2025 UK Appalachian Research Symposium and Arts Showcase
CALL FOR PARTICIPATION
The University of Kentucky Graduate Appalachian Research Community presents
– the 14th Annual Research Symposium & Arts Showcase –
“Insider / Outsider”
Saturday, March 8, 2025
Daily Schedule TBA
University of Kentucky, Location TBA
2025 Conference Call for Proposals PDF
The University of Kentucky’s Graduate Appalachian Research Community (GARC) is an official graduate student organization promoting interdisciplinary dialogue on Appalachian research. Our mission is to foster a supportive community in which students from various disciplines learn from each other's findings, discuss research obstacles and successes, and have a venue to present their Appalachian‐based research, and collaborate.
Alongside the UK Appalachian Center and Appalachian Studies Program, GARC is proud to continue our tradition of symposia on Appalachia with the 2025 UK Appalachian Research Symposium & Arts Showcase to be held Saturday, March 8, 2025. The event will be primarily in-person in order to create community and facilitate collegiality, though if necessary those who are unable to attend physically can join us virtually. We intend to record all presentations during the Symposium and make them available online with presenters’ consent.
The Symposium is open to all undergraduate and graduate students of all disciplines from all colleges and universities doing work pertaining to Appalachia. Registration is free for both presenters and registered attendees. The Symposium is intended to foster a supportive community in which students from various fields can present their Appalachian-based research and creative work. This year’s Symposium will provide an opportunity for students to network, collaborate, learn from each others’ findings, and explore issues relevant to Appalachian communities. Students creating performance or visual artworks related to Appalachia are strongly encouraged to participate.
This year’s theme is Insider / Outsider. While Appalachia is often imagined as mired intractably in the rurality of the past, our focus on a broader, urban Appalachia, in response to the Appalachian Studies Association’s 2025 Conference, Rural Reimagined: A Grand Challenge for Appalachia, was chosen to envision together what these reimagined spaces of culture, place, and identity might look like, especially in a tumultuous election cycle. Attention to the insider/outsider, urban/rural divide in Appalachian studies provides an opportunity to bring together transdisciplinary work on social justice and equity across disciplines, including environmental studies, medicine and public health, life and physical sciences, the social sciences and humanities, and more, and interrogate broadly what justice looks like and what it means for different people and in different contexts. Through exploration of interdisciplinary research and arts, the Symposium will exhibit how different groups have imagined these juxtaposing positions within the region, resisting singular constructions of Appalachia and stagnant regional representations to present the complex, engaging, and ever-evolving understandings of what it means to be Appalachian and live and work in the region. We call upon participants to engage with questions of justice, futurity, and time in relation to culture, place, and identity, confront regional stereotypes, and consider what a reimagined insider/outsider divide might look like.
Abstract Submission and Symposium Registration Information
Work must be related to Appalachia, original, and produced in the last 3 years. While we suggest submitting work related to the theme, we welcome any and all Appalachia-related submissions!
Abstract Submission: To be considered for inclusion in the Symposium, students should submit a 200-250 word abstract (a brief summary/overview of your work) online by 5 pm ET on Monday, January 20th, 2025. Notice of submission acceptance will be emailed by February 3rd. To submit an abstract, please use this form:2025 Abstract Submission Form.
Symposium Registration: Registration for attendance is online and due by 5 pm ET on Friday, February 14th, 2025. All presenters must also register as attendees. Registration will ensure seating and refreshments. To register: 2025 Registration Form (for both presenters and non-presenting attendees).
Submission and Presentation Details for Potential Presenters
- Presenters should expect presentation slots to be approximately 10-15 minutes with an additional Q&A session after each panel presentation. We can often accommodate longer times for musical performance, films, or presentation of artistic work. Please contact us to discuss.
- A computer and projector will be provided. If additional technology is needed please note on your registration. We cannot guarantee additional technology will be available.
- If you are unable to join us in person, please email us to discuss remote presentation options.
Presentation formats:
- Individual paper: Oral presentation (1 presenter) based on a written paper or presentation
- Group paper: Oral presentation (2+ presenters) based on a written paper or presentation
- Full panel presentation: A moderator (1) and a panel of experts (3+) from a specific field or topic share opinions, experience, and expertise from various perspectives, typically in response to questions from the moderator and/or audience
- Artistic work: Films, musical performances, short plays, visual art forms (painting and other media), photography, and creative writing. For your submission, provide a brief summary of your work. You may opt to also give a presentation about your artwork.
- Poster: Visual poster presentation that summarizes research findings and will be displayed to facilitate discussion and questions from attendees.
Please have the following information ready when you register online:
- Name(s), email address(es), and institutional affiliation(s) of all participants.
- Title of your presentation and (for organized panels) the title of each presentation on the panel.
- Type of Presentation:. Indicate whether your submission is an individual or group presentation or an organized panel. All participants must register for the conference.
- An abstract of 200-250 words for your paper, panel, poster, or artistic work. In the case of a full-panel proposal, please submit a brief summary of each participant’s relevant expertise or experience in addition to the abstract describing the whole panel.
- Types of media equipment needed (if any)
Important Dates
- Monday, January 20th, 2025 at 5:00 pm ET: Presenter abstracts due
- Monday, February 3rd, 2025: Presenters notified of acceptance of abstracts
- Thursday, February 14th, 2025 at 5:00 pm ET: Registration closes for all attendees
Accessibility
We value everyone being able to participate in this event. In order to be accessible to as many attendees as possible, this event will be hybrid with both in-person and online access to all content available, and we are working to ensure quality experience for both in-person and online attendees. American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation and CART (Communication Access Realtime Translation) services will be made available for those who need it.
Presenters (both in person and online) are asked to limit the presence of flashing lights and sudden sounds in their presentations (and give adequate warning in advance), describe any visual content seen as important to their presentation, and to give trigger or content warnings when relevant. Please see “Presenter Guidelines” for more information.
In Person:
The location of this event will have parking for those with a disability parking placard in the lot in front of the building for your convenience. There are bathrooms on every floor.
For the safety of immunocompromised and COVID-conscious guests, there is air purification in this building, and we will be handing out N95 face masks. We highly recommend that anyone who can wear a mask or face covering does so out of respect for these guests’ health needs. We also ask that in-person attendees avoid using aerosol sprays on the premises or using any overly fragrant perfumes or body sprays.
Online:
We are working to provide an accessible experience for our online guests, ensuring equitable information exchange across online and in-person modalities. The Symposium will be set up as a Zoom webinar and participants will be also given access to a Google Drive folder with Symposium materials including presentation materials, tabling materials, and other resources.
We are enthusiastic to consult with guests to provide additional accommodations in order to meet everyone’s needs and enable all attendees to participate to the best of their abilities. Some common accommodations that we can provide upon request are (but are not limited to):
- Interpretation into another (spoken or signed) language
- Accommodations and/or flexibility for religious observances
- Additional trigger or content warnings
- Audio amplification or assistive listening devices
- Large-font print outs
- Audiovisual descriptions
- Accommodating specific dietary needs, smell sensitivities, allergens, and migraine triggers
- Assistance connecting to funding, transportation, childcare, and other potential resources to enable participation
For specific accessibility requests or concerns, please email ukgarc@gmail.com. Please also let us know if there are any other ways in which we can promote inclusion and accessibility at this event.
Dining
- Breakfast and lunch will be provided at the Symposium.
- Note any specific dietary needs (allergies, vegetarian, vegan, gluten free, etc.) when registering.
- Dinner is NOT provided. Please consult our local restaurant guide or ask for recommendations!
Things To Do Around Lexington
Come a day early or stay a day late! Kentucky has amazing art, cultural, historical, and environmental recreation opportunities! Here are just a few in Lexington and surrounding areas:
- Did you know that 95% of the world's bourbon is made in Kentucky? Make a stop at a distillery on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail! The Barrel House Distillery is conveniently located in Lexington.
- There are over 450 champion horse farms in Kentucky. Visit over 1,000 horses at the Kentucky Horse Park, a 20-minute drive from UK's campus.
- As Kentucky's oldest garden cemetery and home to Henry Clay's mausoleum, the Lexington Cemetery is an excellent place to walk, reflect, and watch nature. The cemetery also hosts the second-largest basswood tree in North America!
- Famous for its world-class rock climbing, hiking, archaeological sites, natural rock bridges (Natural Bridge) and breathtaking scenery, the Red River Gorge in the Daniel Boone National Forest is a 1.25-hour drive south from Lexington.
- The Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill, the largest surviving historic collection of dwellings built by this utopian sect, is only a 35-minute drive from Lexington!
- The Mary Todd Lincoln House Museum, the family home of the wife of our 16th President, Abraham Lincoln, is a great place to learn more about this famous American family!
- Visit the UK Art Museum located in the heart of campus with free admission to all!
Questions? Email ukgarc@gmail.com.
Disclaimer: As the artist, you are responsible for the handling and display of your artwork. You will be expected to follow the standard presentation guidelines for your discipline. The University of Kentucky and/or the UK Graduate Appalachian Research Community are not responsible for damage or theft that may occur to your artwork/instruments/or any additional equipment you decide to bring.
Past Symposia Programs: