SOCIETY FOR LATE ANTIQUITY

 

BYLAWS

 

Guidelines and Policies

 

                                               

1. Mission.

 

          The purpose of the Society for Late Antiquity (SLA) is to coordi­nate activi­ties that promote the study and understanding of Late Antiquity.  These activities include dissemi­nating informa­tion; encour­aging interac­tion among scholars, students, and layper­sons; and foster­ing scholarly study.  For our purposes, "Late Antiqui­ty" is defined broadly in chrono­logical, geographic­al, and meth­odologi­cal terms. 

 

2. Activities.

 

          The means used by the SLA to accomplish its mission shall include the sponsoring of (1) LT-ANTIQ, the Late Antiquity Discussion List; (2) A Home Page on the World Wide Web; (3) The Late Antiquity Newsletter (LAN); (4) The Journal of Late Antiquity (JLA); (5) The biennial Shifting Frontiers in Late Antiquity conferenc­es, (6) sessions at conferences such as the International Medieval Congress at Kalamazoo; the International Medieval Congress at Leeds; the Byzantine Studies Conference; and the annual meeting of the Society for Classical Antiquity (formerly the American Philological Association); and (7) other activities consistent with furthering the mission of the SLA. 

 

3. Organizational Structure.

 

a. Membership.

 

                    1. Voting Members of SLA shall consist of those in atten­dance at the bi-annual Late Antiq­uity confer­ences.  There will be a meet­ing of the Voting Members during the confer­ence.

 

                    2. Adjunct Members of SLA shall consist of all those sub­scribed to either LT-ANTIQ or LAN.

 

          b. SLA Governing Board.

 

          The Governing Board shall consist of:

 

                    1. The Discussion List and Webpage owner(s).

 

                    2. The Newsletter Editor.

 

                    3. The Editor of the Journal of Late Antiquity

 

                    4. The Organizers of the next two upcoming bi-annual confer­ences.

 

                    5. The organizer of the previous SF conference,

 

                    6. Three at-large members elected at the bi-annual confer­ence, who shall serve until the subse­quent conference.

 

          The duties of the Governing Board shall be to:

 

                    1. Co-ordinate undertakings intended to fulfill the Mission as stated above.

 

                    2. Ensure that the Activities listed above are carried out.

 

                    3. Conduct business in the name of SLA, including ini­tiat­ing and maintaining ties with other organizations and groups.

 

                    4. Meet at least one time during the bi-annual confer­ence.

 

                    5. Determine the schedule of future conferences.

 

                    6. Recommend to the Voting Members any suggested changes to these policies, to be voted on during the meetings at the bi-annual conference.

 

                    7. Make administrative changes in the period between conferences, with any substantive changes being brought before the membership at the next business meeting of the SLA

 

          c. The President and Chair of the Governing Board.

 

                    1. The President and Chair of the Governing Board shall be the Organizer of the upcoming confer­ence.

 

                    Duties of the President and Chair of the Governing Board:

 

                             a. Organize the bi-annual conference.               

 

                             b. Select the members of the Program Committee.

 

                             c. Preside over the meeting of the membership during the confer­ence.

 

          d. The Chair-Elect of the Governing Board shall be the Organizer of the conference following the upcoming one.

 

          e. Secretary

 

                    1. The Secretary shall be chosen from among the members of the Governing Board.

 

                    Duties of the Secretary:

 

                             a. Take minutes at the annual meetings and distribute them via LAN.

 

                             b. Maintain archives of minutes of past meetings.

 

                             c. Notify the membership of upcoming meetings.

 

4. Conferences.

 

          Conference organizers are encouraged as much as possible to adhere to the following confer­ence traditions:

 

                    1. Each conference should be organized around a unifying theme.

 

                    2. All sessions should be plenary in order to encourage coherence and uniformity.

 

                    3. Ample opportunity for discussion and dialogue should be provided.

 

                    4. Finances permitting, presenters should be provided with a token travel subsidy.

 

5. Finances.

 

          The Society for Late Antiquity has no treasury and no funding of its own.  Those responsible for the carrying out of the various Activities listed above, including the organization of the bi-annual confer­ence, are responsible for providing the resources necessary for the performance of their duties.

 

6. Procedures.

 

Any procedural issues not dealt with above will be handled ac­cording to Roberts Rules of Order.

 

 

 

Unanimously Approved, Shifting Frontiers in Late Antiquity Confer­ence, Univ. of S. Carolina, 13 March 1997

 

Amended, Shifting Frontiers in Late Antiquity Confer­ence, Univ. of Indiana, 5 April 2009.