Dear Participant in the 2008 Berkshire Conference,

It’s finally 2008—we hope you are excited about being a part of the largest women’s history conference in the world! As your thoughts turn to preparing for your appearance on panels, roundtables, workshops, and seminars, we thought we would remind you of the time constraints and general expectations of each different kind of presentation.  You should be receiving the printed program in the mail shortly -- a printing error has meant a delay, for which we apologize.

All panels and roundtable sessions have two hour time blocks, and are scheduled for either Friday or Saturday June 13-14, with a 30-minute break in between sessions.  We realize the schedule is tight, which is why we have arranged for you to pick up boxed lunches in between sessions--please be sure to purchase them when you register for the conference.  All workshops and seminars are scheduled for 9:30 a.m.-12 p.m. on Sunday, June 15.  Copies of the program are on their way to your mailbox this month, but you can also check the time and room assignments for your sessions through our on-line program.

K-12 Teachers should read this information sheet before making conference scheduling decisions.

Now, a brief reminder about what the different sessions will look like, and a few suggestions. These instructions are only provisional—your session chair may outline different deadlines or expectations, so we encourage session members to be in touch with each other as soon as possible.

Panels: Panels usually feature 2 or 3 papers, plus a comment and chair. Panel chairs should contact their fellow panelists soon in order to outline specific instructions and paper deadlines. In general, though, papers should be no more than 20 minutes long, and comments no more than 10-15 minutes in order to reserve plenty of time for audience questions and feedback. People delivering papers should send copies of their presentation to their chair and commenter by May 15 in order to allow plenty of time for the commenter to offer a thoughtful response.

Roundtables: Roundtables are less structured than panels, and usually reserve more time for an open discussion with the audience. In general, roundtable participants should speak for only 5-10 minutes each, so as to leave plenty of time for conversation among participants and questions and discussion with the audience. Because the numbers of people on roundtables vary significantly, roundtable chairs should contact the people on their session soon in order to outline specific instructions about presentation length and other expectations.

Workshops and Seminars: Workshops and seminars are discussions of pre-circulated papers, so it is incumbent on participants in these sessions to meet the deadline in order to allow for a full consideration of their work and the most stimulating conversations possible. The deadline for posting your paper on our conference website is April 15 unless you have been informed of another deadline by your seminar leader or workshop organizer. The instructions for posting your paper are here: http://berks.umn.edu/instructions.html. Workshop organizers or seminar leaders should be in touch with their fellow session participants soon if they want to use another deadline or lay out other specific expectations.

A/V equipment: In our communications with you this summer and fall, we worked hard to ensure that everyone on the program has access to the classroom A/V equipment that they need for their presentations. However, after looking up the building and room number for your session, please check it against this list of classroom equipment that describes the equipment available in your assigned room.

Most University of Minnesota classrooms don’t have computers, only data projectors with laptop hookups, so you will need to bring a laptop computer for PowerPoint presentations (or other programs run on from a computer). Perhaps you could consult with your fellow session members to coordinate, so that only one person brings a computer and the others can run their flashdrives from it.

Internet access:  There is wireless internet access in all classroom buildings and in the lobbies of the residence halls; the dormitory bedrooms have ethernet access (bring your own cable!)  If you sign up for network access for the whole conference (a $10 fee covers both wired and wireless) when you register for the conference (http://berks.umn.edu/registration.html), a University of Minnesota User ID, password, and instructions for how to get set up on the network will be sent to you automatically.   You will not be able to use the wired Ethernet unless your laptop is registered on the University of Minnesota network.  You can do this in advance before you arrive at the conference, by following the instructions that will be sent to or by going to ADCS after you receive your UM User ID, but there will also be an opportunity to do it from a computer lab in the residence hall.

If you will need Internet access during your session but not at other times, please contact berks@umn.edu well in advance to arrange for the use of a UM e-mail account during your session. 

If you will need Web access during your session, be sure to do a practice run to make sure your computer can get on the campus network.  If the network identifies a virus on your laptop it will not allow you onto the network, and if this will create a problem it is better if you find out before your session.  It is a good idea to have a copy of whatever you need on a CD-ROM or flash drive as well as on your laptop, so that you can run it from a different machine if necessary. 

Assistance at the conference: If you have any health problems or disabilities that you believe might potentially limit your participation in or enjoyment of our conference, we can provide assistance upon request.  Please contact staff at cceconf5@umn.edu, or 612-624-3708. 

Lodging and Transportation: Information about dorm and hotel accommodations and about getting to and from the airport can be found on pages 10-15 of the conference program. Using the following links, you can access information about Metro Transit, the Twin Cities' public transportation, and Super Shuttles, another way to travel to and from the airport.

The Holiday Inn Metrodome is sold out.  A block of rooms has been reserved at the Radisson University Hotel, (615 Washington Ave, Minneapolis, MN) adjacent to the East Bank campus (approximately fifteen minutes' walk from the West Bank campus) for the special Berkshire Conference rate of $159 per night plus tax for single or double occupancy. Reserve your rooms by May 14, 2008, to receive the special room rate. Reservations can be made by contacting the hotel directly at 800-822-6757 or 612-379-8888.  (Be sure to ask specifically for the Berskhire Conference rate--you may not get the reduced rate if you merely ask for the University rate, as it says in the program on page 13.)

Please do not delay making reservations--the hotel rooms we have reserved are going fast.  If the hotel is full by the time you register, there are plenty of rooms in the residence halls. There are also many hotels in downtown Minneapolis, at a variety of price points, from which the conference is easily accessible by public transportation or taxi.

Child Care: The Berkshire Conference cannot provide childcare onsite. A list of licensed nanny services and child care centers within several miles of the U of M campus that provide drop-in services for children aged 6 weeks through 12 years can be found here. Individual or group care and site location can be negotiated wtih the provider. The University fo Minnesota Child Care Center can also provide a few spaces for infants and children up to age 5 on Thursday and Friday. Please call (612) 627-4014 to make arrangements. In general, child care costs run between $12 and $15 an hour in the Twin Cities. If you make your own arrangements, the Berkshire Conference will reimburse you for part of your expenses (including part of the housing cost if you bring someone with you to provide care). The amount reimbursed will depend on the number of requests received; we must have receipts to process reimbursements. Please contact berks@umn.edu and let us know if you will be requesting reimbursement.

Changes and withdrawals: Finally, we recognize that life happens sometimes. If you cannot join us in Minneapolis to participate in your session, please let your fellow panelists know, and don’t forget to contact one of us Program Committee co-Chairs as soon as possible to let us know too. We are compiling a list of changes, corrections, and additions to the program that we'll include in everyone’s registration packet, so please help us make this list as accurate as possible. 

We look forward to seeing you all in Minneapolis in June!

Yours truly,

Susan D. Amussen, susan.amussen@tui.edu

Ann M. Little, amlittle@colostate.edu 

Margaret (Peg) Strobel, peg.strobel@sbcglobal.net

Program Committee Co-Chairs for the 2008 Berkshire Conference on the History of Women