Conference whiplash

OK, so it looks like I'll be going to the Big Single Author Conference in Wales in the summer after all, but the story of how it happened is kind of crazy.

First I was rejected by the panel I applied to and heard about that in the fall. I wasn't too bummed out -- I was in good company and the panel had gotten an extraordinary number of submissions. I didn't have high hopes for getting placed in the general sessions since my paper was particular to that panel's subject and also not directly related to the primary subject of the conference. So I pretty much assumed I wouldn't be going. And about a week ago I got an e-mail confirming this assumption.

So much for that, I thought. At least I wouldn't have to plan a big expensive conference trip.

But wait, there's more! A few days after that final rejection I got another message saying that there was room for my paper after all, along with a few other previously rejected papers. there are 7 of us on this panel, so, we were told, we'd be giving papers of 7-8 minutes. Wow, that's short. But that was OK with me because my project is in such initial stages that 7-8 minutes allows me to present the stuff that I'm most confident about and leave the rest for the Q&A. Although I have to say that going overseas for an 8-minute paper is kind of funny. Of course, a conference is much more than about just giving your paper, and that's one of the main reasons why I wanted to go -- I'm really out of the loop of the current conversations in this area and I'm excited just to hear people present their work and listen to them talk in more informal conversation, as well.

But *now* the organizer is thinking about moving me to yet another panel! Well, at least I know I'm going, so I can put in the application for travel funds and apply for our more competitive international travel award, both of which I'll need. And while I'm over there, I'll probably do some research in London as well. But there's a National Humanities Center Summer Institute that I want to apply for that's two weeks before the conference, so I'm not sure what my summer schedule is going to look like just yet. I should probably start figuring that out now, I guess. I hate always having to have my head in the next segment of the academic calendar just when I'm trying to wrap my head around the current one, but it can't be helped.

Anyway, for those of you making plans for your summers, if you're going to the Welsh conference or going to be in the UK for research, pencil in a blogger meet-up!

PS -- I don't know why I'm being coy about the conference subject and title here, especially since I'm about to make a tag for it!