Events and Other News
April 11-12, 2024
Call for Proposals
The School of Interdisciplinary Programs and Community Engagement (SIPCE), invites proposals from undergraduate and graduate students as well as faculty for its Third Annual Conference for Interdisciplinary Research.
The conference will take place in-person on the UTRGV Edinburg campus, April 11-12, 2024.
Conference Theme
The conference focuses on the relationship of interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research by paying special attention to community-engaged, community-focused, and culturally responsive research.
SIPCE is particularly interested in proposals that engage with the conference theme by responding to one or more of the following groups of questions:
- What are “communities” and how do they work? How can interdisciplinary research create meaningful new knowledge about communities? In particular, how can interdisciplinary research contribute to our understanding of the origins, creation, organization, behavior, stability, and/or vulnerability of communities, including but not limited to artistic, biological, business, creative, cultural, ecological, economic, geographical, linguistics, and/or social communities.
- What is the relationship between interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research? What does it mean to include external stakeholders, especially local communities, in interdisciplinary research? What are epistemological, theoretical, or methodological challenges and opportunities of community-engaged or community-focused interdisciplinary research?
- Evidence exists that ideas, research, and projects to solve pressing problems can have detrimental short- and long-term effects on communities (e.g., the use of herbicides, cane toads in Australia, expansion of urban highways systems, medical research exceptionalism etc.). What can we learn from past and present mistakes? How can interdisciplinary research that is community-engaged or community-focused lead to more meaningful, effective, and ethical research practices and solutions? What are examples of successful, effective, and ethical interdisciplinary research and scholarship that is culturally responsive, community-engaged, and/or community-focused?
Presentation Formats
SIPCE seeks proposals for individual papers, panels, roundtables, and poster presentations from UTRGV students and faculty who work in inter- or multidisciplinary teams and/or whose research integrates epistemologies, theories, and methodologies from different disciplines. Students are invited to present work that stems from individual research projects, thesis work, as well as course- or lab-based projects. Panel and roundtable proposals that involve community organizations and members are encouraged. In addition, proposals submitted by UTRGV faculty and students in collaboration with faculty or students from other universities or (community) colleges are also invited. The conference organizers advise, however, that no travel funding is available.
Deadlines and Proposal Evaluation
Proposals must be submitted by Sunday, December 17, 2023 (11:59pm). To submit your proposal, use this link: https://forms.office.com/r/LW9L3zWvtV
Submitters will be notified by February 1, 2024, if their proposal was successful.
Submission will be evaluated based on the following criteria:
- Does the proposal connect to or respond to any of the issues and questions raised in the section “Conference Theme.”
- Does the proposal provide a clear abstract of the presentation (including its focus and main thesis/argument)?
- Is the proposed presentation/poster/paper/panel clearly interdisciplinary?
Student presenters from the UTRGV Robert C. Vackar College of Business & Entrepreneurship, College of Engineering & Computer Science, the College of Fine Arts, the College of Health Professions, the College of Liberal Arts, the School of Medicine, the School of Nursing, the School of Podiatric Medicine, and the School of Social Work are eligible to compete for scholarships. To be considered, a student must submit a proposal for an individual paper or poster. Winners will be selected by the conference committee based on their abstracts (of no more than 250 words) and the selection criteria mentioned above. Scholarships will be awarded at the conference following the students’ successful presentations.
Organizers
For questions, contact the conference organizers:
Friederike Bruehoefener and Willson Guevara at SIPCE@utrgv.edu
The Conference Committee:
Conference Sponsors:
The Robert C. Vackar College of Business & Entrepreneurship
The College of Engineering and Computer Science
The College of Health Professions