Proposal Guidelines
The "Better World" theme is intentionally broad to encourage submissions from any field of study at Ball State University. Undergraduate and graduate students from all disciplines are invited to submit a proposal. We hope you join us to share your ideas for how to create a better world or a more peaceful society.
Each proposal must include an abstract of no more than 250 words that describes the content of your project and its relation to the conference theme. Your project will be evaluated via masked review (meaning your name will not be shared with the reviewers) on the basis of its relevance to the theme, its originality, and its quality. The deadline for submitting proposals is March 12th, 2024, at 5pm EST. You will receive email confirmation that your proposal has been received by March 13th. Notices of acceptance or rejection will be sent by March 18th.
Poster presentations and other types of presentations that feature visual objects, images, designs, etc. will be displayed for 50 minutes in an assigned exhibition space. For lightning round presentations, presenters will have 5 minutes to speak and may use 3-5 slides as visual aids. Other forms of presentations (e.g., musical, dance, theater, or spoken word performances, multimedia) each will be given 10 minutes and will be featured in appropriate spaces. We welcome innovative ways to share your projects! If you have questions about what would be appropriate, email us at peacecenter@bsu.edu. For more detailed information regarding poster presentations and lightning round presentations, as well as what should be included in a proposal, please visit the FAQ page here.
Suggested topics include (but are not limited to):
- Activist art
- Community peacemaking/peacebuilding theory and praxis
- Community violence causes, analysis, alternatives, solutions
- COVID-19 and peace
- Political polarization
- School violence causes, analysis, alternatives, solutions
- Structural violence relative to race, gender, sexuality, class, religion
- Justice and reconciliation
- Race relations
- Law enforcement and marginalized populations
- Mediation
- Domestic violence
- Volunteerism
- Restorative justice
- Poverty
- Religious intolerance and/or conflict
- Community corrections
- Community organizing
- Legislative access
- Immigration
- Gun reform
- Internet and social media for peacemaking/peacebuilding
- Post-conflict reconstruction
- National/international law and local politics
- International peacemaking and peacebuilding/peacemaking and peacebuilding across borders
- Ethnic conflict
- Meditation and mindfulness
- Sports for development and peace
- Suicide prevention
- Human rights
- Sexual harassment
- Economic inequity or equality
- Health disparities
- Environmental issues
- Homelessness
Click here to submit a lightning round proposal
Click here to submit a poster proposal