CALL for ABSTRACTS
& FAQ
Terror Camp 2024
Terror Camp 2024 Important Dates
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June 1: Submissions for presentations opens
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September 1: Submissions close
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November: Attendee registration opens
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December 7-8: Terror Camp 2024!
What's happening?
TERROR CAMP is a fan-run conference on polar themes. First created by fans of The Terror (2018), it's broken through 3 seasons in the ice and is back for a fourth year of celebrating the creativity and curiosity of this chilly community.
Whatever your polar passion, we want to hear from you! Your topic might be anything from a special interest to a full-time job, but the only things you need to have in order to take part are a love for learning about your topic in-depth, and a desire to share that enthusiasm with others. You do not need any formal qualifications to present.
We take presentations seriously at TERROR CAMP, but it’s also an opportunity to have some serious fun. Our lively, moderated Q&A and parallel Discord chat gives your work recognition and a chance to be discussed and shared in-depth. A full weekend of talks lets Terror and polar fans enjoy the structure of an academic conference, with all the informality, passion, and love of a fandom space!
This year, TERROR CAMP will be held on Zoom on Saturday and Sunday, December 7th and 8th, 2024. It’s free and open to anyone who’d like to attend, with keynote speakers TBD! As of June 1, 2024, applications to present are now open until September 1.
What are we looking for?
Even though Terror fandom is the heart of Terror Camp, it’s not all that we do! Not only are we calling for presentations from anyone who wants to talk through their favorite ideas about The Terror, its themes, and its historical background, but we would also like to hear from all of our polarhead friends who want to talk about Arctic and Antarctic history, culture, and science. That means anything from Terror meta, to real-life exploration history, and even depictions of the polar regions in other media. If it’s cold, we’re into it.
(Not sure if your idea would be a good topic for a presentation? Check out our past programs to see the range of stuff people have presented on. Or shoot us an email to discuss!)
Themes of presented work might include, but aren’t limited to:
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Original historical and archival research on polar topics
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The Terror, Franklin Expedition, and polar exploration-related history
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Show meta, media theory, and criticism
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Fan works (art, fiction, cosplay, etc.)
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General film, TV, and performance analysis
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Gender and queerness
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Race, Indigenous studies, and colonialism
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Polar geography, biology, and conservation
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Fandom culture and communities
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Archaeology and forensics
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Character studies and biography
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Museums, preservation, and digital humanities
What will Terror Camp presentations look like?
Presentations will be held on Zoom. Speakers will give a 15-minute talk with accompanying visuals, grouped together on a panel with a few other speakers whose work is similar to theirs. Each panel will be moderated by a Terror Camp volunteer mod who will lead a short Q&A after the presentation.
In addition to calling for individual presentation submissions, we are looking for submissions of pre-conceived roundtables. You can decide who will sit on your roundtable by identifying two to three other people with similar presentation ideas, and presenting us with a concept for your joint presentation as one single proposal, including the selection of a panel chair. Each presenter in a round table will give a short 5-minute introduction to their topic, and then the chair will lead a longform discussion.
You’re welcome to submit roundtable proposals with people who share similar interests. If you like the idea of a roundtable but don’t have other folks in mind to join you, we encourage you to check out this doc. Add your name, a short description of what you’re interested in talking about (a few sentences), and how other folks can get in touch with you to form a roundtable on your shared interests. Or, scope it out and see if there’s already someone working on something similar to you, and reach out to them. Voila, now you’ve got yourself some collaborators for a roundtable!
We’re also bringing back our poster presentations! If you want to submit a web-based, asynchronous presentation to be showcased in a digital poster alley, we would love to hear from you. This year, for the first time, we’re also taking submissions for workshop ideas (see below for more details.)
Please note that the deadline for final poster presentation submissions will be earlier from other types of presentations, because we want to begin displaying them before the conference.
Submissions for Presentations, Roundtables, and Workshops (of 300 words or less) will open via Google Form on June 1, 2024 and will close on September 1, 2024. Submissions for poster presentations will open via Google Form on June 1 and close on August 1st. Artists' Alley submissions will also be accepted through a separate form beginning on July 1. To receive updates on submissions opening, follow us on Twitter and Tumblr, and subscribe to the Terror Camp mailing list.
If you just want to attend to watch and join in the discussion, never fear and hang tight – attendee registration will open in October, so you don’t have to do anything right now (except let people know!) We’ll also be recording sessions for people who can’t make it.
Frequently asked questions
I’ve never written an abstract before. What does it look like?
An abstract is really just a short proposal of what you want to talk about. If you’ve never written one before, check out our past programs to see some of the successful abstracts for presentations. A good Terror Camp abstract doesn’t need any academic jargon or citations. What we’re looking for is:
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What’s the idea you want to share with the Terror Camp audience?
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How did you come up with this idea, and what’s your evidence for this idea - analyzing moments from The Terror? Reading something in a historic document? Spotting something in paintings, poems, or photographs?
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What got you so excited about this thing/character/way of thinking?
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Why is this idea something the Terror Camp community should know about?
And if you would like some guidance, we’re offering a Zoom session on how to put together an abstract. You can RSVP here (date tbd). If you can’t attend live, don’t worry - we’re going to record the session and anyone who RSVPs will get a link to watch the recording.
Looking for some inspiration? You can check out an idea for how to structure an abstract here. We’ve also highlighted a few abstracts for presentations from last year’s Terror Camp that are great examples. Check out Han’s and Jas’s abstracts for more history-focused presentations (Han’s uses more academic language while Jas uses more casual language—both are super!), Allison’s abstract for a show-focused abstract, and Emma’s abstract for just some nice clear language.
I’m not great with writing out my ideas. Will you accept proposals in other formats?
Yes indeed! This year we will be accepting audio- and video-based pitches for presentations. You’ll use the same Google Form as other submissions, but there will be a spot where you can link us to your short (3 minutes max) audio or video recording where you describe your presentation idea. We’d really love it if you could share a link to your recording from your Google Drive.
What if the thing I want to talk about is more of a practical thing, or a skill or a craft?
This year, for the first time, we’re taking ideas for short workshops that will take place before the presentations and roundtables. Do you have a skill you think Terror Camp folks would like to learn something about, like Victorian cross stitch, celestial navigation, or making ship’s biscuits? Would you be open to sharing it over Zoom? Let us know through the submission form!
(Since this is a new thing for us, if your idea seems like a good fit for Terror Camp this year we’ll reach out to you to help you develop the workshop!)
I’ve never been to an academic conference before and I’m not a student! Is this for me?
Absolutely! This event, though academically inspired, is fans-first, always. We’re putting this together to celebrate the amazing research, discussion, and community building that happens every day in our fandom spaces. You do NOT need to be in the academic world or have any kind of academic degree to attend or present at Terror Camp - just a desire to join the conversation!
Academic conferences give structure for in-depth presentations, group discussions, and socializing. Fan conventions bring enthusiastic fans together to share in the joy of their favorite things, make friends, and hear from creators and performers. Terror Camp is the best of both worlds—a fan conference, if you will.
Our event is meant to be as accessible as possible, so we’re very open to a wide range of presentation and discussion formats based on people’s comfort and access needs. Informal language, ridiculous PowerPoints, academic pastiching, and fanart Zoom backgrounds are VERY encouraged!
I’ve been to a LOT of academic conferences before! Is this still for me?
Also absolutely! We’re lucky enough in our corner of the internet to not only have fans and academics hanging out, but plenty of fans who ARE academics. Your expertise will find an enthusiastic audience, and you’ll be able to provide mentoring, encouragement, and appreciation to a diverse group of ECRs, beginners, and hobbyists.
I’ve presented at Terror Camp before. I’ve read through this doc, but is there anything else that’s different about this year’s Terror Camp?
We’re thrilled that Terror Camp is now in its fourth year and we love seeing so many folks coming back year after year. But, we’re also mindful that we want to keep the Terror Camp program full of new faces and ideas and make sure the conference is welcoming to new fans. For this year, we will be giving a slight preference to those who have not presented at Terror Camp before, especially those who did not present last year. But whether you’ve presented before or not, we want to see your abstracts!