By Kathy Johnson

The University of Kentucky Appalachian Center, Appalachian Studies and the Graduate Appalachian Research Community are making a call for papers for the 2012 UK Appalachian Research Symposium and Arts Showcase. The topic of the work must be related to Appalachia, original, and produced in the last three years. 

The deadline for submitting an abstract of work online is midnight Dec. 15. The submission can be made by going to the GARC tab on www.appalachiancenter.org and clicking on the "Abstract Submission" link in the dropdown menu.

This is the third year for the Appalachian Research Symposium and Arts Showcase, which will be held Feb. 11, 2012, at the UK Student Center. 

"This year, we seek to broaden the participation by extending invitations to both undergraduate and graduate students of all disciplines as well as any student currently attending an accredited Kentucky university or college," said Lisa Conley, Appalachian Center research assistant and coordinator of the event. "We are hoping students from all disciplines will submit their abstracts."

This year's keynote speaker and performer will be Ras Alan, Appalachian reggae artist and featured performer at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival for the "Year of Appalachia."  A free concert by Ras Alan will take place the night prior to the conference.

For those interested in attending the symposium but not presenting, registration is available online as well by going to the GARC tab on www.appalachiancenter.org and clicking on the "Non-Presenter Registration" link in the dropdown menu.  The deadline for registering to attend is Feb. 1, 2012.

For more information, contact Elizabeth New, president of the Graduate Appalachian Research Community at elizabeth.new@uky.edu.