Submit your proposals for FIRE’s 2018 faculty conference!

FIRE is pleased to share the call for proposals for the 2018 FIRE Faculty Conference, which will take place in downtown Chicago, Illinois from October 11-13, 2018. As with last year’s faculty conference, our goal is to bring together faculty from a range of disciplines and institutions, who have a variety of viewpoints, to present research and discuss issues related to academic freedom and freedom of expression on campus. We encourage all interested faculty—irrespective of discipline, institution, or position—to submit a proposal. The deadline to submit is April 30, 2018.

Over the past year, free speech on campus has increasingly been at the forefront of national conversations, and faculty have been a crucial part of this discussion. Faculty speech of all kinds has been scrutinized: speech in the classroom, in research, in the media, and online. Changes to the academic labor market, evolving tenure policies, and increasing partisan divides in student attitudes, among other issues, have impacted free speech and academic freedom for faculty.

We look forward to hosting a second faculty conference that fosters research and debate on these topics, and we’re excited to add new features to this year’s event. We now invite faculty to submit proposals to present either a paper or a poster, which will allow more scholars an opportunity to showcase their work. Additionally, FIRE will offer programming focusing on practical guidance for faculty activism on campus. Those with particular interest or experience in this area are especially encouraged to apply!

Those accepted to present papers at the conference will receive an honorarium of $3,000, in addition to reimbursement for travel and lodging. Those presenting posters will receive reimbursement for travel and lodging.

More conference details will available soon, and an application to attend the conference will be available later this spring. If you have any questions or would like more information, please email us at facultyconference@thefire.org.