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[bjoista]

I will be attending the American Studies Association Conference for the first time this fall. What is the level of appropriate attire (business/business-casual)? Also, is this a conference where the papers are typically read or more spoken/"presented"?

Thanks for your help.

[americanist]

I usually wear a pants suit when I'm presenting at ASA, but a sweater/pants combo on all other days. (I'm a woman, for the record.) ASA isn't terribly formal, and most of the men presenting don't wear ties, even if they wear suits. I've seen a presenter in a flannel shirt and jeans, but most folks go with nice pants and a shirt or sweater.

You'll see a lot of presenters reading papers, but ASA is encouraging more "presentation" style panels, which I would guess make up maybe a fourth at most of the sessions I attend. Depending on the subfield, slides are popular, but mainly for images, not for text.

I think ASA is a generally fun conference. Papers run the gamut, the keynotes are often quite good, there are a few excellent receptions, and the book display always has some things far enough outside my field that I hadn't heard of them but close enough to my research that I'm thrilled to find them. I hope you enjoy it!

[bjoista]

Thanks for the information. I'm looking forward to the conference. (Book displays are my favorite part of any conference!)