2023 Conference
The Sociological Imagination: From Idea to Practice
Friday, November 3rd
Eastern Illinois University (Charleston, IL)
Competition Levels
Undergraduate students may submit a paper for either of the undergraduate competitions described below (whichever is appropriate for the paper submitted). Graduate students are restricted to submitting a paper to the graduate student competition only (exceptions may be made for new graduate students who were enrolled in an undergraduate program during the previous academic year).
Best Graduate Student Paper Competition
This competition is for papers written by graduate students for a graduate sociology course, or an academic paper on a sociological topic written by a graduate student.
Best Undergraduate Student Paper Competition: Upper Division
This competition is for papers written for an upper-level (junior/senior) undergraduate sociology course, or an academic paper on a sociological topic written by a junior or senior.
Best Undergraduate Student Paper Competition: Lower Division
This competition is for papers written for a lower-level (freshman/sophomore) undergraduate sociology course, or an academic paper on a sociological topic written by a freshman or sophomore.
Submission Instructions
To have your paper considered for one of the Student Paper Competitions described above, you must first submit an abstract of your paper to be considered for presentation at the conference. The Abstract Submission Portal is available HERE. Once the abstract is submitted, you may submit your full-length paper for the competition by following the instructions below.
Submissions for the Student Paper Competitions will be evaluated by a blind review process. To facilitate blind review, you must submit the two separate files described below:
File 1: Cover Sheet: The Cover Sheet should include the following information:
Student name
College/university
Current academic standing (freshman, sophomore, junior, senior, or graduate)
The title of the paper submitted
The number and title of the course in which the paper was previously submitted (if applicable)
File 2: Blinded Paper: A blinded version of the paper (one in which the author is not identified)
Submissions must include the two separate files described above, and should be sent by email to Wade Smith, ISA President, at wpsmith@eiu.edu. Questions about the Student Paper Competitions may also be directed to the ISA President.
Student Paper Competitions
The Illinois Sociological Association has a tradition of celebrating student scholarship. We are excited to continue that tradition by hosting student paper competitions in conjunction with the 2023 conference. Students attending an Illinois college or university who submit an abstract of their work to be considered for individual presentation at the conference may optionally submit the completed paper for consideration for the appropriate student paper competition as well (see additional details below). As in years past, winners of the student paper competitions will be recognized at the conference and awarded a cash prize. A student does not need to be a current member of the ISA to submit a paper for consideration; however, all participants who appear in the conference program must be active members of the Association (having paid annual membership dues) and register for the conference (at no additional cost).
The extended deadline for submissions is October 8, 2023.
To be considered for one of the student paper competitions below, the submitter must:
be enrolled as a graduate or undergraduate student in an Illinois college or university during the Fall 2023 semester (the academic term in which the conference is held);
be submitting an abstract of their paper to be considered for individual presentation at the conference;
submit the completed paper along with their abstract (see instructions below).
Papers submitted for consideration should present fully developed sociological ideas and/or observations, and are subject to the following restrictions:
The paper must be a single-authored paper, written solely by the student submitting the work.
The paper may not have been accepted for publication.
The submission must be a single paper not to exceed 35 double-spaced pages including references and supplemental materials (dissertations and book-length manuscripts are not accepted).
The paper must adhere to academic writing standards, and include appropriate citation of sources where necessary.
While students may submit abstracts of more than one paper for consideration for presentation at the conference, each student is limited to a single submission for the student paper competitions.
See below for information about competition levels and for submission instructions.