Call for Papers: ANS Conference Special Panel on Onomastics Beyond Academia

computer-564136_960_720The ANS is inviting abstract submissions for a special panel on “Onomastics Beyond Academia” for the 2017 annual conference to be held in conjunction with the Linguistic Society of America. The purpose of the panel is to highlight professional applications of onomastics outside of the university setting.

All professional names enthusiasts are invited to submit an abstract for a 20-minute presentation. Abstracts proposals should answer one or more of the following questions:

  1. How did your training in onomastics help your professional life, outside of academia (e.g. finding a job or building your own business)?
  2. How do you work with onomastic data in your profession?
  3. What are some of the most interesting challenges which you (and your colleagues) face in using names data?
  4. What new markets are opening for names enthusiasts?
  5. What practical recommendations would you give to other names enthusiasts who are interested in working outside of academia?

To submit a proposal, simply send a 250-word abstract proposal and a 100-word professional biography to Laurel Sutton [laurel@catchwordbranding.com] by the 15th of July 2016. For organizational purposes, please be sure to include the phrase “ANS 2017: Panel” in the subject line of your email.

All proposals will be subjected to blind review. Official notification of proposal acceptances will be sent on or before September 30, 2015. All authors whose papers have been accepted must be current members of the ANS and need to register with both the ANS and the Linguistic Society of America. Please feel free to contact Laurel Sutton should you have any questions or concerns.

We look forward to receiving your submission!

Names that Break Databases

laptop-keyboard-1036970_960_720Most of us take for granted that we can enter our names into any database or online form. Not everyone has this luxury. Learn what types of names point out the bugs in our systems and the frustrations for the people behind these names.