Call for Organized Sessions

2027 SSILA Annual Meeting

Mexico City, Mexico (March 10-12)

Deadline for Organized Session Proposals:

31 July 2026

The Society for the Study of the Indigenous Languages of the Americas (SSILA) will hold its next annual meeting in Mexico City, hosted by the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), from March 10 to 12, 2027. SSILA meetings encourage scholars to present on a wide range of topics centered on any aspect of Indigenous languages in the Americas.

Call for Organized Session Proposals

SSILA welcomes proposals for organized sessions. This is an opportunity for scholars to present and/or discuss contributions that revolve around a single theme, including (but not restricted to) shared typological, methodological, historical, genetic or areal perspectives. These sessions may be in the form of a symposium (several presentations focused on a specific topic), a workshop (presentations with invited discussants), a tutorial (intensive instruction on a specific topic), a datablitz (a session composed of many very short presentations), and other types of sessions with a clear, specific, and coherent rationale. The presentations must be based on original research focusing on the linguistic study of the Indigenous languages of the Americas.

Organized sessions involve more than one scholar and are expected to make a distinctive and creative contribution to the meeting. Proposals for organized sessions are reviewed by the members of the SSILA Program Committee and they are not reviewed anonymously.

Given that the annual meeting will be held in Mexico City, contributions by scholars, language practitioners and/or Indigenous community members whose language work is based in the surrounding areas are particularly welcome.

Submission Instructions  

The deadline for receipt of organized session proposals is on 31 July 2026 at 11:59 pm (Hawaii-Aleutian time).

All organized session proposals should be submitted by e-mail to SSILA Program Committee Administrator Adrienne Tsikewa (conferences@ssila.org). Any queries prior to the submission deadline can also be sent to this e-mail address. Proposals are usually submitted in English or Spanish; French and Portuguese are also accepted. If you would like to submit a proposal in another language, please get in touch with Adrienne Tsikewa by 15 July so we may discuss the necessary reviewing arrangements.

For those seeking co-sponsorship for organized sessions at the Linguistic Society of America’s Annual Meeting, please submit those proposals to LSA’s submission portal by their respective deadline. Should your proposal be accepted by the LSA’s reviewers, please submit the proposal to the SSILA Program Committee Administrator Adrienne Tsikewa  (conferences@ssila.org) by 30 June 2026. The SSILA committee will make a decision about SSILA co-sponsorship of these proposals by mid-August 2026.

The proposal must include the following information:

  1. A session title;

  2. The type of session (e.g. a symposium with a series of invited talks, a collaborative workshop, a discussion panel, a tutorial aimed at skill training, a datablitz session with many short presentations, etc.);

  3. The name, affiliation, and e-mail addresses of the organizers;

  4. The session length: either 1.5 hours or 3 hours (the SSILA PC is also open to accepting sessions of alternative lengths but if this is your intent, please consult in advance with the SSILA Program Committee Administrator Adrienne Tsikewa (conferences@ssila.org);

  5. A session abstract of up to 1000 words outlining the purpose and motivation for the session, as well as the social impacts/outcomes/implications, whether positive or negative (https://www.ssila.org/social-impact-and-outcomes);

  6. The names and affiliations of all participants, their role (paper presenter, introducer, moderator, discussant, etc.), and the titles of their contributions;

  7. A complete timetable (note that organized sessions do not have to follow the 20-minute paper + 10-minute discussion format, but the presentation format should be clearly described);

  8. Abstracts of 200 to 500 words for each paper or poster presentation.

All organizers and presenters must be members of SSILA (https://www.ssila.org/en/membership-information) in order for their proposal to be accepted. The membership requirement may be waived for Indigenous community scholars and language practitioners. It may also be waived for co-authors or for participants in organized sessions who are from disciplines other than those ordinarily represented by SSILA (linguistics and linguistic anthropology), or for undergraduate research assistants. Waivers can be requested by contacting the SSILA Secretary, Verónica Nercesian (secretary@ssila.org).