of culture. I examine the ways geometry is considered in the writings of various philosophers as Kant, Bergson and Deleuze not an external and objective form of knowledge but an embodied, aesthetic process of construction. Through this materially grounded understanding of geometry I consider both historical examples of formalism in art and architecture underpinned by a discourse of transcendence, and other artistic practices that engage geometric forms and questions of architecture with a sensitivity to embodied and plural subjectivity. I use these frameworks to discuss my current studio practice that consists of a visual study and materially sensitive translation of shapes, planes and angles of the urban built environment for contemplating on the relationships between architectural form and social agency. Such an emphasis on the materially embodied nature of the aesthetic experience of geometry enables conceptualizing the traditional opposition between the intelligible and the sensible realms as a productive tension. An attentiveness to the possibilities and the limitations of materiality can then serve as foundation for a responsible aesthetic production.

CRITERIA FOR A GOOD PROPOSAL

SOME CRITERIA -interest of the topic to the conference's audience -quality of the work -clarity of the proposal/presentation -significance of the issues addressed -relevance of the topic to the conference theme

DISCUSSION WHAT MIGHT I HAVE TO OFFER?